Discrimination is a criminal offence, which means that you can always bring your case before a criminal court besides civil or administrative claims. This criminal claim is possible regardless of who committed the offence: you can file a criminal complaint against a private entity (a company for example) or a public entity (a public education institution, a public hospital, an administrative institution etc.) or by an individual (private or public).
Contents of the complaint
In your claim you should:
- indicate your personal information (name, date of birth, address)
- indicate who you are complaining about (name, address, if known)
- detail information of the offence (including the grounds of discrimination) that may have been committed (who, what, when, how)
- indicate names and addresses of any witnesses to the offence
- describe your provisional or definitive estimate of the damage
- attach relevant documents that substantiate your opinion, if there are any
Procedure and time limits
Discrimination and related crimes are considered minor premeditated crimes. This means that You can bring your case within 8 years after the facts occurred. Usually the complaint is submitted to the prosecutor or the police.
Read more about the rights of a victim in criminal proceedings in this Guide.
Court’s assessment
After the pre-trial stage is over, the Court will first assess whether you have been discriminated. When dealing with criminal cases concerning discrimination, the burden of proof falls on the prosecutor (victim).
This means, that in the pre-trial stage you first need to provide the evidence that discrimination took place. You may prove the discrimination by any means, as long as that the means to provide the evidence are not unfair. To prove the discrimination, you will have to show that you were treated differently than another person was or would have been treated in a similar situation on the basis of a prohibited ground.
If the court thinks that the facts you have submitted give rise to a reasonable assumption that such violation has indeed occurred, it will conclude that you have been discriminated against unless your opponent can provide sufficient explanation for the way you have been treated.
Penalties
Under criminal law, discrimination is considered a violation of person’s equal rights. Discrimination is therefore punishable by a maximum of 3 years' imprisonment or a fine.
Compensation
The Court will only award compensation if it has been requested by the victim through a civil action. This civil action gives the victim a civil party status which enables the victim to request compensation for the damage suffered and take part in the criminal proceedings.
The claim for compensation can be submitted during criminal proceedings in the form of an application to the police, prosecutor or court, depending on the stage of criminal proceedings. The amount of damages must be supported by evidence.
example Receipts for medical care and medication are evidence that can be used to support the amount of damages.
The amount of claimed moral compensation needs to be indicated in the application. The victim should explain the amount indicated, but there is no need to submit evidence to substantiate the amount.
example The applicant can argue that the amount of the moral compensation is appropriate to the length or severity of the damage caused by discrimination.
The decision on the amount of compensation awarded is made by the court at the time of making the decision on the perpetrator’s criminal liability. If the court denies the claim fully or in part, the court’s decision may be appealed in a regional court, and afterwards in the Supreme Court. If the claim for compensation is denied fully or in part after all instances of the criminal court, the victim can still submit the claim in civil court for the amount of compensation that has been denied by the criminal court.
note In exceptional cases, when it is not possible to accurately calculate the civil claim without postponing the trial of the criminal case or without receiving additional material, the court may recognize the civil claimant's right to the satisfaction of the claim, and refer the question of the amount of the claim to consideration in the civil procedure.