Constitutional Court finds violation of Roma woman’s rights

The Constitutional Court has overturned the ruling in the case of a Roma female who unsuccessfully took legal action against discrimination in her access to employment, TASR learned on Tuesday. According to the Constitutional Court, lower instance courts violated her guaranteed right to a just court process. "This decision might significantly improve the odds of many individuals who are being discriminated against to secure justice in discrimination lawsuits", said the Roma female's lawyer Vanda Durbáková. In 2010, Viera Pompová applied for a job in the field of social worker in Spišská Nová Ves (Košice region). Despite the fact that she met the requirements in terms of education and multi-year field experience with social work in Roma communities, the job went to another candidate of non-Roma origin, who was less qualified and didn't have any command of the Roma language. Subsequently, the unsuccessful applicant turned to the courts, however in 2012, the Spišská Nová Ves District Court turned down her complaint as unsubstantiated. This decision was then reaffirmed by the Košice Regional Court in 2013, prompting Pompová to bring her case to the Constitutional Court on the grounds that the previous verdicts violated her right to just court proceedings, guaranteed under the Slovak Constitution and a number of international treaties. The case will now return back to the Regional Court. "To me, the verdict of the Constitutional Court represents satisfaction because after years of demanding justice, I've finally lived to see the Constitutional Court ordering lower courts to deal with my case again. I hope that they'll rule on it justly", said Pompová.