Questão jurídica principal
Whether the proceedings were free of charge under Art. 13(5) Equality Act for a public-law employment dispute over non-discriminatory pay.
Decisão extraída
From 1996-07-01 onward, the proceedings were free of charge under Art. 13(5) Equality Act, unless the case is vexatious.
Fundamentação extraída
Art. 17 Equality Act regulates only the temporal application of the substantive claim. It says nothing about procedural rules. In the absence of a contrary transitional rule, new procedural provisions apply immediately to pending cases. The cost-free rule therefore applied from the Act's entry into force.