OVERVIEW OF THE PERFORMANCE OF OTHER FUNCTIONS ENTRUSTED BY LAW TO THE CHANCELLOR OF JUSTICE THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUALITY AND EQUAL TREATMENT The principle of equal treatment is one of the fundamental principles under the Estonian Constitution. Under § 12(1) of the Constitution, everyone is equal before the law. No one may be discriminated against on the basis of nationality, race, colour, sex, language, origin, religion, political or other views, property or social status, or on other grounds. PART I I. With regard to the constitutional review of legislative acts, the Chancellor submitted two memorandums to the Minister of Internal Affairs in 2013, as he found that the Aliens Act is not in conformity with the principle of equal treatment. According to the Chancellor’s assessment, the Aliens Act is contrary to §  26 and 27 of the Constitution in combination with §  12 and 14 because it does not establish a legal basis for granting a residence permit to a same-sex partner of an Estonian citizen or a foreigner living in Estonia on the basis of a residence permit to enable them lead a family life in Estonia. The Chancellor noted the unconstitutionality of a situation where the state has created grounds to apply for a residence permit for married couples while there are no grounds to apply for a residence permit for same-sex partners who cannot marry. PART III In 2013, the Chancellor was contacted on 39 occasions in connection with the issues of equality and equal treatment. Mostly, these concerned the general fundamental right to equality. Five proceedings concerned different treatment due to a specific attribute of discrimination. In 20 proceedings, the matter concerned conformity of a legal act with the Constitution (i.e. the constitutional review proceedings). The proceedings dealt with different areas of law (e.g. differences in kindergarten fees, transport benefits, access to justice, right to vote, distribution of local council mandates, request for partial compensation of university teaching expenses, relief from the land tax, frequency of technical inspection of electrical installations, conditions for the payment of a special pension, labour law). PART IV Under the Chancellor of Justice Act, with regard to the issues of equality and equal treatment the Chancellor is competent to verify conformity of legislation with the Constitution and the Acts (i.e. the constitutional review competence), verify the activities of representatives of public authority (i.e. the ombudsman competence) and arrange conciliation proceedings for resolving disputes between persons under private law. Division 4 of Chapter 4 of the Chancellor of Justice Act establishes the activities of the Chancellor in promoting the principle of equality and equal treatment. PART II The principle of equal treatment has been elaborated by the Gender Equality Act and the Equal Treatment Act. In addition, the Chancellor found that § 143(1) of the Aliens Act is in conflict with the fundamental rights to a family and equality to the extent that it stipulates that if an alien has been married for less than three years to a person legally residing in Estonia, the alien may be granted a temporary residence permit for a period of up to one year and the permit may be extended in each of the following three years for no longer than one year at a time. In the Chancellor’s 2013 Overview it is noted that the Chancellor initiated proceedings to verify whether the weekly load established under the basic school simplified curriculum for education of children with severe and profound intellectual disability is in conformity with the Act and the Constitution. In the Chancellor’s opinion, the provision under which the weekly load of pupils engaged in education for children with severe and profound intellectual disability is maximum 20 hours in all the three stages of development as well as during the additional study year is compatible with the fundamental right to equality. 67