OSCE/ODIHR Opinion on the Draft Law Amending and Supplementing the Ombudsman Act of
Bulgaria
III. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
8.
The Draft Amendments constitute a positive development and strengthen the Office of
the Ombudsman by further broadening its mandate to promote human rights and
potential human rights violations also within the private sector. The proposed
amendments also seek to ensure an open and transparent selection and appointment
process for the positions of Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman, as well as for the
entire staff.
9.
However, the process of selecting and appointing the Ombudsman could be further
enhanced in terms of pluralism and participatory engagement. Furthermore, the
Ombudsman should be able to protect and promote the human rights of citizens and
non-citizens alike, at least with respect to rights enjoyed by both of these groups
equally. With regard to the Ombudsman’s role as the national preventive mechanism
(hereinafter “NPM”) for Bulgaria, in particular, the Draft Amendments should ensure
that the Ombudsman is endowed with sufficient financial and human resources to also
adequately fulfill its NPM mandate.
10.
More specifically, and in addition to what was stated above, the OSCE/ODIHR makes
the following key recommendations to further enhance the Draft Amendments:
A.
to provide more details on what the promotional mandate of the Ombudsman
entails; [pars 16-17]
B.
to ensure that the Ombudsman’s mandate covers the protection and promotion of
human rights of citizens and non-citizens; [par 20]
C.
to ensure that civil society may also nominate candidates for the position of the
Ombudsman and/or that competent candidates are selected through a selection
committee representing all levels of society; [pars 22-25]
D.
to maximize the pool of candidates by publicizing vacancies widely; [par 27]
E.
to further enhance legislation and policies guaranteeing the representation of
women, national minorities and persons with disabilities among the Ombudsman
Office’s staff; [pars 28-29]
F.
to allocate funding for the Ombudsman through a separate budget line in the
national budget and to ensure a separate budget for the Institution’s function as
NPM;
G.
ensure that the Ombudsman Act, and/or other relevant legislation, is in line with
the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; [pars 36-37] and
H.
following the adoption of the Draft Amendments, to ensure that the Rules of
Procedure are consistent with the amended Ombudsman Act [pars 19, 21, 35 and
39].
Additional Recommendations, highlighted in bold, are also included in the text of the
Opinion.
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