Anti-Discrinination recent events and to encourage settlement negotiations as is stipulated in legislation. Adequate resources necessary However, it is not anticipated that this will result in a significant acceleration of the proceedings, the Chairperson emphasised. To achieve this, structural changes are necessary. It is viewed as a fundamental problem that the chairmanship is an honorary position but from the work involved, it is a full-time job. There is also a significant bottleneck with regard to personnel in the secretariat and clerks. Unequal access to justice in the Laender Furthermore, the fact that a below average number of petitions is received by Senate I of the Equal Treatment Commission from the Laender, with the exception of Vienna and Lower Austria, shows that there is unequal access to justice in the individual Laender. As a solution, the establishment of additional Senates I of the Equal Treatment Commission is recommended – at least in the jurisdiction of each of the Higher Regional Courts. The Federal Ministry of Education and Women’s Affairs emphasised in its remarks to the AOB that Senate I has more personnel resources available than the other Senates of the Equal Treatment Commission. However, it announced that the evaluation and further development of equal treatment instruments planned within the scope of the government programme will take the idea of reducing the duration of the proceedings into consideration. The AOB has long advocated an acceleration of the proceedings before the Equal Treatment Commission. Therefore, any steps taken thus far by the legislators in this direction are welcome. However, it is absolutely necessary that sufficient financial and personnel resources be made available, which is why a serious discussion of the suggested measures is urgently recommended. Support and representation of victims of multiple discrimination Victims of multiple discrimination are advised and supported by several members of the Ombud for Equal Treatment, who specialises in different types of discrimination. However, in accordance with the amendment to the law, they may only be represented by one member in the proceedings before the Equal Treatment Commission. It must be ensured that victims of multiple discrimination can also continue to have full support and representation by the Ombud for Equal Treatment that is competent as to the specific content. The Ombud for Equal Treatment approached the AOB, as ambiguities in the law have come up during proceedings before the Equal Treatment Commission since the most recent amendment of the Austrian Federal Equal 42

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents