Commission for Protection against Discrimination

Overview

1

Brief history

The CPD was established in 2005 by a special Act – the Protection against Discrimination Act (PaDA), adopted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The Commission consists of 9 members – the National Assembly appoints five members, including the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Commission and the President of the Republic of Bulgaria appoints 4 members.
The mandate of the members of the Commission is five years
In the election or appointment of the Commission members, the principles of balanced participation of women and men and of participation of persons belonging to ethnic minorities is respected 
The CPD is accredited as a National human rights institution with status “B” by the Human Rights Council of the United Nations.
The Commission also acts as a national contact point on hate crimes with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. In this capacity, the Commission annually collects data on hate crimes as instructed by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

Governing laws and regulations

Mandate

Sectors covered

Private, Public

Legal standing before the courts

Defending own legally binding decision before the courts

Functions

• Making legally binding decisions on claims of discrimination
• Making recommendations on claims of discrimination [or other decisions on the merit that are not legally binding]
• Organising training, advising and capacity-building activities for particular stakeholders on meeting their obligations
• Organising awareness raising and communication activities
• Advising government on the development, adoption and amendment of law and policy
• Monitoring national law and policy from an equality perspective
• Carrying out specialist research on equality and non-discrimination
• Reporting to national and international bodies on discrimination issues
• Networking with relevant entities in the country and internationally

Fields and grounds

Other grounds

Nationality; human genome; origin; citizenship; convictions; political affiliations; personal or property status; marital status;

Other mandates of the institution

Standalone dedicated national equality body

Institution

Management and Appointments

Management

Single headed equality body (led by director or ombudsman/commissioner)

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Regional or Local offices

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Accountability

National Parliament, National Audit Institution