Personal and material scope

• Author: Kogovsek Salamon, Neza
• Pages: 32-46

32

3PERSONAL AND MATERIAL SCOPE

3.1Personal scope

3.1.1EU and non-EU nationals (Recital 13 andArticle 3(2), Directive 2000/43

and Recital 12 and Article 3(2), Directive 2000/78)

In Slovenia, there are no residence or citizenship/nationality requirements for protection

under the relevant national laws transposing the directives. Hence, anyone, including

undocumented migrants or those with irregular status, is entitled to the protection of the

directives.

3.1.2Natural and legal persons (Recital 16, Directive 2000/43)

a)Protection against discrimination

In Slovenia, the personal scope of anti-discrimination law covers natural and legal

persons for the purpose of protection against discrimination.

The Protection Against Discrimination Act does not distinguish between natural persons

and legal persons in ensuring equal treatment. Article 1(1) states that ‘this Act defines

protection of each individual from discrimination’, and Article 1(3) continues by stating

that protection from discrimination is also applicable to legal persons ‘if the grounds that

could be a basis for discrimination can be attributed to legal persons’. The preparatory

materials in relation to the Protection Against Discrimination Act indicate that legal

persons can enjoy protection from discrimination if they are discriminated against

because of personal grounds in relation to their members, founders or management. The

Advocate of the Principle of Equality has already decided cases in which it found that

legal persons had been discriminated against.67As for groups of persons, the term ‘a

person’ cannot be interpreted as precluding a group of people who have been

discriminated against from bringing a complaint, as long as each individual is identified.

Article 6 of the Employment Relationship Act does not specify whether both natural and

legal persons are covered (it just states ‘person’). However, since only natural persons

can be employed, they are the only ones who can be protected under this law.

b)Liability for discrimination

In Slovenia, the personal scope of anti-discrimination law covers natural and legal

persons for the purpose of liability for discrimination.

Liability for discrimination is established by Article 39 (civil liability) and Article 45

(misdemeanour liability) of the Protection Against Discrimination Act and Article 229 of

the Employment Relationship Act. The law differs in respect of the misdemeanour liability

of natural persons and the liability of legal persons for harm caused by acts of

discrimination. While there are no differences in establishing misdemeanour liability as

such, there is a significant difference in the amount prescribed inlaw for fines that are

payable by the party that is found to be in breach of anti-discrimination provisions. When

the act of discrimination amounts to a criminal offence, Article 4 of the Liability of Legal

Persons for Criminal Offences Act68states that for a criminal offence, which the

perpetrator committed in the name, on the account of or for the benefit of a legal person,

the legal person is also liable.

67 Advocate of the Principle of Equality, decision No. 0700-2/2019 of 4 July 2019; and decision No. 0700-

11/2019 of 18 July 2019.

68 Liability of Legal Persons for Criminal Offences Act (Zakon o odgovornosti pravnih oseb za kazniva dejanja),

8 July 1999, available at: www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO1259.