Personal and material scope

• Author: Hiltunen, Rainer
• Pages: 26-33

26

3 PERSONAL AND MATERIAL SCOPE

3.1 Personal scope

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

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

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

under the Non-Discrimination Act, which transposes the directives. Therefore, the act

could also be invoked by an undocumented person or illegal immigrant, for example.

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

a) Protection against discrimination

In Finland, the personal scope of the Non-Discrimination Act (Section 8) does not cover

legal persons for the purpose of protection against discrimination. As a general rule, only

natural persons are protected. The Government proposal71 and the Parliament’s

Employment and Equality Committee Opinion72 both stress that in some exceptional

cases, protection may extend to protecting legal persons. The Government proposal

gives an example of discriminating against an association or religious community that

could have a direct effect on the natural persons forming these legal persons.73

b) Liability for discrimination

In Finland, Section 2(1) of the Non-Discrimination Act states that the act is applicable to

both public and private activities. This means that the act covers both natural and legal

persons for the purpose of liability for discrimination.

Section 2(2) of the Non-Discrimination Act states that only legal acts that fall within the

scope of private affairs and family life are exempt from the scope of applicability of the

act. The Government proposal on the Non-Discrimination Act further explains that the

scope of ‘private affairs and family life’ means interaction within family and relatives and

these relationships are protected in the Constitution of Finland and in Article 8 of the

European Convention on Human Rights.74

3.1.3 Private and public sector including public bodies (Article 3(1))

a) Protection against discrimination

In Finland, the personal scope of the Non-Discrimination Act covers the private and

public sectors, including public bodies, for the purpose of protection against

discrimination. The Non-Discrimination Act is applicable to all public and private

activities, excluding private life, family life and the practice of religion.

b) Liability for discrimination

In Finland, the personal scope of the Non-Discrimination Act covers the private and

public sectors, including public bodies, for the purpose of liability for discrimination.

71 Government proposal on the Non-Discrimination Act, pp. 67-68.

72 Finnish Parliament Employment and Equality Committee, p. 4,

https://www.eduskunta.fi/pdf/TyVM+11/2014.

73 Government proposal on the Non-Discrimination Act, p. 68.

74 Government proposal on the Non-Discrimination Act, p. 55.