SwitzerlandDisability Equality Act, Ban on Discrimination in Services Offered to the Public by Private Parties
Art. 6, 8 Abs. 3 und 11 Abs. 2 des Behindertengleichstellungsgesetzes (BehiG, SR 151.3)
In force since .
A disability discrimination rule binding private bodies.
- Instrument type
- an act of a legislature
- Obligation class
- Prohibition
As of .
What it requires
- The Act names no technical standard for a website or app, and the Ordinance defines discrimination as a particularly blatant form of different treatment: the duty is the ban in Article 6 on discriminating against a person on the ground of disability when offering a service to the public.
- If you offer services to the public, do not discriminate against persons with disabilities on the ground of their disability (BehiG Art. 6); for Articles 6 and 8(3) the Ordinance defines discriminating as treating persons with disabilities in a particularly blatant way differently and to their disadvantage, with the aim or effect of degrading or excluding them (BehiV Art. 2 let. d).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
If you get it wrong
Private right of actionYes
Statutory damages
Compensation of at most CHF 5,000, which the court sets having regard to the circumstances, the seriousness of the discrimination and the value of the service (Article 11(2)).
- As of
- Currency
- CHF
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The courts (compensation claims under Article 8(3) of the Disability Equality Act)
Settledness
- As of
- Open questions
- Does "Dienstleistungen" in Article 6 of the Disability Equality Act reach a service that a private party offers to the public through a website or an app?
- Does the Ordinance's definition of "diskriminieren" as treatment that is "besonders krass" leave an inaccessible website or app outside Article 6?
What this law does
Article 6 provides that private parties who offer services to the public must not discriminate against persons with disabilities on the ground of their disability. Article 2(4) states that a disadvantage in using a service exists when using it is impossible for persons with disabilities or possible only under aggravating conditions.
The Ordinance on the Elimination of Disadvantages of Persons with Disabilities provides that, for Article 6 and Article 8(3) of the Act, discriminating means treating persons with disabilities in a particularly blatant way differently and to their disadvantage, with the aim or effect of degrading or excluding them. Article 8(3) provides that a person discriminated against within the meaning of Article 6 may apply to a court for compensation. The compensation is at most CHF 5,000.
In fixing the compensation the court takes account of the circumstances, the seriousness of the discrimination and the value of the service. Proceedings under Articles 7 and 8 are free of charge, except that court costs before the Federal Supreme Court follow the Federal Supreme Court Act, and costs may be imposed on a party who acts recklessly or frivolously.
Disability organisations of nationwide importance that have existed for at least ten years may assert legal claims arising from disadvantages that affect a large number of persons with disabilities. The organisations the Federal Council designates have a right of appeal in civil proceedings to establish discrimination within the meaning of Article 6.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app ships a consumer interface.