2 August 2011, ref. no. 936

Acting within the framework of legally prescribed competencies to receive and consider complaints for violation of the provisions of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination, give opinions and recommendations and impose statutory measures (Art. 33, para. 1, item 1 of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia” 22/2009), acting upon the complaint of I. p. o. s. m. i., the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality gives the following

OPINION

Decision on categories of invalids who can use public parking lots (“Official Gazette of the City of Belgrade”, No. 28/2003) and the Rulebook on categories of war invalids, civilian war invalids and persons with disabilities who can use predetermined parking spaces at public parking lots free of charge (“Official Gazette of the City of Belgrade”, No. 27/2006), have violated the principle of equality.

These documents, which prescribe categories of persons who can use parking spaces for the parking of vehicles of persons with disabilities, discriminates against certain categories of citizens of Belgrade, namely parents and guardians of children with developmental disorders who are in the regular education system or are not involved in the education system, in relation to parents and guardians of children with developmental disorders attending special schools.

The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, in accordance with Art. 33, para. 1, item 1 and Art. 39, para. 2 of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination, gives the city to Belgrade the following

RECOMMENDATION

1. TheBelgrade City Assembly and the Secretariat for Social Protection of the City of Belgrade will remove from the Decision on categories of invalids who can use public parking lots and the Rulebook on categories of war invalids, civilian war invalids and persons with disabilities who can use predetermined parking spaces at public parking lots free of charge, conditions that violate the principle of equality in relation to certain categories of citizens of Belgrade based on their personal characteristics.
2. Belgrade City Assembly and the Secretariat for Social Protection of the City of Belgrade will amend the incorrect, outdated and discriminatory terminology in the Decision on categories of invalids who can use public parking lots and the Rulebook on categories of war invalids, civilian war invalids and persons with disabilities who can use predetermined parking spaces at public parking lots free of charge.
3. Belgrade City Assembly and the Secretariat for Social Protection of the City of Belgrade will take care in the future that their decisions do not violate the provisions of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination, and will refrain from making unwarranted discrimination or unequal treatment or omission (exclusion, restriction or preference), in relation to persons or groups of persons, based on personal characteristics.
4. Belgrade City Assembly and the Secretariat for Social Protection of the City of Belgrade shall notify the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, within 30 days of receiving the opinion and recommendation, on the measures to be implemented in order to act upoon the recommendation.

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY

Dr. Nevena Petrušić