3 INFORMATION ABOUT THE OMBUDSMAN’S WORK The Ombudsman does not consider cases subject to court or other legal procedures unless they involve undue delays or clear abuses of power. The Ombudsman does not take action if the action or the last decision of the authority concerned took place more than a year before the complaint was filed unless it is deemed that the complainant missed the deadline for unavoidable reasons or that the case is of such importance that it warrants the Ombudsman’s action regardless of the time elapsed. In 2015, it was decided that complaints received would be processed in departments established in fields of work which are under the professional responsibility of the Ombudsman’s deputies. These fields of work are determined in Article 11 of the Ombudsman’s Rules of Procedure, except the tasks of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), carried out by the Ombudsman since 2008 pursuant to the Act ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, or in cooperation with non-governmental organisations selected at a tender, including the Advocate – A Child’s Voice Project, which has been implemented by the Ombudsman since 2007. Each field is the professional responsibility of one of the Ombudsman’s deputies. A more detailed division of individual fields is determined by the Ombudsman by taking into account substantive connections between problems, the organisation and type of procedures of state and other authorities which are under the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction, and the cohesion of professional fields. The Rules of Procedure determine that deputies have all the powers provided to the Ombudsman by the law in the fields under their responsibility. Each deputy is responsible for several fields. The latter are also the basis for the classification of complaints received. Anyone who believes that their human rights or fundamental freedoms have been violated by an act of an authority may initiate a procedure with the Ombudsman. The ZVarCP and the Ombudsman’s Rules of Procedure determine the conditions which a complaint must meet in order to be discussed. All complaints addressed to the Ombudsman must be signed and marked with the complainant’s personal information, and must contain the circumstances, facts and evidence regarding the complaint in order for a procedure to be initiated. The complainant must also state whether legal remedies have been sought in the matter, and if so, which ones. The procedure may be initiated in written form. Formality or a lawyer’s assistance are not required to submit a complaint. Persons deprived of their freedom have the right to send a complaint to the Ombudsman in a closed envelope. In urgent cases, we also accept complaints by telephone or during a faceto-face discussion. Certain complaints are received by the Ombudsman’s representatives during discussions with prisoners when visiting prisons or detention facilities, psychiatric hospitals, social care institutions and other institutions accommodating persons who have been deprived of their freedom of movement. When the Ombudsman receives a complaint, all the required enquires are carried out. On this basis, the Ombudsman decides whether to consider the matter by a summary procedure, start an investigation or reject the complaint, or to not consider it as it is anonymous, late, offensive or constitutes an abuse of the right to complain. If the Ombudsman rejects a complaint and does not consider it for the aforementioned reasons, the complainant must be notified thereof as soon as possible. The reasons for the rejection must be explained, and if possible, the complainant must be informed of other ways of resolving the matter. notes. Of its own accord, the Ombudsman opened 19 complaints (cases when the Ombudsman initiates a procedure of its own accord or a complaint is filed in the name of the person affected. In such cases, the consent of the person affected is required to initiate the procedure), and 47 complaints were considered as wider issues (these include issues relevant to the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the legal security of citizens in the Republic of Slovenia). We received courtesy copies of 136 complaints and 64 anonymous complaints, and four complaints were forwarded to the competent authorities. We received and replied to 9,611 phone calls. The majority of calls concerned information about the Ombudsman’s work, the discussion of complaints and the provision of various information about complaints. In connection with complaints, we received a total of 11,307 documents (this number includes documents on the basis of which we discussed complaints, and documents referring to the supplementation of complaints and clarifications of authorities to which we submitted inquiries related to resolving complaints). In addition to the above documents, we also received 4,628 documents in 2015, which referred to other Ombudsman’s operations (excluding documents related to e-invoices). Certain complaints are incomplete, as they do not include all the facts relevant to the problem or not all the required documents are attached. Regardless of the type of shortcoming, we ask complainants to supplement their complaints or we contact the competent authority with an enquiry as to whether the complaint clearly indicates the type of procedure and the competent authority. Certain complaints are found not to be within the Ombudsman’s competence, or the conditions for their handling are not met. In such cases, we advise complainants on whom to contact if other options are available, or which legal remedies to use before complaints can be considered by the Ombudsman. Complaints which are not within the Ombudsman’s competence frequently involve disputes between individuals which cannot be resolved in any other manner than amicably, and if this is not possible, before the courts. 3.2.4 Communication with state and local authorities In relation to its work, the Ombudsman has the right to access all information and documents pertaining to the competence of state and local authorities. The regulations on the confidentiality of data are binding on the Ombudsman, the deputies and other staff. The Ombudsman or persons authorised by the Ombudsman may enter the official premises of any state authority, local community authority or holder of public authority. They may carry out inspections of prisons, other premises where persons deprived of their freedom are held, and other institutions with limited freedom of movement, and have the right to hold conversations with persons in these institutions without the presence of other persons. The Ombudsman may submit to the National Assembly and the Government initiatives to amend acts and other regulations under their jurisdiction. State authorities, institutions and organisations with public authority are sent proposals for improvement to their operations, efficiency or treatment of clients. The Ombudsman or persons authorised by the Ombudsman may submit their opinion on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms to any authority in a case under consideration, regardless of the type or level of procedure before these authorities. All state authorities must provide suitable assistance to the Ombudsman in the implementation of any investigation. All officials and public employees referred to in Article 6 of the ZVarCP must respond to the Ombudsman’s request to participate in an investigation and to provide explanations. The Ombudsman may invite anyone as a witness or an expert for a discussion in a case under consideration. The invited person must respond to the invitation. Between 1 January and 31 December 2015, we opened 2,785 complaints (3,081 in 2014, and 3,371 in 2013). Most complaints were received directly from complainants in writing, i.e. 2,445 or 87.8 per cent of all complaints received. We received 45 complaints during meetings outside the head office, six by phone and 19 from official At the Ombudsman’s request, the President of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister and ministers must accede to a meeting with the Ombudsman within 48 hours (Article 46 of the ZVarCP). On the basis of this provision of the ZVarCP, the Ombudsman requested an urgent meeting with Prime Minister Dr. Miro Cerar on 4 November 2015. She assessed that the situation with regard to the refugee crisis was so serious that a conversation with the Prime Minister was necessary. The meeting was held at the premises of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia on Friday, 6 November 2015, and was also attended by the Ombudsman’s Deputies, Jernej Rovšek and Ivan Šelih. The Ombudsman informed the Prime Minister of all of the monitoring visits that the Ombudsman’s office had performed since the onset of the crisis, presented the findings of work in the field and made numerous recommendations to the Government. She also stated that the representatives of institutions, non-governmental 174 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA FOR 2015 The Ombudsman decides on the matter by a summary procedure (point one of paragraph one of Article 28 of the ZVarCP), especially when the current situation and positions of the parties affected are evident from the documentation accompanying the complaint. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA FOR 2015 175 3 INFORMATION ABOUT THE OMBUDSMAN’S WORK procedure. The Ombudsman may also initiate a procedure of its own accord. The consent of the person affected is required to initiate the procedure if such a procedure is initiated or filed in the name of the person affected. The Ombudsman may also address wider issues relevant to the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to the legal security of citizens in the Republic of Slovenia. This enables the Ombudsman to raise and consider systemic and current issues that may not be perceived by complainants. The latter also enables the Ombudsman to implement preventive and promotional activities in the same manner as national institutions for the protection of human rights established on the basis of the Paris Principles adopted by the UN.