Submitting a Matter

Submitting a petition

The Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal is an independent and autonomous judicial body that supervises compliance with the Non-discrimination Act and the Act on Equality between Women and Men. The Tribunal carries out this task mainly by considering submitted applications. The Tribunal considers petitions free of charge.

The Tribunal will not consider any matters currently being considered by a court of law or another authority. The Tribunal will also not consider any matters that are more than two years old, unless there is a special reason for doing so.

Petition based on the Non-discrimination Act

In accordance with section 8 of the Non-discrimination Act, no one may be discriminated against based on age, origin, nationality, religion, belief, opinion, political activity, trade union activity, family relationships, state of health, disability, sexual orientation or other personal characteristics. However, the ban on discrimination under the Non-discrimination Act does not apply to discrimination based on gender or gender identity, as provisions on these are laid down in the Act on Equality between Women and Men.

A petition to the Tribunal may be submitted by anyone who has been discriminated against or victimised. If the petition is submitted by someone else, they must be authorised by the person who has been discriminated against or victimised. A petition on behalf of a child may be submitted by the person who has custody of the child.

A person who has been discriminated against or victimised may also submit to the Tribunal a petition regarding a failure to comply with the obligation to promote non-discrimination.

The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman or an association promoting non-discrimination may also submit a petition to the Tribunal in a matter where there is no injured party.

Petition based on the Act on Equality between Women and Men

Only the Ombudsman for Equality or a central labour market organisation may submit to the Tribunal a petition regarding discrimination or countermeasures based on gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, parenthood or family responsibilities.

Private individuals may contact the Ombudsman for Equality if they feel they have been discriminated against or been the subject of countermeasures within the meaning of the Act on Equality between Women and Men.

How to submit a petition

Petitions may be submitted to the National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal in Finnish, Swedish, Sámi or English. As a general rule, the petition must be in writing.

There are no formal requirements on the petition. However, the petition must contain the following:

• The petitioner’s name and domicile
• Contact details of any representative or attorney and a power of attorney
• A postal address to which correspondence regarding the matter and the decision can be sent
• An email address and a telephone number to which the code needed to open the secure email can be sent (only if the petitioner wishes to use electronic communication)
• The petitioner’s claims (see “What can a petitioner request the Tribunal to do?” below)
• The grounds for the petition in as much detail as possible, e.g. information about the type of discrimination/victimisation or how the obligation to promote non-discrimination has been neglected
• Information about what party/parties has/have discriminated against or victimised the petitioner or failed to comply with the obligation to promote non-discrimination, as well as contact details for the said party/parties
• Information about whether the matter has been decided or is pending before a court of law or other authority

Appendices to the petition

Should they so wish, petitioners may also submit any evidence they deem necessary to support their petition.

When submitting appendices, it should be noted that the Tribunal will forward all documents that are taken into account in the decision to the opposing party.

Appendices must be sent as email attachments or as hard copies by post. For security reasons, the Tribunal will not open any links or handle any USB flash drives.

Submitting the petition

Petitions may be submitted by post, email or secure email (see the instructions below).

Contact details of the Tribunal

National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal of Finland
PO Box 27, FI-00023 Government, Finland
yvtltk(at)oikeus.fi

Consideration of petitions by the Tribunal

The consideration of a petition by the Tribunal is free of charge. If a party uses an attorney or incurs any other costs, the party will be responsible for them.

The Tribunal considers matters in writing. The Tribunal will submit to the parties for information all documents taken into account during the consideration of the matter and reserve them an opportunity to comment on their content. The Tribunal ensures that the matter will be investigated to a sufficient extent, and may request further clarification if necessary. When the necessary information has been received or once the parties have no further comments, the matter will be decided by the Tribunal.

If the petition is manifestly unfounded or the matter is not covered by the Tribunal’s mandate, the chairperson may decide to dismiss the petition or declare it inadmissible.

The Tribunal’s average processing time for petitions is currently around 9 to 12 months. The processing time depends on factors such as the amount of evidence provided and whether the parties request additional time to provide their statements.