Remedies and enforcement

AuthorJustesen, Pia
Pages64-73
64
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 Denmark, the following procedures exist for enforcing the principle of equal t reatment:
Civil courts:
The lower city courts, the High Courts, the Maritime and Commercial Court and the
Supreme Court hear cases which involve provisions of the Act on Ethnic Equal Treatment
and the Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination in the Labour Marke t etc., implementing
Directive 2000/43 and Directive 2000/78. The courts will also hear cases involving the
Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination due to Disability. Judgments and decisions
handed down by civil courts are legally binding.
Labour courts:
The Labour Court and labour arbitration bodies only interpret collective agreements and
adjudicate cases concerning violations of collective agreements. They do not deal with
cases concerning violations of the legislation on discrimination.180 Judgments and
decisions handed down by labour courts are legally binding.
However, Section 1(6) of the Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination in the Labour
Market etc. states that the Act does not apply if equal protection is provided by a
collective agreement. Trade unions engage in judicial procedures before the Labour Court
on behalf of their members in cases concerning the violation of a prohibition of
discrimination in a collective agreement. In the individual case, the trade union decides
whether or not it wis hes to bring a case. If an individual person covered by a colle ctive
agreement wishes to initiate a case concerning the violation of collective agreements, the
case must be tried at the ordinary courts and the individual must provide proof that his
or her trade union has no intention of pursuing the matter before the Labour Court.
Board of Equal Treatment:
In practice, most complaints of discrimination are dealt with by the administrative Board
of Equal Treatment, which was established on 1 January 2009.181 The Board deals with
complaints related to discrimination based on gender, race, colour, religion or
belief, political views, sexual orientation, age, disability or national, social or ethnic origin
within the labour market. In sectors outside the labour market, the Board has a mandate
to hear individual cases on discrimination because of gender, disability, race and ethnic
origin. The Board of Equal Treatment issues binding decisions and can order
compensation to be paid.
Individuals making complaints to the Board of Equal Treatment must have an individual
and current interest in the case in question. The Board of Equal Treatment cannot force
the parties to produce documents, give their opinion or reveal the factual circumstances
of a case. The Board secretariat c an, however, request that the parties contribute to the
elucidation of a case. If a party d oes not comply with this request within the stated time
period, a new deadlin e will be set. If the party still d oes not respond, the Board can
choose to decide the case based on the existing evidence, cf. Section 5 of the Act on the
180 Consolidated Act No. 1003 of 24 August 2017 with later amendments in the Labour Court and Labour
Arbitration (Lov om Arbejdsretten og faglige voldgiftsretter).
181 Consolidated Act No. 1230 of 2 October 2016 with later amendments (Bekendtgørelse af Lov om
Ligebehandlingsnævnet).

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