Current best practices

• Author: Jakub Tomsej
• Pages: 85-86

85

10 CURRENT BEST PRACTICES

- Free legal help to victims of discrimination

In 2012 the Czech Ombudsman established cooperation with the NGO Pro Bono Aliance (a

pro bono alliance), which arranges free legal assistance to certain victims of discrimination,

who have been very probably disc riminated according to the Czech Ombudsman. Special

assistance is provided on the basis of a contract between a complainant (client) and a

cooperating law firm or lawyer involved in a pro bono clearing -house served by Pro Bono

Aliance. Since 2012, Pro Bono Aliance has arranged legal representation in more than 15

discrimination cases f rom the Ombudsman. These are all cases where the Ombudsman

found discrimination.

According to Section 21b of Act No. 349/1999 on the Public Defender of Rights, the

Ombudsman only has the authority to help victims of discrimination and their legal

representatives in the phase of filing the law suit against discrimination and therefore, after

the lawsuit has already been filed with the court, the Ombudsman should not have direct

contact with or influence over it. Howeve r, it is quite common for the Ombudsman to file

third-party interventions where possible, such as at the proceedings before the

Constitutional Court.

- Situation testing

The Czech Ombudsman is not allowed to use situation testing and it s employees should

not be the ones who carry out such testing in practice. However, the Ombudsman

cooperates with certain NGOs that use situation testing as one of the measures available

to discover and fight discrimination in practice. The Ombudsman has been supportive of

this practice.

- Promoting non-discrimination among Roma

o There is a variety of socially conscious real estate agencies ( Fair Housing in

Prague, More than just housing in Plze) that aim to help people who are

disadvantaged in the housing market, especially those facing discrimination and

prejudices, including the Roma community.237

o Several towns are establishing more municipal social housing. Particular

measures to include the Roma community in everyday life at the local level are

becoming more common, an example being the non -formal Roma unit police

patrol in Hanušovice village.238

o The victims of forced sterilizations may finally be compensated based on a draft

of an act that is currently being discussed in th e Parliament, and is likely to be

adopted in 2020.239

237 Hatefree (2019), ‘Plze má novou realitku. Pomže k bydlení lidem čelícím diskriminaci i majitelm byt’

(Plze has a new real estate agency. It will help people facing discrimination and the property owners) -

article, available at: https://www.hatefree.cz/blo/clanky/3241-realitka-plzen. Hatefree is a Government

programme.

238 Romea (2019), ‘V Hanušovicích a Perov dohlížejí na veejný poádek Romové’ (Roma residents protect

public order in Hanušovice and Perov) – article, available at:

http://www.romea.cz/cz/zpravodajstvi/domaci/v-hanusovicich-a-prerove-dohlizeji-na-verejny-poradek-

romove.

239 Czech Television (2019), ‘Protiprávn sterilizovaní muži a ženy se zejm dočkají odškodnní’ (Forcefully

sterilised men and women might probably expect the compensation) - news article, available online at:

https://ct24.ceskatelevize.cz/domaci/2888444-protipravne-sterilizovani-muzi-a-zeny-se-zrejme-dockaji-

odskodneni.