Concept of Gender-Legal Examination

Gender-legal examination is the analysis of regulatory legal acts and their drafts to determine whether they comply with the principles of guaranteeing equal rights and opportunities for women and men.

The examination is carried out under the Law “On Guarantees of Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men” and Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 192 dated 30 March 2020.

Objectives of the Examination

The examination is aimed at:

• identifying provisions that may result in direct or indirect discrimination on the grounds of sex;
• assessing requirements that unjustifiably place persons of a particular sex in a less favourable position;
• identifying legal consequences that may adversely affect equal rights and opportunities;
• preparing recommendations for eliminating discriminatory provisions.

The examination is not limited to checking whether the words “woman” or “man” appear in a document. It must also assess how the provision will affect persons of both sexes in practice.

Authorities Conducting the Examination

Existing regulatory legal acts are examined by State bodies and other organisations in their respective areas of activity under an approved plan.

The legal service of the organisation developing a draft act conducts its initial gender-legal examination. The results are reflected in the legal opinion. If non-compliant provisions are identified, the draft is returned to the responsible structural unit for revision.

After the draft has been agreed with interested bodies and organisations, it is submitted to the justice authorities. As part of the legal examination, the justice authorities also verify the draft’s compliance with the principles of gender equality.

Examination Report

The report must specify:

• information about the regulatory legal act or its draft;
• provisions that do not comply with gender-equality principles;
• the nature and possible legal consequences of the non-compliance;
• examples from law-enforcement practice;
• recommendations to amend or remove the relevant provisions.

If non-compliance is identified, the report is submitted for consideration to the body that drafted or adopted the act.

Important: the results of the examination conducted by the justice authorities must be reflected in the legal examination report, together with a reasoned statement explaining why the draft must be revised.