This thesis represents a comprehensive analysis of discrimination and an institutional mechanism to eliminate the discrimination in Ukraine. Legal foundations of discrimination, judicial, extrajudicial and international mechanisms to eliminate the discrimination have been defined in this paper.
The work contains a comprehensive analysis of the discrimination in the context of the constitutional and legal regulation; an analysis of the institutional mechanism used to eliminate the discrimination and improve legal regulation of the discrimination in Ukraine has been also carried out.
The work reveals the essence of discrimination as a subject of the constitutional and legal study and contains a study of the constitutional aspects of eliminating the discrimination.
Basic elements of the constitutional and legal regulation aimed at ensuring equality of all people in exercising their rights and freedoms have been characterized.
Methodological tools of the constitutional and legal study of the discrimination and institutional mechanism to eliminate the discrimination have been considered in this paper.
A chronological description of changes of the ideas of discrimination as a legal phenomenon by means of study of the Ukrainian and foreign scientists, international treaties and philosophical and legal heritage of the European nations has been proposed.
Historical change of the ideas of equality in different periods has been studied and periodization of change of the ideas of discrimination (inequality) as a legal phenomenon has been proposed.
A number of conceptual provisions and notions, practical recommendations regarding certain aspects of understanding the equality principle and prohibition of discrimination, mechanism to eliminate it have been explained.
Definition of discrimination as a specific violation of the rights of a man and a citizen was improved, the essence of which notion is denying a person’s (groups of persons’) liberty, equality and dignity, or prevention from implementing these values in social relations at one’s sole discretion in doing acts that intrinsically and by their consequences do not violate the other persons’ rights.
Understanding of the essence of discrimination as a breach of the values of liberty, dignity and equality was elaborated. As breach of liberty, discrimination makes formation of people’s will impossible or restricts it, which will is a mandatory condition for participation in social relations for people; as breach of dignity - possibility of people to establish and assert themselves as full members of social relations, their rights to free development; as breach of equality, discrimination threatens democratic, social and legal state.
A system to classify the discrimination as a social, legal, constitutional phenomenon was proposed based on separation of types (considering diversity) and forms (considering methods of manifestation) of discrimination.
Vision of the legislative regulation of counteracting discrimination based on sexual orientation has been further developed by way of differentiation between the notions of traditional and unified values, which will allow ensuring equal treatment (protection) of these values in social relations.
Scientific sources and statutory instruments have been analyzed; practices of applying the principle of equality and prohibition on discrimination in activity of the European Court of Human Rights, Constitutional Court of Ukraine and certain foreign countries, courts of general jurisdiction of Ukraine have been also analyzed.
As a result of a systemic study of the mechanism of elimination of discrimination in Ukraine from the perspective of determining a place of every party in such mechanism, analysis of practical application of responsibility by each such party in the area studied and results of such application, comprehensive analysis of legal relations between the parties to the mechanism and efficiency thereof, defining issues, studying experiences of the foreign states, proposals to eliminate the deficiencies of the mechanism to counteract discrimination revealed have been substantiated.
Expediency of introduction of a renewed mechanism to counteract discrimination in Ukraine has been substantiated.
Discrimination in Ukraine in all areas shall be eliminated by a unified independent public institution with respective authorities that focuses on anti-discrimination activities only and that would accumulate comprehensive information about discrimination, eliminate discrimination consistently and from different perspectives, including following the trends, development of strategies to overcome this phenomenon, coordination of interaction of the parties to the mechanism.
