The Office of the Ombudsman, through the Commissioner for Education, expresses its grave concern regarding the situation currently obtaining at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) in connection with the assessment of students and final examinations in light of the current industrial dispute between the College and the MUT.

The current situation stems from directives, issued by the recognised union at the College, which include the withholding and processing of assessment marks, the refusal to invigilate at examinations and to participate in vivas.

This has led to students, including students in their final year of studies, being left entirely in the dark as to their progression and possible further studies. From information available, almost 8,000 are affected in one way or another.

The Office of the Ombudsman acknowledges the fundamental right of educators to engage in industrial action as a means to voice their legitimate grievances and to seek a fair resolution thereto. However, this should be done in a way to cause the least harm to third parties, in this case students, who also have a right to know, without undue or unnecessary delay, the result of their studies throughout the year. Both parties should refrain from using the students’ plight to put undue pressure. Furthermore, both parties should not display intransigence.

The Commissioner for Education calls upon both sides to the dispute to engage in open and constructive dialogue to resolve the current industrial dispute, bearing in mind that both educators and the College are there to provide a fundamental service to society – the education of youth.

El Defensor del Pueblo, Ángel Gabilondo, ha mantenido un encuentro institucional este lunes con el director general de la Guardia Civil, Leonardo Marcos, en la Dirección General de la Benemérita.

En la reunión han analizado asuntos relacionados con los requerimientos ciudadanos que, desde el Defensor del Pueblo, se remiten a la Dirección General de la Guardia Civil.

Ángel Gabilondo y Leonardo Marcos se han comprometido a mantener e impulsar la relación institucional ya existente en lo relativo a los asuntos que se ven en el Defensor del Pueblo y que corresponden a la Dirección general de la Guardia Civil.

Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary Dr. Ákos Kozma delivered a Justitia Regnorum Fundamentum award to Bishop of the Szeged-Csanád Diocese Dr. László Kiss-Rigó on 13 May 2024. 
 

This award is granted by the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights for outstanding accomplishment, professional activities or career to those who have achieved or contributed to the achievement of extraordinary, exemplary results in the field of protecting fundamental human and civil rights, in particular the rights of the child and other vulnerable groups, the rights of national minorities and the environment. 

At the award ceremony held at the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary, six persons received certificates of merit from the Ombudsman. For their outstanding contributions to the ombudsman children’s home renovation programme, CEO of Mecsekerdő Zrt Mr. István Ripszám, CEO of Ipoly Erdő Zrt Mr. László Kiss, head of the workshop of the Technical and Supply Department of the Szombathely Remand Prison, Prison Sergeant Major Mr. László Zoltán Németh, as well as workshop supervisor of the Technical and Supply Department of the Veszprém County Remand Prison, Prison Sergeant Mr. Bence Dániel Buzás were awarded certificates of merit. 

School guard of the Komárom-Esztergom County Police Headquarters Ms. Zuzana Takács and school guard of the Csongrád-Csanád County Police Headquarters Mr. Bence Balázs Ádám received certificates of merit for their outstanding professional activities and accomplishment in the school guard organisation.
 

Malmö District Court delivered a judgment in a criminal case involving sexual offences.  In the case, there were several victims.

Although it was intended that the victims’ identities would remain confidential, they were named in an automatically generated part of the judgment, which the senior judge with responsibility for the case did not notice. As a result, the names were disclosed when the judgment was delivered. The Parliamentary Ombudsman takes the incident seriously and directs criticism towards the responsible judge.

The Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia (Ombudsman) is receiving complaints from more and more individuals criticising the work of administrative units during the strike. They refer to the cancellation of appointments, the long queues of persons coming for both pre-arranged and speculative visits in front of the entrance of administrative units, and the refusal to carry out administrative procedures. The time aspect of dealing with administrative matters is a major problem that the Ombudsman has been pointing out for a long time, not least in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 annual reports, in which he singles out administrative units, after the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, as the second most frequent violator of the principle of good governance. The Ombudsman also warns the state about the problem of the economic situation of employees in administrative units and the simultaneous burden of a large number of cases, which should be solved as soon as possible with appropriate and effective measures. 

On this occasion, the Ombudsman reiterates that a strike is a legitimate way to achieve goals and an important tool for workers to assert and protect their social and economic rights. However, one must be aware that, in accordance with Paragraph 2 of Article 77 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, the right to strike can be limited by law, if the public benefit requires it and taking into account the type and nature of the activity, which the operation of administrative units in many cases is.

The limitation of the right to strike for state bodies in the currently applicable Article 11 of the Strike Act (ZStk) refers to the fact that the performance of the functions of state bodies is not significantly threatened. Nevertheless, the Ombudsman warns that, in accordance with the above, this should not be the guiding criterion, but in accordance with Article 77 of the Constitution, the guiding principle of possible restrictions on the right to strike in these cases should also be the public benefit, taking into account the type and nature of the activity. It is important to realise that the substantive foundation of public benefit or national interest lies in the state's duty to individuals.^[1]

Therefore, if we proceed from the above, entities that are also bearers of international obligations must fulfil these obligations or tasks in such a way that they do not hinder the state in its duties towards its citizens. At the same time, it should be noted that Article 8 of the Constitution stipulates that "laws and other regulations must be in accordance with generally applicable principles of international law and with international treaties that bind Slovenia. Ratified and published international treaties are directly applicable". Consequently, the provision of an international act places it above laws and other regulations, while the Constitution is the highest and fundamental act in the country. The hierarchy of legal acts in Article 8 of the Constitution is important because it results in the relevant provisions of the Constitution having to be interpreted in accordance with the assumed obligations of the Republic of Slovenia under international treaties.

The Ombudsman emphasises that the right to strike is a fundamental right, but it is not absolute and can be limited by law. One should not overlook the life situations and hardships in which people have found themselves due to the large-scale non-performance of works and tasks by civil servants of administrative units. The Ombudsman is aware that the accumulated problems in the administrative units cannot be solved overnight, but he expects all those responsible for the situation to find solutions and agree as soon as possible on further steps that will benefit the residents, as well as the employees of the administrative units.