Bodies for the promotion of equal treatment (article 13 Directive 2000/43)

• Author: Lorenzo Cachón
• Pages: 77-85

77

7 BODIES FOR THE PROMOTION OF EQUAL TREATMENT (Artic le 13 Directive

2000/43)

a) Body d esignated for th e pr omotion of equal tr eatment irrespectiv e of racial/ethnic

origin according to Article 13 of the Racial Equality Directive

The Spanish body designated for the promotion of equal treatment irrespective of racial or

ethnic origin is the Council for the Elimination of Racial or Ethnic Discrimination (Consejo

para la eliminacion de la discriminación racial o étnica) (‘the c ouncil’).

Law 62/2003 of 30 December 2003 on Fiscal, Administrative and Social Measures130 (Article

33) (as amended by A rticle 18 of Law 15/2014 of 16 September 2014)131 established the

council. Royal Decree 1262/20 07 of 21 September 2007132 (modified by Royal Decree

1044/2009 of 29 June 2009)133 regulates its composition, competencies and regulations.

The council is the only body that corresponds to the requirements of Article 13 of Directive

2000/43 (as is explicitly recognised in Law 15/2014). Although it was formally created by

Law 62/2003, which came into force on 1 January 2004, it was set up on 28 October 2009

and became operational on that date.

In 2018, the Spanish Parliament discussed the Comprehensive Bill for Equal Treatment and

Non-discrimination. The bill set up mechanisms for the creation of an ‘Authority for Equal

Treatment and Non-discrimination’ (Autoridad para la igualdad de trato y no

discriminación) (‘the Authority’). The Authority would fulfil the requirements of the equality

body provided for in the directives. It would be an independent body and the law set the

legal basis for the effective performance of its du ties. This included the functions required

by the directives, as well as others, such as mediation, investigation of cases of

discrimination on the Authority’s own initiative, and intervention in litigation, training and

so on. It was intended for the Authority to have jurisdiction on gender, race and ethnicity,

religion and belief, disability, sexual orientation and age. In 2019, the bill was withdrawn

due to the dissolution of Parliament.134

In addition to the council (and th e Institute for Women and Equal Opportunities, which is

recognised as the equality body for matters of gender discrimination), there are two other

bodies worth noting:

1) Regarding Roma people, Royal Decree 891/2005135 set up the National Roma Council

(Consejo Estatal d el Pueblo Gitano) ‘as a collegiate participat ory and advisory body

on general and specific public policy affecting the integral development of the Roma

population in Spain’ (Article 1). Its overriding purpose is ‘to promote participation

and cooperation by Roma associations in the development of general policy and the

130 Law 62/2003 of 30 December 2003 on Fiscal, Administrative and Social Measures (Ley 62/2003, de 30 de

diciembre, de medidas fiscales, administrativas y de orden social) (BOE, 31 December 2003),

http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/1978/12/29/pdfs/A29313-29424.pdf.

131 Law 15/2014 on the rationalisation of the public sector and other measures of administrative reform.

132 Royal Decree 1262/2007 of 21 September 2007, which regulates the composition, competencies and

regulations of the Council for the Elimination of Racial or Ethnic Discrimination (Real Decreto 1262/2007, de

21 de septiembre, por el que se regula la composición, competencias y régimen de funcionamiento del

Consejo para la Promoción de la Igualdad de Trato y no Discriminación de las Personas por el Origen Racial

o Étnico) (BOE, 3 October 2007), http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2007/10/03/pdfs/A40190-40195.pdf.

133 Royal Decree 1044/2009 of 29 June 2009 (Real Decreto 1044/2009, de 29 de junio, por el que se modifica

el Real Decreto 1262/2007, de 21 de septiembre) (BOE, 23 July 2009),

http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2009/07/23/pdfs/BOE-A-2009-12210.pdf.

134 In January 2020, after the cut-off date for this report, a new coalition Government was formed, comprising

the Socialist Party and the Unidas Podemos (a coalition of leftist political parties). One of the laws in the

new Government programme is the Comprehensive Bill for Equal Treatment and Non-discrimination, which

will presumably provide for the creation of the ‘Authority for Equal Treatment and Non-discrimination’.

135 Royal Decree 891/2005 of 27 July 2005 setting up the National Roma Council (Real Decreto 891/2005, de

22 de julio, por el que se crea y regula el Consejo Estatal del Pueblo Gitano) (BOE, 26 August 2005),

http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2005/08/26/pdfs/A29622-29625.pdf.