The Falkland Islands Constitution Order 2008

Protection from discrimination

16.—(1) Subject to subsections (4), (5) and (6), no law shall make any provision which is discriminatory either in itself or in its effect.

(2) Subject to subsections (6) and (7), no person shall be treated in a discriminatory manner by any person acting by virtue of any written law or in the performance of the functions of any public office or any public authority.

(3) In this section, the expression “discriminatory” means affording different treatment to different persons on any grounds such as sex, sexual orientation, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status.

(4) Subsection (1) shall not apply to any law so far as the law makes provision—

(a) with respect to the entry into or exclusion from, or the employment, engaging in any business or profession, movement or residence within, the Falkland Islands of persons who do not belong to the Falkland Islands, or for any other purpose with respect to such persons to the extent that the provision is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society; or

(b) whereby persons of any such description of grounds as is mentioned in subsection (3) may be subjected to any restriction or disadvantage or may be accorded any privilege or advantage that, having regard to its nature and to special circumstances pertaining to those persons or to persons of any other such description, is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society.

(5) Nothing contained in any law shall be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of subsection (1) to the extent that it makes provision with respect to qualifications (not being qualifications specifically relating to any of the grounds of discrimination referred to in subsection (3)) for service as a public officer or as a member of a disciplined force or for the service of a local government authority or a body corporate established by any law for public purposes.

(6) Nothing contained in or done under the authority of any law shall be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of this section to the extent that it has an objective and reasonable justification and there is a reasonable proportion between the provision of law in question or, as the case may be, the thing done under it and the aim which that provision or the thing done under it seeks to realise.

(7) Nothing in subsection (2) shall affect any discretion relating to the institution, conduct or discontinuance of civil or criminal proceedings in any court that is vested in any person by this Constitution or any other law.