The Advocate of the Principle of Equality (in Slovenian Zagovornik načela enakosti) is an independent state body established to promote equal treatment and ensure protection against discrimination.
Discrimination is unequal treatment based on no legitimate reason, i.e. when you are treated worse than others solely due to your individual (or several joint) personal grounds. Personal grounds are gender, ethnicity, race and ethnic origin, language, disability, religion, sexual identity, sexual orientation, age, property status, social status, education, citizenship and others.
This means it is against the law to be treated unequaly (i.e. to be disciriminated against) when, for example, applying for a job or social benefits, when accessing education, when accessing goods and services available to the public, including housing facilities, when your employer decides on promotion or wages etc.
The Advocate of the Principle of Equality can investigate complaints related to potential discrimination and determine whether you have been discriminated against. He can also perform certain tasks of inspection over the implementation of the Protection Against Discrimination Act and provide assistance to victims of dicrimination. He offers information on discrimination, counseling and legal assistance in exercising individual rights in relation to protection against discrimination in proceedings related to discriminatio. He can explain to you which legal channels you may make use of and how.
He can investigate situations related to discrimination by both state actors and bodies as well as private persons.
example If you are a job candidate and believe you were not employed due to your plan to get pregnant, this is discrimination. In that case you can turn to the Advocate of the Principle of Equality.