Ministry of Justice publishes a new draft for anti-discrimination legislation. The legislation would extend the prohibition of discrimination to all public and private sector activities on multiple grounds.
European Anti-Discrimination Law Review Issue No. 1 | April 2005
Introduction
The information contained on this page represents the situation as of 1 January 2012 and is a summary of the country report produced by the country expert from the network. The summary can be downloaded here as well.
Until the end of the 1980’s Finland was one of the most culturally homogeneous countries in Europe. The amount of immigrants was minimal. In the 1990’s a major shift from emigration into immigration took place, and the number of foreign citizens grew from 26 300 in 1990 to 168 000 in 2010. Currently the number of foreigners represents some 3 per cent of the total population of 5 400 000.
The principle of equal treatment is strongly anchored in the domestic law, and has been so for quite some time. However, the approach of the more recent legislation, in particular the Non-Discrimination Act, is different from that of the older parts of the legislation, and in this respect Finnish anti-discrimination law is characterised by a certain dualism.
If a discriminatory decision is made in the exercise of public powers, the victim of discrimination may make use of the rectification procedure or some other ordinary channel of appeal.
The main provisions pertaining to discrimination have been laid down in the Constitution, the Non-Discrimination Act and the Penal Code. As a general clause, a prohibition on discrimination is also included in many statutory acts.
The Finnish anti-discrimination law covers a wide area and is in general applicable in private and public sector. The primary thrust of the Constitutional prohibition of discrimination is to ensure equal treatment in the exercise of public powers.
The material scope of the Non-Discrimination Act follows quite closely the two EU directives but goes beyond them by extending its protection in the field of education/training to all grounds of discrimination.
The office of the Ombudsman for Minorities was established in 2001 in order to promote equal treatment irrespective of ethnic origin. The Ombudsman functions mainly as an expert body, providing advice and instructions to victims of ethnic discrimination outside employment. The Ombudsman may also provide legal aid in exceptionally significant cases. Most of the cases of ethnic discrimination which have been brought to the Ombudsman’s office have dealt with provision of goods or services, particularly housing. Upon encountering discriminatory practices the Ombudsman shall, by way of advice and instructions, aim to eliminate them. The Ombudsman shall also issue recommendations and come up with initiatives aimed to improve ethnic relations and the status of ethnic minorities.
This initiative is financed by the EC Programme Progress. But the views expressed in this website do not necessarily reflect the official views of the EU institutions.
