Syrjintäkiellot virantäytössä

Abstract

Tutkimuksessa käsitellään julkista virantäyttöä koskevia syrjintäkieltoja. Tutkimuksen kohteena oleva normisto käsittää kansallisen normiston ohella eurooppaoikeudellisen ulottuvuuden. Työssä valaistaan eri syrjintäperusteiden tunnusomaisia piirteitä ja sisällöllisiä elementtejä. Syrjintäkiellot liittyvät monin tavoin yleisiin tasa-arvon ja yhdenvertaisuuden periaatteisiin samoin kuin näiden taustalla olevaan oikeudenmukaisuusajatteluun.

Tarkastelu kohdistuu virantäyttöön valtionhallinnossa ja kunnallishallinnossa, joskin myös kirkollishallinto otetaan huomioon. Viranomaisen näkökulmasta tarkasteltuna syrjintäkiellot muodostavat virantäyttötilanteessa päätöksentekoa sitovan normatiivisen kriteeristön. Nimitysharkinnan lähtökohtaisia sisällöllisiä perusteita ovat kelpoisuusvaatimukset, perustuslain 125.2 §:n yleiset nimitysperusteet ja hallinto-oikeudelliset periaatteet. Ne muodostavat sen sääntelykokonaisuuden, mikä jäsentää nimittävän viranomaisen päätöksentekoa ja harkintaa virantäyttötilanteessa. Tätä täydentävät hallinnolliseen menettelyyn liittyvät vaatimukset. Ne koskevat etenkin asian selvittämistä ja päätöksen perustelemista. Syrjimättömyyden periaate kohdistaa kärkensä aineelliseen nimitysharkintaan, joskin sillä on merkitystä myös hallinnollisen menettelyn kannalta.

Kielletyt syrjintäperusteet jaetaan esityksessä kolmeen ryhmään. Ensimmäisen kiellettyjen syrjintäperusteiden ryhmän muodostavat viranhakijan henkilöön sidonnaiset perusteet (ikä, syntyperä, kansalaisuus ja sukupuoli). Toiseen ryhmään kuuluvat viranhakijan mielipiteistä ja vakaumuksesta johtuvat kielletyt syrjintäperusteet (uskonto ja vakaumus sekä poliittinen toiminta ja ammattiyhdistystoiminta). Kolmannen ryhmän muodostavat yleislausekkeella ilmaistut muut näihin verrattavat syyt . Lähes jokaiseen syrjintäkieltoja koskevaan säädökseen tai kansainväliseen sopimukseen sisältyy yksilöityjen syrjintäkieltojen ohella yleislauseke: muut näihin verrattavat seikat tai vastaava ilmaisu. Tämän lausekkeen sisältö on riippuvainen tilannekohtaisesta tulkinnasta ja harkinnasta. Tässä esityksessä rajoitutaan käsittelemään säädösperusteisia syrjintäkieltoja.

Syrjintäkiellot muodostavat ajankohtaisen oikeudellisen problematiikan. Suomalaiset syrjintäkieltosäännökset täyttävät kattavasti kansainvälisten ihmisoikeussopimusten sekä yhteisöoikeuden asettamat vaatimukset. Muuttuvassa yhteiskunnassa esille nousee tuon tuostakin sellaisia uusia seikkoja, mitkä eivät sovi perinteisten syrjintäkieltojen alaan. Oikeudellista sääntelyjärjestelmää on viime vuosina laajasti uudistettu eri tasoilla, mutta tyhjentävään syrjintäperusteiden luetteloon tuskin koskaan on mahdollista säädöstasolla päästä.

This dissertation is concerned with prohibition against discrimination in the filling of official posts.

The set of norms comprising the research object includes not only the national norms but also the European legal dimension (European Community law and EU law and the European Convention on Human Rights). The work sheds light on the characteristic features of reasons for discrimination and on elements of the content. In addition to the surface level to use the concepts of Professor Kaarlo Tuori - attention is paid to legal principles located on the level of legal culture and to general doctrines, likewise to the deep level of law. Prohibitions against discrimination are in many ways connected to the general principles of equality and equality before the law, likewise the thinking on justice underlying them. Thus elements of the deep structure of law are highly significance from the perspective of the prohibitions against discrimination.

The examination addresses the filling of official posts in national and local government, but also includes the Church administration. Contemplated from the perspective of officialdom, (the general frame of reference of the proposal), the prohibitions against discrimination form the normative set of criteria which is binding upon decision-making. The content bases emanating from the consideration of appointment are the eligibility requirements, the General Qualifications for Public office and Other Grounds for Appointments in Section 125.2 § of the Constitution of Finland. These constitute a regulatory entity which delineates the decision-making of the official making the appointment and discretionary powers in the filling of a public post. These serve to complement the requirements pertaining to administrative procedure. This concerns particularly the investigation into the matter and the justification of the decision. The principle of non-discrimination is aimed at the material appointment consideration, although it may have significance from the perspective of administrative procedure.

The eligibility requirements for an appointment can be divided into general and specific. The specific eligibility requirements for posts in local government may be prescribed in law, in the municipal regulations or in the decision under which the post was created. In the case of appointments in national government specific requirements may not be stipulated by a level lower than the Council of State. Other considerations deemed necessary from the perspective of tenure of the post must also be confirmed. Eligibility requirements are binding regardless of their discretionary nature. When an official making an appointment ascertains whether an applicant meets the eligibility requirements the prohibitions against discrimination may be of significance.

The general qualifications for public office contained in Section 125.2 § of the Constitution apply to all public posts. Under Section 121 § of the Constitution the discretionary powers of municipal autonomy would not, according to the provisions of Section 125.2 §, appear to be more extensive than those pertaining to the making of appointments in national government. These principles are not mutually exclusive, as it is a matter of weighing up the principles. In the filling of official posts the general provisions contained in Section 125.2 § are of greater weight than the principles of municipal autonomy. How-ever, this does not mean that the less weighty principle is devoid of significance. Municipal autonomy may gain ascendancy when the merits of the applicants for a post are almost equal.

Forbidden grounds for discrimination are divided in the presentation into three groups. The basis of the division is the list of prohibitions of discrimination in the legislation governing state officials (Valtion virkamieslaki (750/1994) 11 §. The first group of such prohibitions consists of reasons linked to the person of the applicant for the post. This group includes the age, origin, nationality and gender of the person concerned. The second group includes forbidden grounds for discrimination linked to the applicant s opinions and convictions, such as religion, political activity and trade union activity. The third group comprises reasons expressed as other comparable reasons . Almost every provision pertaining to prohibitions against discrimination or to some international agreement includes not only detailed prohibitions against discrimination but also a general maxim: in addition to those aspects specifically mentioned other comparable considerations are prohibite! d or some similar wording. The content of this maxim is dependent on situation-related interpretation and discretion. In this connection we confine ourselves to prohibitions against discrimination derived from regulations.

The structures of the Finnish prohibition regulations against discrimination have many features in common. All anti-discrimination regulations include a list of prohibited reasons for discrimination. Generally such lists also include a general provision: other comparable reason or the equivalent. It is common to the regulations that discrimination prohibition are not absolute , as it is possible to deviate from the discrimination prohibition either by reason of specific justifications (e.g. weighty or acceptable reason due to the quality of the work ) or by allowing what is referred to as positive discrimination.

The Finnish prohibitions against discrimination comprehensively fulfill the International Convention on Human Rights, likewise the demands of Community law. Almost all the important regulations pertaining to working life include prohibitions against discrimination, thus discrimination in one of the most important areas of life is effectively prohibited.