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Legal Protection Against Discrimination in Croatia

The purpose of this report is not only to provide an overview of national anti- discrimination law and its alignment with the European anti-discrimination standards, but also to critically assess the impact of the anti-discrimination law to the society and to evaluate the role of courts and the role of universities in combating discrimination, and, finally, to assess a culture of rights in Croatia. In preparing this report, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Office of the Ombudswoman for Gender Equality, the Office of the Ombudswoman for Persons with Disabilities and the Office of the Ombudswoman for Children, as well as the Judicial Academy, the Police Academy and Law Faculties in the country, were consulted in order to either provide the number and structure of discrimination cases reported to these institutions or shed a light into an awareness on anti-discrimination law among relevant stakeholders of the anti- discrimination policy. The equal treatment principle is enshrined in the Croatian Constitution. Although provisions civil, criminal and labour law, as well as legislation assuring protection of national minorities, contained protection of dissemination guarantees, the EC Equality Directives have been systematically transposed through a general anti-discrimination legislation. Croatia has adopted an Anti- Discrimination Act (ADA), in force since January 2009, as the country was requested to align national legislation with EU anti- discrimination law in the course of EU accession negotiations. By joining the European Union in July 2013, Croatia was considered to achieve legal alignment in the fields of anti- discrimination and equal opportunities. The ADA prohibits discrimination by all state bodies, local and regional governments, legal persons with public authorities and all companies and individuals in all areas of private and public sector. A variety of grounds have been introduced granting protection against discrimination: race or ethnic affiliation or colour, gender, language, religion, political or other belief, national or social origin, property, trade union membership, education, social status, marital or family status, age, health condition, disability, genetic heritage, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation. The the Ombudsperson institution became a central equality body in 2009, in accordance with the ADA, and since 2010 it publishes the Report on occurrence of discrimination. The reports continuously state that discrimination-based complaints most frequently cite ethnic or national origin as alleged ground and almost half relate to the employment field. The results of a present research suggest that a more open and just society in which discrimination does not occur need to be supported by numerous institutions and fought for with various tools: legislation implementation, education on anti- discrimination law, and awareness rising in a wider society society. In conclusion, though Croatian anti-discrimination legislation is in compliance with the Equality Directives, the culture of rights has not been fully achieved. For example, the effectiveness of the Equality Body is limited as it can only establish that discrimination took place but cannot award damages nor impose penalties. Concerned individuals need to address the courts where they reportedly still face limited understanding of the anti-discrimination standards, such as related to the reversion of the burden of proof. In order to strengthen the culture of rights, the free legal aid system should be more vigorously advertised in order to provide an equal access to judiciary for vulnerable groups and right to free legal aid in the cases of discrimination. An effective free legal aid system also requires increased and continuous financial support allocated to the providers of free legal aid. Finally, a more proactive promotion of the awareness of the anti-discrimination standards within the judiciary as well as within higher educational institutions that train professions that are in charge of implementation of ADA would likely result in an increased awareness of affected individuals to apply the legal remedies available to them.

national anti-discrimination legislation ; the role of courts in combating discrimination ; the role of universities in combating discrimination ; culture of rights in Croatia

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