Community law and national commitments regarding the combating of discrimination. These recommendations also referred to the restrictive interpretation of the prohibition against discrimination that cannot comply with international and Community law requirements ín respect of protection against discrimination. For example, cases of Turkish men being denied access to discotheques or advertisements that offer jobs or housing for Austrians only were not adequately prosecuted and punished. In accordance with the observations of the AOB and many NGOs, this is also a reason why affected persons seldom make complaints to the authorities despite having experienced discrimination and why the few proceedings that are initiated are often dismissed without any penalties. Therefore, the AOB has already directed a recommendation twice to the Federal Government to ensure that the prohibition of discrimination based on ethnic origin is consistent Austria-wide and is enforced effectively. An amendment of the law came into force as at 1 September 2012. Referring to a recommendation made by the AOB, Art. III (1) (3) of the Introductory Act to the Administrative Procedure Acts 1991 was re- New legal situation enables more efficient prosecution vised so that now more efficient prosecution and punishment of discriminatory practices should be possible. In future namely, the parties involved no longer need to prove that they had been penalised with regard to their access to public assets and services “solely” due to their ethnic origin. The AOB hopes that this – in addition to other necessary measures, such as training of government agency employees and information campaigns – will contribute to a significant improvement of protection against discrimination relative to access to public assets and services. Individual case: VA-ST-LAD/0007-A/1/2010 75