Goods and services (Directive 2004/113)

• Author: Romina Bartolo
• Pages: 47-48

47

9Goods and services (Directive 2004/113)48

9.1General (legal) context

9.1.1Surveys and reports about the difficulties linked to equal access to and supply of

goods and services

No surveys or reports on difficulties linked to equal access to and supply of goods and

services have been published.

9.1.2Specific problems of discrimination in the online environment/digital

market/collaborative economy

There are no specific problems to report.

9.1.3Political and societal debate

There has been no political or societal debate.

9.2Prohibition of direct and indirect discrimination

National law prohibits direct and indirect discrimination on grounds of sex by means of the

AGS Regulations enacted under the Equality for Men and Women Act 2003.

The Equality for Men and Women Act itself already contained some provisions that can be

considered as implementing some of the principles of the directive. For example, Articles

8(1) and (3), 9, and 10 of the act, on educational guidance, sexual harassment, and

discriminatory advertising, respectively.

9.3Material scope

The material scope of national law is broader than Directive 2004/113. Regulation 1(3) of

the AGS Regulations states:

‘These regulations shall apply to all persons who provide goods and services made

available to the public irrespective of the person concerned as regards both the public

and private sectors, including public bodies, and which are offered outside the area

of private and family life, and to all transactions carried out in this context.’

9.4Exceptions

Maltese law has not applied any exceptions, given that Regulation 1(3) of the AGS

Regulations states that the regulations

‘apply to all persons who provide goods and services made available to the public,

irrespective of the person concerned as regards both the public and private sectors,

including public bodies, and which are offered outside the area of private and family

life, and to all transactions carried out in this context.’

9.5Justification of differences in treatment

Provision for justification of differences in treatment is made in Regulation 4(8) of the AGS

Regulations, which provides that ‘these regulations shall not preclude differences in

treatment, if the provision of the goods and services exclusively or primarily to members

48 See e.g. Caracciolo di Torella, E. and McLellan, B. (2018), Gender equality and the collaborative economy,

European network of legal experts in gender equality and non-discrimination, available at

https://www.equalitylaw.eu/downloads/4573-gender-equality-and-the-collaborative-economy-pdf-721-kb.