The Advocate of the Principle of Equality represents the Slovenian national body for the principle of equality. The legal basis for this institute, established in October 2016, is the Protection Against Discrimination Act, which entered into force in May of the same year. The main tasks of the Advocate are combating discrimination and promoting equality. The Slovenian body for equality is based on the European Union’s anti-discrimination law, which sets the minimum standard for the Republic of Slovenia as a member of the Union. The necessity of compliance between national and European law led to several changes in the field of anti-discrimination over the years. At the same time we can also notice the development of the institute, which has undergone many changes since it was first established in year 2003.
The thesis mainly focuses on the effectiveness of the Advocate of the Principle of Equality. The text presents five conditions or criteria based on the fulfilment (or failure to fulfil) of which I evaluate the efficiency of the equality body. The conditions are as follows: the Advocates’ independence and autonomy, sufficient funding, comprehensive legislation, the perception of the public, and the active participation of advocates with state and non-state actors.
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