Implementation of the Article 13 Directives in Dutch Equal Treatment Legislation

In the Netherlands, an elaborate legal system of legislative protection against discrimination has been in place since 1994. Partly with the aim of implementing the Article 13 Directives, two new statutes were added to the system in 2003 (disability discrimination) and 2004 (age discrimination) and a number of amendments have been made to the existing legal framework. This has resulted in a highly complex system of legislation. The complicated differences between the scope and exceptions of the various legislative acts will be difficult for most people to comprehend. As far as content is concerned, however, the Dutch legislation generally seems to comply with the requirements of the Directives and often even provides a higher level of protection. Most issues of debate in the Dutch implementation process concern relatively minor points, such as terminology (discrimination or “distinction”?). It is clear, however, that some elements of the Dutch legislation can be considered to be incompatible with the Directives, in particular the complete exclusion of religious institutions and the clergy from the scope of application of the ETA and the decision to define the elements of harassment cumulatively instead of alternatively.