The ombudsman dealt with the case of a Vietnamese citizen born in 1997 in Mariánské Lázně, who is interested in obtaining citizenship of the Czech Republic by declaration (possible until 21 years of age). However, the Czech Registry of Births and Deaths notified her that according to the records, she has been using a wrong surname. The Czech Registry refused to accept her Vietnamese birth certificate. It recommended to the woman to contest paternity at court, which would allow her to legalise the surname used in all her documents. However, the Czech Registry of Births and Deaths’ procedure was wrong, and it should have accepted the Vietnamese birth certificate.

The problem was that according to the Registry, she should have been using the surname H., while her identity documents (Vietnamese passport, residence permit card) were issued with the surname D.The Registry did not accept her Vietnamese birth certificate issued by the Vietnamese Embassy in Prague. The ombudsmana recommended that the complainant should file a written request for an additional record (of determination of paternity and change of surname) in the Book of Births. The Registry replied that she had been using the surname D. unlawfully, and it was necessary to first contest paternity at court.

According to the Agreement between the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the Vietnamese Socialist Republic on legal cooperation in civil and criminal matters, acknowledgement, denying and determining paternity is governed by the laws of the state of which the child was a citizen at the time of birth. The Registry erred when it requested the complainant to submit a public document on denying paternity citing provisions of the Czech laws. However, the circumstances of the case did not indicate that it would be in the complainant’s interest to apply Czech laws.

The Registry erred when it informed the complainant that she had been using the surname D. unlawfully. The fact that the complainant had two different surnames in her Czech documents was not a result of her mistake, but was caused by imperfection of the Czech legislation. It is very inappropriate and rude for a Czech Authority to tell a citizen of a foreign country that they have been using the surname in their passport unlawfully. Moreover, the Registry did not consider the age of the complainant.

The Registry discontinued the proceedings on the complainant’s application by a resolution. However, it failed to inform the complainant of the underlying documents it used. The complainant did not file her appeal in time due to performance of her study duties. For this reason, the ombudsman sent my inquiry report to the Regional Authority as an application for initiation of review proceedings.

The Regional Authority accepted the conclusion of the report and cancelled the resolution of the Registry in the review proceedings, and returned the matter for a new hearing and decision. The Registry issued a new birth certificate to the complainant stating the surname D.

In 2010, the Labour Office removed the complainant from the list of persons seeking employment. The decision on the removal was subsequently upheld by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The complainant turned to court. The court then issued a decision on the date of termination of the complainant's employment. According to the court's decision, the complainant fulfilled the condition for registration in the list of persons seeking employment. The complainant therefore applied to be registered in the list of persons seeking employment. The Ministry turned his application down. It stated that the complainant had missed the deadline for filing his application.

The ombudsman commenced her inquiry into the matter and found that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs had erred by being inactive, when it did not issue a decision on the appeal, even after the complainant's repeated request. The ombudsman considered that the Ministry's procedure was at variance with law, with the basic principles of the administrative authorities’ procedure and principles of good governance, particular with the principle of timeliness and responsibility. Pursuant to Act No. 82/1998 Coll., as amended, maladministration occurs, inter alia, if the obligation to perform an act or issue a decision within a statutory deadline or reasonable time is breached. Regarding this fact, the ombudsman recommended to the complainant to apply with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs for appropriate satisfaction for intangible damage caused by maladministration on the Ministry's part, based on the disproportional length of the proceedings on his application for renewal of the proceedings, which the complainant did.

After more than 4 years, the Minister issued a decision on the complainant's appeal. This year, the Ministry granted the complainant satisfaction for intangible damage in the amount of CZK 66 250, which was subsequently paid to the complainant. The ombudsman therefore closed the inquiry.

A total of 2043 complaints were received in the 3rd quarter of 2017, which is 149 less than in the same period last year. The ombudsman was approached by 1401 persons in matters falling within her competence under the law, which is 89 less than in the third quarter of the last year. Thus, the proportion of complaints falling within the Ombudsman’s mandate increased to 68% (the figure for the last year was 66%). Most complaints were related to social security (395 complaints); many complaints (160) concerned the area of construction proceedings and spatial planning, and also the prison system, the police and the army (122).

In 70 of the complaints received, the complainants claimed unequal treatment by public administration and private individuals. The number of complaints directed against discrimination within the meaning of the Anti-Discrimination Act reached 56. In 16 cases, we also provided information and analyses related to discrimination to international parties and national bodies.

In the third quarter, we performed 5 systematic visits to facilities where persons restricted in their freedom are or may be present. Regarding monitoring detention of foreign nationals and the performance of administrative expulsion, we monitored 1943 decisions.