Race Regulations 2003
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On 17th June 1997 the Heads of State and Government
of the fifteen member states of the European Union revised
the Treaty of the European Community at Amsterdam. Article
13 of the Treaty provides a legal base for Community
action to combat discrimination on the grounds of racial
or ethnic origin.
On 25th November 1999 the European Commission published
a package of draft proposals to combat discrimination
under Article 13. Included in the package was a draft
Directive implementing the principle of equal treatment
between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin.
The Directive was agreed unanimously at the European
Social Affairs Council on 6th June 2000 and published
in the official Journal of the European Communities
on 19 July 2000 as directive no. 2000/43/EC. The EC
Article 13 Race Directive establishes, for the first
time, a minimum standard of legal protection from racial
discrimination across Europe.
The UK's domestic legislation already conformed to
many of the provisions of the Race Directive - however
some amendments to the Race Relations Act were required.
The Race Relations Act 1976 (Amendment) Regulations
2003 implement the Race Directive into UK law. They
were laid before Parliament on 8 May. The debates on
the regulations took place in the Commons and in the
Lords on 11 June. Both Houses approved the regulations.
The final regulations have now been published and are
available on the HMSO website.
The regulations came into force on 19 July 2003.
Guidance
The Home Office has produced a leaflet explaining that
there have been changes to the law:
More detailed guidance and information on the new provisions
is also available:
New Equality Legislation
The Race Directive is being implemented in tandem with
the Employment
Directive (on which the Department for Trade and
Industry and Department for Work and Pensions have the
lead) which covers discrimination in the areas of sexual
orientation, religion and belief and disability.
The Employment Directive outlaws discrimination on
grounds of sexual orientation, religion or belief, disability
and age in employment and vocational training. New legislation
- The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations
2003 and the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief)
Regulations 2003 - will come into force in December
2003. Amendments to the Disability Discrimination Act
1995 will come into force in October 2004 and new legislation
outlawing discrimination on grounds of age by the end
of 2006.
Frequently Asked Questions - The EC Race Directive
What is an EC Directive?
EC Directives are European Community laws that Member
States must comply with. EC Directives are addressed
to the Member States and set out the result to be achieved,
normally with substantive requirements in some detail.
It is up to individual Member States to choose the form
and methods used, so Directives require transposition
into national law. The margin of discretion that is
left to individual Member States will vary from case
to case. It is a requirement of Community law that EC
legislation should be implemented in an effective, timely
and proportionate manner.
What was the purpose of the EC Race Directive?
The Directive established, for the first time, a minimum
standard of legal protection from racial discrimination
across Europe.
How was the Directive implemented in the UK?
The UK’s domestic legislation already conformed
to most of the provisions of the Directive. However,
some amendments to the Race Relations Act were required
in order to implement it. The UK Government considered
a range of legislative options for achieving this and
chose to implement the Directive via secondary legislation
in the form of regulations. The Government issued two
public consultations document which contain proposals
for implementation.
Why was the Race Directive agreed ahead of the other proposed measures to combat discrimination?
Member States and the European Parliament were unanimous
in their agreement for the need for early action to
combat the threat of racism and xenophobia.
What did the Race Directive require Member States to prohibit?
Every country in the European Union, and countries
seeking to join the EU, are required to have laws that
prohibit direct and indirect discrimination on the basis
of racial or ethnic origin within the fields covered
by the Directive. The Directive also requires that victimisation
as a result of making a complaint about discrimination
should be unlawful.
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