OSCE/ODIHR Opinion on the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Seimas Ombudsmen III. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6. A number of provisions of the current Law on the Seimas Ombudsmen reflect good international practice on how to ensure a strong and effective NHRI. However, many articles of the Law would benefit from certain amendments; indeed, it may even be preferable to draft a completely new Law in order to ensure full compliance of the Law or a future Law on the Seimas Ombudsman with international standards. 7. Based on the above, it is thus recommended as follows: 1. Key Recommendations A. to consider drafting a new restructured law on the Ombudsman, which would foresee only one Ombudsman and which would adopt a broader human-rights based approach, in accordance with the Paris Principles; [pars 17-19, 22, 24 and 70] B. to make explicit reference to the mandate of promoting and protecting human rights in the purpose of the Law; [par 20] C. to include a reference to the obligation of the Ombuds Office to engage closely with civil society when fulfilling its mandate, as well as with regional and international human rights mechanisms; [par 21] D. to explicitly strengthen the independence of the Ombuds Office in the Law, including its financial independence [pars 25, 66 and 67] E. to include in the Law a wide immunity clause for the Ombudsmen and staff of the Ombuds Office; [par 26] F. to ensure that Ombudsmen are elected, not appointed, by a two-thirds majority of the Seimas, following a pluralistic, inclusive and transparent recruitment and selection procedure; [pars 35-37] 2. Additional Recommendations G. to amend Article 1 as follows: 1. Delete the terms “bureaucracy” and “abuse of power” and their definitions from pars 1 and 4, and the Law in general, or at the very least, merge this definition with them into one general definition of abuse of power; [par 29] 2. Regulate cases involving excess of power separately from general abuse of power cases; [par 30] H. to use gender-neutral terminology throughout the Law; [par 31] I. to make changes to Article 6 so that also persons with non-legal background are eligible to apply for the position of Ombudsman, provided they have high moral standards, a strong education/professional background and recognized human rights experience; [par 33] J. to amend Article 9 as follows: 4