Procedural justice perceptions in the mediation of discrimination reports by a national equality body

Abstract

National equality bodies (NEBs) must provide independent assistance to victims of discrimination in complaints about discrimination. As the EU Directive 2000/43/EC only introduced a minimum programme, there is great variety in design at the national level. In this article, the focus lies on the out-of-court approach of the Belgian NEB (Unia) which is founded on dialogue with the involved parties. Based on semi-directive interviews with 18 persons who reported discrimination and hate speech, the factors that contribute to their satisfaction with the assistance procedure of the NEB are explored. This satisfaction is approached from a socio-psychological perspective based on the relational model of procedural justice which implies that people care about a fair procedure because of the message it conveys to them about their relationship with the entity enacting the procedure. As established in prior research on informal dispute resolution, it was found that the quality of their interaction with the staff members at the NEB played a great role in the assessment of the procedure.