Recommends an anti-deadlock mechanism to unblock situations where the required agreement of two-thirds of parliamentary support for certain appointments is not reached.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman, Mr. Anthony C. Mifsud, presented the Ombudsplan 2023 to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Anglu Farrugia.

The Ombudsplan 2023 highlights the urgent need for an anti-deadlock mechanism to unblock situations where the required agreement of two-thirds of parliamentary support for certain appointments is not reached and makes recommendations to this effect.

As in previous years, the Ombudsplan 2023 also highlights issues that the Ombudsman considers that deserve particular discussion, namely the culture of sanctioning and the need for an efficient public service with sound values.

The Ombudsplan will be tabled in Parliament after it reconvenes from the summer recess and will be discussed later during a special sitting of the House Business Committee.

The Ombudsplan can be downloaded from here

PRESS RELEASE No 163/22

Luxembourg, 29 September 2022

Judgment of the Court in Case C-597/20 | LOT (Payment of compensation ordered by the administrative authority)

The national authority responsible for the enforcement of the Air Passengers Rights Regulation may, in response to individual complaints, compel a carrier to pay compensation to passengers That is the case provided that the Member State concerned has granted that body a power to that effect

Following a delay of more than three hours of their flight from New York to Budapest, a number of passengers brought the matter before the Hungarian authority responsible for the enforcement of the Air Passengers Right Regulation asking it to order LOT, the air carrier concerned, to pay them the compensation provided for in that regulation.

Indeed, that authority found that the regulation had been infringed and ordered LOT to pay compensation in the amount of EUR 600 to each passenger concerned.

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In her practice, Seimas Ombudsperson Erika Leonaitė encountered cases when convicts were not provided with administrative decisions after their requests were examined by the Commission for the appointment of convicts and their transfer to or from the social care sector of a correctional institution. The convicts were only given copies of the minutes of the Commission’s meeting with a recommendation not to assign them to the requested sector, without specifying how to appeal the decision. After assessing these circumstances, the Seimas Ombudsperson started an investigation on her own initiative, in order to determine whether the Commission’s final decision meets the requirements for an administrative decision set forth in the Republic of Lithuania Law on Public Administration.

During the investigation, it was established that the description of the Procedure for assigning convicts and transferring them to the social care sector of the correctional institution or from this sector (further on – the Procedure) and the actions of the responsible officials are described in sufficient detail in the Procedure when the Commission adopts a Recommendation on the assignment of the convict to the social care sector. However, attention was drawn to the fact that in the description of the procedure there is no clear procedure for making a decision, informing about the decision and appealing the decision, after the Commission has submitted a Recommendation not to transfer the convict to the social care sector of the correctional institution. The Seimas Ombudsperson emphasized that the absence of clear regulations can lead to the formation of faulty practices or inappropriate interpretation of legal acts, as the convicted person does not receive a final decision regarding the examination of his request and transfer/non-transfer to the social care sector.

In the Statement of the Seimas Ombudsperson it is also emphasized that the Law on Public Administration contains the necessary requirements for an administrative decision (such elements as the legal and factual basis of the administrative decision or other circumstances that influenced the administrative decision, the reasons for the administrative decision, the procedure for appealing the decision, etc. must be specified), and the Commission’s Minutes of the Meeting with the Recommendation “to assign/not to assign to the social care sector” do not meet the requirements for an administrative decision. 

The Seimas Ombudsperson stressed that administrative decisions must be made in accordance with the principles of good public administration and the principle of the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution, one of the main elements of which is legal certainty and legal clarity. For this reason, she recommended that in order to prevent future violations related to the right of convicts to receive a clear and reasoned decision and to appeal an unsatisfactory decision, it is appropriate to improve the legal regulation. Moreover, it is appropriate to enhance the description of the Procedure, specifying the actions of institutions of deprivation of liberty and the mandatory decisions to be made in case the Commission adopts a Recommendation not to transfer convicts to the requested sector.

Sabina Aliyeva, the Human Rights Commissioner of Azerbaijan met with Robert Spano, the President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) during her official visit to Strasbourg, France.  

At the meeting, the sides discussed various human rights issues of common interest.

While outlining the mutual cooperation between the Ombudsman Institution of Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe (CoE), S.Aliyeva appreciated the support provided by this international organization to strengthen the activity of the Ombudsman Institution in the field of prohibition of discrimination. The Ombudsman added that civil society members are also actively involved in the relevant training organized in the capital city and regions.

In her speech, the Ombudsman said that the work towards strengthening the control mechanism over ensuring the right of access to information was extended, relevant awareness-raising events were held and related protocols were compiled for the violation of this right.  

In the course of the meeting, R. Spano was informed of the measures taken for the incorporation of the national legislation into the European Convention on Human Rights and relevant proposals put forward by the Ombudsman.  

Furthermore, it was noted that the Ombudsman has sent requests of various content to the Constitutional Court. S.Aliyeva also shared information about the experience of the Ombudsman regarding the implementation of her recommendations reflected in her Annual Reports.

The Ombudsman also said that in the post-war period, the biggest obstacle to the safe return to the liberated territories of Azerbaijan and to the full speed of the reconstruction works is the landmines buried by Armenia in those territories and their failure to present their accurate minefield maps. In addition, it was also emphasized that Armenia has not yet provided any information about the whereabouts of nearly 4 thousand Azerbaijanis, who have been reported missing for almost 30 years.   

During the meeting, R.Spano has been presented newly published legal educational materials in foreign languages and the compilation of materials providing information on the Ombudsman’s activity during the war and post-war periods.