The Ombudsman, Michelle Morris, welcomes the recent decision of the Adjudication Panel for Wales to disqualify Former Councillor Caryl Vaughan of Llansantffraed Community Council from holding office as a councillor for 12 months.

“My office investigated a complaint that the Councillor was involved in an incident with a Council contractor, following which there was a Police investigation. The Councillor then pleaded guilty to a charge of causing bodily harm by wanton and furious driving.”

“We referred a report to the Adjudication Panel for Wales. It is the role of the Adjudication Panel for Wales to independently consider evidence gathered by us during an investigation and decide whether the elected member has breached the Code of Conduct.”

“The Adjudication Panel found that Councillor Vaughan had breached paragraph 6(1)(a) of the Code of Conduct by bring her office as Councillor into disrepute.  The Panel decided that she should be disqualified for 12 months from holding office as a Councillor.”

“We hope that lessons will be learned from this case.  On that note, it is especially helpful that the Panel also recommended that all Councillors of the Community Council and the Clerk should attend training on the Code to ensure they understand its provisions, including paragraph 6(1)(b).”

Notes 

The Local Government Act 2000 provides us with the statutory powers to investigate allegations that members of local authorities in Wales have breached their Code of Conduct.

The Code of Conduct for elected members is intended to maintain high standards in public life and includes the requirement that elected members should not bring their authority or their office as a councillor into disrepute.

Where our investigation finds that the evidence suggests that a member has breached the Code of Conduct and further action is required in the public interest, we may refer the matter to either the Adjudication Panel for Wales or a local standards committee for consideration.

Where the Adjudication Panel for Wales decides that a member has breached the Code of Conduct it may suspend a member from office for up to 12 months or disqualify the member from holding office for up to 5 years.

Where a standards committee decides that a member has breached the Code of Conduct it may suspend a member from office for up to 6 months or issue the member with a censure.  Where a member subject to a referral to a standards committee no longer holds office as a member the standards committee may only censure the member.

The Minister of Justica, Dr Dominika Švarc Pipan on 28 June 2022 responded to the invitation of the Ombudsman, Peter Svetina, and received the 2021 report from him at the premises of the Ombudsman's institution. In a short interview, the Ombudsman pointed out that, although the number of cases dealt with in the broader area of justice had again slightly increased, this was mainly due to cases dealt with at the entry point, which did not require a more in-depth substantive examination. "Many people come to the institution I lead because they are dissatisfied with court decisions and expect me to overturn them. A proper explanation of our competences and guidance on how to seek justice is often enough, even if it does not impress them", said the Ombudsman. 

The Ombudsman considers the responsiveness of the competent authorities in dealing with petitions to be good and considers that a trial within a reasonable time is no longer a systemic problem. "However, the assessment of the work of the judiciary cannot be based only on the number of such petitions to the Ombudsman or on their merits. The overall picture of the functioning of the judiciary is reflected elsewhere, including in the speed and quality of judicial decisions that lead to the epilogue and justice," the Ombudsman stressed.

The Ombudsman does not deal with petitions before the courts, but only exceptionally in open court proceedings may he intervene as a friend of the court (amicus curiae) under Article 25 of the Human Rights Ombudsman Act. "In this role, we have drawn the attention of one of the courts to the need to be vigilant in assessing the possible existence of a conflict of interests between minor victims and their mothers, or in assessing what is in the interests of the minor victims themselves," the Ombudsman informed Minister Švarc Pipan.

The Ombudsman also noted the impact of the pandemic on the functioning of the courts, as the measures taken had the effect of increasing the length of individual court proceedings. He therefore expects the judiciary to continue to focus on addressing the consequences of the pandemic. Raising public confidence in the functioning of the judiciary remains one of the challenges, and unjustified discrediting does not contribute to this, according to the Ombudsman. "In order to ensure the success of the courts, efforts must also continue to improve the legislation that underpins the functioning of the judicial branch of government and to address space and staffing problems in the judiciary," says Ombudsman Svetina.

