Discrimination — complaint to the Public Defender: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Classification: protected grounds include race, language, sex, age, citizenship, origin, religion, disability and others (Law of Georgia on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, Art. 1); discrimination is a worse position on the basis of a ground compared with others in similar circumstances (Law on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, Art. 2); the law applies also to private persons and companies (Art. 3), including in goods, services and housing (Art. 2).
2. ⏰ Court or Defender: a court claim must be filed within 1 year from when you learned, or should have learned, of the discrimination (Civil Procedure Code of Georgia (CPC), Art. 363²); the Defender is not a mandatory step before court (CPC, Art. 363²); compensation for moral and material harm is awarded only by a court (CPC, Art. 363²). The law does not say that a complaint to the Defender stops this deadline, so do not rely on it; where a court dispute over the same facts is pending, the proceedings are suspended (Law on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, Art. 9).
3. Complaint: the Public Defender examines a complaint from a person or a group (Law on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, Art. 6), free of charge (Law of Georgia on the Public Defender, Art. 16); the complaint must set out facts that give grounds to presume discrimination, and supporting materials (Law on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, Art. 8); the alleged perpetrator must then prove that no discrimination occurred (Art. 8).
4. Outcome: an oral hearing and conciliation (Art. 8); confirmed discrimination leads to a recommendation to restore equality (Art. 9); the addressee must consider the matter and reply in writing within 20 days (Law on the Public Defender, Art. 24). If the addressee ignores the recommendation or does not agree with it, the Defender may itself bring a claim against the company in court (CPC, Art. 363²); against an administrative body, the Defender may bring a claim under the Administrative Procedure Code (Law on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, Art. 6).
5. Where to apply: the Public Defender of Georgia; the district court for a discrimination claim.
6. Evidence: a written refusal, correspondence, audio or video, witnesses, how others were served.
7. Pitfalls: waiting for the Defender and missing the one-year deadline; expecting the Defender to award compensation or impose a fine, when the Defender issues a recommendation; not naming the ground and not showing a comparison with others.

Be sure to check

• what discrimination is (a ground plus worse treatment compared with others), and that the law also applies against private companies
• in a complaint, facts and evidence giving grounds to presume discrimination; the burden of proof then falls on the perpetrator; the complaint is free of charge
• the outcome is conciliation or a recommendation; the addressee must reply within 20 days; if refused, the Defender may apply to court
• compensation is awarded only by a court; the claim must be filed within 1 year, and a complaint to the Defender is not mandatory and does not extend the deadline