UUI, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Endeligt svar på spørgsmål 519: Spm. om regeringens svar til FN’s komite mod racediskrimination i anledning af afgørelsen af 13. december 2018 i sagen S.A. mod Danmark, til justitsministeren

Udlændinge- og Integrationsudvalget 2018-19 (1. samling)
UUI Alm.del
Offentligt

Copenhagen, 5 April 2019

CERD Communication No. 58/2016

S.A. v. Denmark

Follow-up observations of the Government of Denmark

1. Introduction

By letter of 21 January 2019, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (here-

inafter ‘the Committee’) transmitted its decision adopted on 13 December 2018 in the above

case to the Government of Denmark (hereinafter ‘the Government’).

Pursuant to the request made in para. 10 of the Committee’s decision, the Government was re-

quested to inform the Committee, within 90 days, of all measures taken to give effect to the

Committee’s opinion.

2. The Government’s follow-up observations

2.1

It follows from paras. 7.3 and 7.9ff of the Committee’s decision that the Committee finds

that

the decisions of the Aalborg Municipality (Aalborg

Kommune)

on 22 July 2009 and

again on 4 August 2009 denying the petitioner’s rights as a Danish citizen amounted to a

violation of his rights under article 5 (d)(iii)

of the International Convention on the Elimina-

tion of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (hereinafter ‘the Convention’) and that

the sub-

sequent compensation received by the petitioner did not comply with article 6 of the Con-

vention, as it was not just and adequate, and failed to rehabilitate the petitioner.

Furthermore, it follows from para. 9 of the decision that the Committee

recommends that the

State party reviews the amount of the compensation provided to the petitioner and also

reviews the decision of ordering the petitioner to cover the legal costs.

The Government hereby informs the Committee that, on 8 March 2019, the Danish Board of

Equal Treatment (Ligebehandlingsnævnet) stated that it would not reopen the petitioners’ case

for a review in order to reconsider the compensation received by the petitioner.

It follows from the Board’s statement,

inter alia,

that:

‘The issue of reopening

The Board of Equal Treatment has not received a request from the author to reopen the

case.

UUI, Alm.del - 2018-19 (1. samling) - Endeligt svar på spørgsmål 519: Spm. om regeringens svar til FN’s komite mod racediskrimination i anledning af afgørelsen af 13. december 2018 i sagen S.A. mod Danmark, til justitsministeren

The Board of Equal Treatment has considered whether the decision of the Committee on

the Elimination of Racial Discrimination gives reason to reopen the case on the Board’s

own initiative.

Pursuant to section 10 of the Act on the Board of Equal Treatment (lov

om Ligebehand-

lingsnævnet)

the Board may decide to reopen a case, in which a decision has been made,

if special reasons make it appropriate.

However, the Board of Equal Treatment considers that there is no basis to reopen the case

on its own initiative. The issue of the amount of the compensation has been definitively

decided by the courts, and there has not emerged any new facts in the proceedings before

the Committee, which could justify reopening of the case in its entirety.

Thus, the Board does not take any further action in this case at this time.’

The full wording of the statement of 8 March 2019 is appended as Exhibit I.

2.2

It also follows from para. 9 of the Committee’s decision that the

State party is also reques-

ted to give wide publicity to Committee’s opinion, including among administrative and

judicial bodies, as well as the Board of Equal Treatment, and to translate it into the offi-

cial language of the State party.

To ensure wide publicity to the decision adopted by the Committee, the Board of Equal Treat-

ment has made the Committee’s decision publicly available on the Board’s website

(www.ast.dk/naevn/ligebehandlingsnaevnet) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Udenrigs-

ministeriet)

has also referred to the decision on its website (www.um.dk). Moreover, a sum-

mary of the Committee’s decision in the case will also be included in the annual report for 2019

of the Board of Equal Treatment, which will be available at the website of the Board. Finally,

the decision has been dispersed to administrative and judicial bodies involved in the case.

In light of the prevalence of English language skills in Denmark, the Government sees no reason

for a full translation of the Committee’s decision into Danish.

3. Conclusion

With reference to the measures mentioned above, the Government is of the opinion that full ef-

fect has been given to the decision of the Committee adopted on 13 December 2018.