The public defender of rights in the Czech Republic as a national equality authority in the context of standards set by directives of the European Union

Abstract

The subject of this study is evaluation of activities of the Public Defender of the Czech Republic in a scope of carrying out activities entrusted to him from 2009 as a national equali­ty authority. It is intended to contribute to the promotion of the right to equal treatment of all persons irrespective of their race, ethnic origin, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, reli­gion, beliefs or views. In this respect, it also acts under provisions of the Constitution of the Czech Republic, the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, the so-called anti-discrimination law and many other statutory regulations. These tasks were entrusted to the ombudsman in the process of implementation of EU directives. EU regulator emphasized that one of the ways to strengthen pro­tection against discrimination in EU Member States is to establish bodies in order to analyze prob­lems related to discrimination, examine possible solutions and provide specific assistance to victims. The author of this study deliberate whether the Public Defender of Rights meets requirements for national equality bodies, recalling the criteria set out in so-called The Paris Principles, which define in details the aspect of the independence of the functioning of institutions that safeguard human rights. In addition, author presents the basic assumptions on which the activity of the ombudsman is based, as well as description of the practice, and its activities in the area of ensuring implementation of the principle of equality.