OSCE/ODIHR Opinion on the Draft Amendments to the Act on Establishment of the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 3 II. SCOPE OF REVIEW ................................................................................... 3 III. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................... 4 IV. ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................... 5 1. International Standards on National Human Rights Institutions .............................. 5 2. General Comments and Purpose of the Draft Amendments ...................................... 7 3. Mandate ........................................................................................................................... 8 3.1 Explicit Human Rights Mandate ...................................................................................... 8 3.2 Specific Functions of the SNCHR................................................................................... 10 3.4 Annual Report ................................................................................................................ 11 3.5 Exclusion of the Intelligence Services from the Mandate of the SNCHR ....................... 12 4. Funding .......................................................................................................................... 13 4.1. Appropriate Levels of Funding ...................................................................................... 13 4.2. Financial Autonomy ....................................................................................................... 15 4.3 Donor Funding ............................................................................................................... 17 5. The Leadership ............................................................................................................. 17 5.1. Appointment and Selection of the Board ........................................................................ 17 5.2 Composition and Membership Requirements of the Board........................................... 20 5.3 Term of Office and Termination of the Board ................................................................ 21 5.4 Compensation and Full-Time Membership of the Board ............................................... 22 5.5 The Director ................................................................................................................... 23 5. Lawmaking Process ...................................................................................................... 25 6. Issues not Addressed in the Draft Law ....................................................................... 26 6.1 Functional Immunity ...................................................................................................... 26 6.2 Staffing ........................................................................................................................... 27 Annex: Draft Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic on Establishment of the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights 2

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