The final judgment of the High Court in Novi Sad, made in a strategic lawsuit initiated by the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, found that the notary public violated the law and discriminated against a person with a disability by not allowing her to certify a statement with a facsimile made in accordance with the regulations.

Commissioner Brankica Janković assessed that this judgment is of great importance for all persons who, due to disability, are unable to exercise their legal rights before public authorities and persons entrusted with public authority to perform official actions. It must not be allowed that representatives of the authorities violate laws and discriminate due to ignorance or carelessness, Janković pointed out, and added that such judgments of higher courts represent a good way to standardize court practice and improve legal security for citizens who are at increased risk of discrimination.

This strategic litigation was initiated in the public interest, in order to point out the problem faced by people with disabilities who are literate but are unable to sign by hand in their daily lives. They are often required to put a fingerprint or give a power of attorney to another person to sign for them, which leads to unequal treatment of people with disabilities compared to people who can sign with their own hands, explained the Commissioner.

The Commissioner was approached by a person with a disability who suffers from cerebral palsy, has difficulty speaking and cannot use her hands, after the notary public did not allow her to sign the document with the help of a stamp with an engraved signature, as a legally recognized tool that can be used by people with disabilities. The court found that the provisions of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination and the Law on the Prevention of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities were violated, causing a severe form of direct discrimination. The judgment prohibited the defendant from repeating discriminatory actions in the future and ordered them to publish the judgment at their own expense in a daily newspaper with a national circulation.

There are three more ongoing strategic lawsuits initiated in 2022 by the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, due to discrimination based on health status, disability and sexual orientation.