44 ĐORĐEVIĆ v. CROATIA JUDGMENT authorities have failed to afford adequate protection in that respect to the second applicant. Therefore, there has also been a violation of Article 8 of the Convention in respect of the second applicant. II. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 14 OF THE CONVENTION 154. The applicants further complained that the acts of abuse against them and the response of the competent authorities were also discriminatory, on the basis of their Serbian ethnic origin and the first applicant’s disability. They relied on Article 14 of the Convention, which provides: “The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in [the] Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status.” Admissibility 1. The parties’ submissions 155. The Government argued that the applicants could have brought a claim pursuant to the Prevention of Discrimination Act, by which they would have been able to seek an acknowledgment of any possible discrimination as set out in that Act, an order for the removal of the discrimination and its consequences, as well as compensation. 156. The applicants contended in reply that proceedings under the Prevention of Discrimination Act did not constitute an effective remedy because they could not address the particular situation complained of. Furthermore, they claimed that two years after that Act had been passed, there was no relevant case-law showing either that citizens had felt confident about instituting proceedings pursuant to the Act, or that the proceedings that had been instituted had progressed with adequate speed. 2. The Court’s assessment 157. As regards Article 14 of the Convention, the Court reiterates that it has no independent existence, but plays an important role by complementing the other provisions of the Convention and its Protocols, since it protects individuals placed in similar situations from any discrimination in the enjoyment of the rights set forth in those other provisions (see Dudgeon v. the United Kingdom, 22 October 1981, § 67, Series A no. 45; Chassagnou and Others v. France [GC], nos. 25088/94, 28331/95 and 28443/95, § 89, ECHR 1999-III; and Timishev v. Russia, nos. 55762/00 and 55974/00, § 53, ECHR 2005-XII). Although the