Thursday, November 13, 2014

CCPL Submission for the EOC's Discrimination Law Review

The Centre for Comparative and Public Law (CCPL) has made a written submission for the Equal Opportunities Commission's Public Consultation on the Discrimination Law Review.  CCPL broadly supported the EOC's proposals for modernisation, harmonisation and simplification of the existing legal framework.  It also highlighted the need to comply with international human rights standards, promote substantive equality and provide an effective remedy for all forms of unjustifiable discrimination.  Antonio Da Roza (Research Assistant Professor) deals with the issue of consolidation and harmonisation based on his study of the structure and content of the four existing anti-discrimination statutes.  From his original empirical study of discrimination litigants, he emphasises the need to ensure free and fair access to the judicial system when making discrimination claims.  Farzana Aslam (Principal Lecturer and Associate Director, CCPL) outlines shortcomings in promoting equality and non-discrimination and highlighted concerns with the EOC's conciliation mechanism.  She advocates for a consolidated human rights body that complies with the Paris Principles.  Kelley Loper (Assistant Professor and Deputy Director, CCPL) explains the need to comply with Hong Kong's international human rights obligations, which include duties to promote substantive and formal equality and to address all forms of unjustifiable discrimination.  She proposes amending the definition of 'indirect discrimination', strengthening the reasonable accommodation requirement, expanding the list of prohibited grounds to include sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religion and immigrant status, and minimising or removing broad exceptions.  Click here to download the full report.

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