Introduction

• Author: Justesen, Pia
• Pages: 11-12

11

INTRODUCTION

The national legal system

The basic law of Denmark is the current Constitution, which was adopted by referendum

in 1953. This is the latest successor to the 1849 Constitution. The Constitution sets out

the essential rules governing the most important institutions of the state, the

Government, the Parliament and the judiciary, as well as the relationship between these

institutions.

National legislative authority rests jointly with the Government and the Parliament.

The legal system is a continental system following primarily German traditions.

Fundamental legal principles are laid down by the Constitution in very general terms.

Constitutional rules are expounded in laws, while detailed regulation is provided by

administrative orders (delegated/secondary legislation). In contrast to the German legal

system, however, Denmark has no Constitutional Court. The Supreme Court has

traditionally been very reluctant to use its power to annul laws that may contradict the

Constitution.

The legal system is structured into legal fields (criminal law, civil law, labour law,

administrative law, etc.), and anti-discrimination laws are represented in all fields.

Public authorities are governed by a general principle of equality applicable under

administrative law. The general principle has the force of legislation (and not

constitutional law) and means that public authorities must treat equal matters with full

equality before the law.

The Danish private and public labour market has traditionally been based on the ‘Danish

model’, as it is known. This means a labour market that is largely regulated by collective

agreements between the labour market social partners. A specialised Labour Court exists

to resolve conflicts between the social partners regarding breaches of collective

agreements. Anti-discrimination is also to some degree covered by collective

agreements, for example the question of equal pay.

The Board of Equal Treatment was established on 1 January 2009 to deal with individual

complaints of discrimination.

The Danish Institute of Human Rights (DIHR) holds two EU mandates as a specialised

equality body on race or ethnic origin as well as on gender. In addition, the DIHR

monitors the Danish implementation of the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with

Disabilities in accordance with Article 33 of the Convention.

Denmark is a member of the Council of Europe and has acceded to the European

Convention on Human Rights and all of its protocols, apart from Protocol 12. The

European Convention on Human Rightsis the only human rights convention currently

incorporated in Danish law.

With regard to unincorporated and ratified human rights conventions, it is generally

assumed that they constitute a relevant source of law, which may be invoked and must

be applied by national courts and administrative authorities.

List of main legislation transposing and implementing the directives

The Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination due to Race etc. (Lov om forbud mod

forskelsbehandling på grund af race m.v.) is a penal code. It covers the following

grounds of discrimination: race, skin colour, national or ethnic origin, belief and sexual