Section 38: Equality and non-discrimination
72.Section 38 designates the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for the purposes of sections 75 and 76 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, with certain exceptions listed at subsections (3) and (5) designed to safeguard the Director’s independence in relation to the prosecution of offences. The section 75 duty requires bodies to “have regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity” between the nine section 75 categories (religious belief, political opinion, race or ethnic group, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, disability and dependancy). Section 76 makes it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of religious belief or political opinion.