Remedies and enforcement

AuthorIrma Baraku
Pages58-68
58
6 REMEDIES AND ENFORCEMENT
6.1 Judicial and/or administrative procedures (Article 7 Directive 2000/43,
Article 9 Directive 2000/78)
a) Available procedures for enforcing the principle of equal treatment
In Albania, the following procedures exist for enforcing the principle of equal treatment.
The administrative procedure
According to the LPD, the administrative procedure can be followed before the
Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination. It should be noted that the right of
subjects to be p rotected from discriminatory behaviour by the law is not limited to the
Office of the Commissioner.
The law provides obligations for employe rs and heads of educational institutions not only
to examine complaints, but also to take disciplinary measures for the protection of
employees from discrimination and victimisation, within one month of receiving the
complaint or having knowledge of the behaviour. In the field of employment, the LPD
does not limit the right to complain to special institutions created in various sectors of
employment, as provided by Article 15(1). For example, the State Labour Inspectorate
ensures the implementa tion of labour law (including the Labour Code, which provides for
the principle of non-discrimination), protecting the employee in the exercise of their
profession.133
The procedure before t he CPD is free of charg e. The CPD can deal with complaints from
one person, groups of people and NGOs (Article 32(1)(a) and (b)). The Law on protection
from discrimination (LPD) does not expressly recognise the right of the commissioner to
initiate an investigation, but Article 32 (1)(c) provides the commissioner with the
responsibility for conducting administrative investigations after receiving reliable
information on a violation of the LPD. The Office of the Commissioner may initiate an ex
officio investigation based on the information that comes from civil society organisations
and the media. When appropriate, the CPD seeks to reach a conciliation agreement
between the complainant an d the person against whom the complaint was submitted.
The CPD tak es a d ecision which is made kn own to the p arties within 90 days from the
date of receipt of the complai nt or, if a public hearing session has been h eld, within 90
days from the day of the session. The L PD does not place a legal obligation on the CPD to
publish the d ecisions. However, CPD publishes t hem on its official website (www.kmd.al)
in accordance with the Law on the right to in formation and the transparency programme,
protecting the personal data of the subjects. The CPD not only makes recommendations
but also has t he power to i mpose sanctions. However, the law is n ot repressive, because
it provides some opportunities to avoid sanctions where the discriminator ends th e
discrimination promptly of their own volition (spontaneous restoration of t he violated
right).
There a re similar proceedings before the CPD for employment in the public and private
sectors.
The People’s Advocate (ombudsman) safeguards the rights, freedoms and lawful
interests of individuals from unlawful and improper actions or failures to act by public
administration bodies, as well as third parties acting on their behalf. He has a duty to
promote the highest standards of human rights an d freedoms in the country.134 Article 16
133 Law No. 9634 on labour inspection, dated 30.10.2006, Articles 1, 2(3) and 6.
134 Law No. 8454 on the People’s Advocate, dated 04.02.1999, supplemented by Law No. 8600, dated
10.04.2000, amended by Law No. 9398, dated 12.05.2005, added to and amended by Law No. 155/2014,
dated 27.11.2014.

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