The National Council for Combating Discrimination (Consiliul Naţional pentru Combaterea Discriminării) decision no. 388 from 6 July 2022

Country

Romania

Title

The National Council for Combating Discrimination (Consiliul Naţional pentru Combaterea Discriminării) decision no. 388 from 6 July 2022

View full Case

Year

2022

Decision/ruling/judgment date

Tuesday, June 07, 2022

Incident(s) concerned/related

Discrimination

Related Bias motivation

Race/Ethnicity
Religion

Groups affected

Muslims

Court/Body type

National Human Rights Body

Court/Body

The National Council for Combating Discrimination (Consiliul Naţional pentru Combaterea Discriminării)

Key facts of the case

The case concerns a news article that covers different positions from within the Muslim community from Constanta in regard to a statute of a Kazakh composer that was placed there. The petitioner claims that the way a news article portrays the different opinions from the Muslim community and that fact that it claims the community is worried about this statute is discriminatory and it sows discontent within the local Muslim community.

Main reasoning/argumentation

The equality body rejected the complaint, finding that the journalist acted within the freedom of speech margins and presented the situation in an unbiassed manner.

Is the case related to the application of the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia, the Racial Equality Directive?

Key issues (concepts, interpretations) clarified by the case

Any limitation of the right to expression must be expressly provided by law (legal provision which, in turn, must be predictable and accessible), must pursue a legitimate purpose, be necessary in a democratic society and proportional.

Results (sanctions, outcome) and key consequences or implications of the case

The equality body rejected the complaint.

Key quotation in original language and its unofficial translation into English with reference details

“Prin urmare, având în vedere contextul în care au fost făcute afirmațiile și modalitatea de exprimare, precum și calitatea reclamatului, de organizație neguvernamentală care are drept scop analizarea critică a demersurilor care vizează cetățenii, Colegiul director constată că, prin postare nu s-a depăşit sfera libertății de exprimare, fapt pentru care nu se impune o ingerință a statului prin constatarea şi sancţionarea faptei ca fiind o formă de discriminare.” "Therefore, taking into account the context in which the statements were made and the manner of expression, as well as the quality of the complaint, of a non-governmental organization whose purpose is to critically analyse the actions aimed at citizens, the Board of Directors finds that the statements did not exceed the limits placed on freedom of expression, hence there is no scope for the state to interfere and sanction the statements as a form of discrimination."

DISCLAIMERThe information presented here is collected under contract by the FRA's research network FRANET. The information and views contained do not necessarily reflect the views or the official position of the FRA.