Subject: Slovene Constitutional Provision against discrimination Date: Sun, 12 May 1996 12:14:54 +0100 From: Bogdan Lesnik RON BUCKMIRE writes: >... When did SLOVENIA get on the list? ... I don't know when it got on the list (it would rather depend on how and when the list was composed), but there is a reason for it. The Slovenian Penal Code, operative since Jan. 1, 1995, states in Article 141, 1st paragraph: "Who, on the grounds of nationality, race, coulour, religion, ethnic background, sex, language, political or other conviction, sexual orientation, material condition /wealth or lack thereof/, birth, education, social standing, or any other circumstance, deprives a person of any human right or fundamental freedom, acknowleged by the international community or stated in the Constitution or a law, or restricts such right or freedom to a person, or who on the basis of such discrimination grants a person a special right or privilege, is punished with a fine or prison up to a year." The above translation is fast and awkward (the part in // is my explanation; I'm not sure about English legal terminology), but I am not too happy even with the wording in the original. But then again, I'm not a legal expert. In any case, this provision seems better than nothing. It compensates for not including the protection against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation in the Constitution, which should have been done in 1991. A propos constitutional protection: Congratulations to South Africa! Bogdan Lesnik Ljubljana