The Ombudsman assessed as positive the progress in the enforcement of ECHR judgements, as according to the Ministry of Justice, there are 'only' three judgements still outstanding. "However, the situation is unsatisfactory regarding the enforcement of decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, in which the number of unexecuted cases has been constantly increasing over the last few years. At the end of 2021, 23 decisions of the Constitutional Court had not been implemented," the Ombudsman regrets.

Le vendredi 24 juin 2022, le Réseau des Médiateurs et Ombudsmans de Belgique a tenu son assemblée générale dans les bâtiments de la Chambre des Représentants, sous la présidence du Médiateur de la Wallonie et de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Marc BERTRAND.

Le Réseau, également appelé Concertation Permanente des Médiateurs et Ombudsmans (CPMO), rassemble 30 institutions de médiation issues de tous les horizons : Etat fédéral, Régions, Communautés, villes et communes, secteurs semi-publics et secteur privé. Tous aident les citoyens à trouver une solution à leurs problèmes.
L’objectif du réseau est de faire connaître les ombudsmans, améliorer l’accès de leur service au public, renforcer la collaboration et veiller au partage de connaissance et d’expériences.

Lors de cette assemblée générale, la nouvelle Médiatrice de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale, Catherine DE BRUECKER, a été admise comme membre de l’association.

Cette réunion statutaire fut également l’occasion pour le conseil d’administration de présenter son rapport d’activités parmi lesquelles on épinglera la conférence de presse organisée dans le cadre des résultats de l’enquête de notoriété sur la médiation institutionnelle en Belgique mais aussi de l’accessibilité des médiateurs et ombudsmans pour les citoyens confrontés aux inondations de juillet 2021. Ou le projet de la Secrétaire d’Etat, Mme De Bleeker visant la création d’une plateforme ConsumerConnect ou encore les contacts établis avec le député fédéral Rik Daems, jusqu’il y peu, président de l’Assemblée parlementaire du Conseil de l’Europe, pour promouvoir les Principes de Venise qui constituent un cadre international de référence visant à protéger les ombudsmans.
Ce fut aussi l’occasion de présenter les rapports des groupes de travail issus du plan stratégique du réseau et en particulier ceux des groupes vulnérables, de la médiation à l’échelon des pouvoirs locaux et de la communication.

Le médiateur fédéral, David BAELE, a informé l’assemblée sur l’évolution du dossier de la transposition de la directive européenne sur la protection des lanceurs d’alerte avant que le service « experts du vécu » du SPP Intégration sociale ne présente ses missions et propose des pistes de travail sur des projets spécifiques permettant d’être au plus près des citoyens les plus vulnérables face aux difficultés qu’ils rencontrent avec les administrations.

Enfin, les médiateurs et ombudsmans présents ont eu le plaisir d’accueillir le Médiateur national des Pays—Bas, Reinier VAN ZUTPHEN, afin de poursuivre les échanges sur les actions à mener pour toucher les groupes vulnérables en vue de défendre leurs droits.

El Defensor del Pueblo, Ángel Gabilondo, ha lamentado la pérdida de vidas humanas en los trágicos sucesos acaecidos en el perímetro fronterizo de Melilla el pasado viernes 24 de junio.

Ángel Gabilondo ha explicado en un comunicado que tan pronto como tuvo conocimiento de los hechos se puso en contacto telefónico con la delegada del Gobierno en Melilla y con la directora general de la Guardia Civil para interesarse por lo sucedido y por la situación de las víctimas y heridos.

El Defensor preguntó por el estado de las personas que llegaron a territorio español -cómo se habían aplicado los protocolos en el CETI de Melilla y la asistencia letrada recibida- y también por la situación de los miembros de las Fuerzas y Cuerpos de Seguridad del Estado que resultaron heridos.

Por otra parte, en el Defensor del Pueblo se recibió una queja firmada por representantes de nueve asociaciones que ha sido admitida a trámite y ha dado origen, por parte de la institución, a distintas actuaciones y solicitudes de información ante los organismos administrativos competentes.