Anti-Discrimination 2.1.1 Equal Treatment Commission and the Ombud for Equal Treatment Duration of proceedings A short duration of proceedings is important particularly in lowthreshold proceedings such as those before the Equal Treatment Commission. The political decision-makers have already made positive steps in order to accelerate the proceedings. However, there is still much to be done. In particular, necessary financial and personnel resources must be made available. With the establishment of the Equal Treatment Commission, the legislators intended to create a low-threshold, efficient handling of discrimination cases before a specialised body. A short duration of the proceedings is absolutely necessary in this context; nevertheless, there are frequent delays. With the most recent amendment of the Austrian Federal Equal Opportunities Act (Federal Law Gazette I No. 107/2013), several items were amended that are intended to accelerate the proceedings. For example, the number of members of the senates was reduced, the possible presence of other parties was newly regulated and the obligation to clarify the possibilities for a settlement was created. Nevertheless, it is questionable whether these statutory amendments will result in an effective improvement of the problem. Amendments of the law to accelerate proceedings In March 2014, the Ombud for Equal Treatment approached the AOB, as the duration of proceedings in Senate I of the Equal Treatment Commission was as long as two years; this was additionally exacerbated by the fact that the position of the Chairperson was vacant between October 2013 and March 2014. Duration of proceedings still lengthy Senate I of the Equal Treatment Commission is responsible for examining cases of discrimination in the workplace due to gender and has to deal with a particularly high number of petitions. In this area, lengthy proceedings are particularly burdensome for those involved, especially if they are still in a valid employment relationship. Lengthy proceedings have an adverse impact, if – concurrently to the proceedings before the Equal Treatment Commission – a lawsuit is pending, in which the decision by the Equal Treatment Commission plays a role. In her remarks to the AOB, the new Chairperson of Senate I of the Equal Treatment Commission emphasised that every effort is made to ensure that all pending cases are resolved quickly. The Chairperson announced a change in how the proceedings would be conducted in the future: Petitions for examination would be put on the agenda more quickly than before and the petitioning parties would initially be brought to the table without hearing other respondents in order to give them the opportunity to describe the still Accelerated initial hearing date 41