In two cases, the Supreme Court confirmed the Defender’s previous legal opinion

A Muslim girl of Somali origin was unable to study at the Secondary Medical School in Prague because she insisted on wearing a hijab. The Defender concluded that the provision of the school regulations which prohibited the wearing of headdress was indirectly discriminatory on the grounds of religion. The Supreme Court (File No. 25 Cdo 348/2019) confirmed the Defender’s opinion and ruled that a prohibition covering religious headdress worn during theoretical courses at a school did not pursue any legitimate objective.

An employer “pressed” several employees into quitting their jobs because they had reached the retirement age. Eventually, they were given notice on the grounds of redundancy. The Defender believed that in cases of alleged discrimination, the courts should deal with the specific grounds given for the selection of redundant employees. One of the employees defended herself in court against the notice she had received. Lower-instance courts acknowledged that the steps in question constituted age discrimination and declared the notice invalid. These conclusions were also confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2019.