We are pleased to announce the publication of our legal strategy for 2008/9.
The strategy's base
The Commission’s legal strategy has as its base:
- The Commission’s, vision, mission and corporate strategic priorities for 2008–9.
- The Commission’s statutory duties and powers and its work across the three nations.
- The structure of the Commission and the division of the Commission’s legal work into legal policy, enforcement and litigation and casework.
Proposed Legal Strategy for 2008–9
The proposed legal strategy has been developed in two sections:
- Criteria – for each of the separate areas of legal work; these criteria will be applied to determine whether, when and how the Commission might use its legal powers.
- Priorities – the legal and policy issues, the areas or sectors and the major discrimination and human rights concerns in relation to which the Commission expects to use its legal powers: the ‘key equalities and human rights battlegrounds’ targeted for legal action by the Commission during 2008–9.
Key legal issues for the Commission in 2008/9
During 2008/9 the Legal Directorate will consider all of the issues within its remit, and the detailed priorities for each of the equality strands and human rights are set out on pages 12–24. The following key issues have been identified as overarching priorities for use of the Commission’s powers by the Legal Directorate in 2008–9:
- Influencing government proposals for a Single Equality Bill to secure legislation that harmonises and strengthens protection and means of enforcement, reinforces and extends equality duties and establishes a robust legal framework for the achievement of equality.
- Promoting a constitutional guarantee of equality: an endorsement by parliament of equality as a fundamental principle to which other procedures, rules and law would be subject and in accordance with which other laws should be interpreted by the courts and tribunals.
- Securing proper implementation of EU equality law.
- Exploring and challenging multiple/intersectional discrimination, which raises issues relating to more than one protected ground or which involves both discrimination and human rights issues.
- Developing and expanding legal protection against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, religion or belief and age which for the first time are supported by a statutory commission and under untested new legislation, for example on gender reassignment.
- Securing better understanding and protection of human rights – co-operating with the Scottish Commission for Human Rights; responding to proposals for a Bill of Rights, seeking to ensure that any Bill of Rights would extend and would not dilute or diminish human rights in Great Britain.
- Maximising the impact of the race, disability and gender equality duties across all functions of public authorities.
For more details, download the full Legal Strategy document (Word 244kb).