23 1. THE ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE COMMISSIONER FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND HIS DEPUTIES IN 2019 system: legal protection provided by the Ombudsman, the system of nationality self-governments, and statutory regulation. The number of petitions in 2019 In 2019, the number of nationality cases (complaints and impropri- 1. The six-year mandate of Dr. Elisabeth Sándor-Szalay expired on 21 October 2019, which meant that in accordance with the Fundamental Law of Hungary and the CFR Act, the Commissioner had to nominate a new candidate for the position. During the obligatory consultation procedure, the Association of National Self-Governments of the Nationalities and the Standing Committee on National Minorities in Hungary of the Parliament assured the outgoing Deputy Commissioner of their unanimous support, thus she was nominated for the position again, in concert, by the outgoing and incoming Commissioners. On 4 November 2019, with the support of nearly 80% of the MPs, the National Assembly re-elected Dr. Elisabeth SándorSzalay as Deputy Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, Ombudsman for the Protection of the Rights of National Minorities in Hungary. Her mandate lasts for six years, i.e. till 3 November 2025. 2. The general elections of nationality self-governments were held on 13 October 2019, which meant a simultaneous renewal of representation on the settlement, regional and national levels. As a result of the elections, nearly 2,200 settlement-level and 62 regional national self-governments were formed, and all thirteen nationalities recognised in Hungary set up their respective national self-governments as well. eties examined ex officio) rose to 409, which was a 6% increase over the figures of 2018. During the first term of Deputy Commissioner Dr. Elisabeth Sándor-Szalay, the annual number of cases grew by two and a half times, which is a significant increase and is a clear indication of the fact that after the transformation of the Ombudsman system, the institution of the Deputy Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, Ombudsman for the Rights of National Minorities has become, over the past years, increasingly well-known and recognised among the members and representatives of the nationality communities. The nationality of the petitioners Similarly to the previous years, the highest number of cases concerned citizens of Roma nationality in 2019 which is evidence of the fact that many citizens of Roma nationality struggle with livelihood and housing difficulties, as well as with the practical implementation of the requirement of equal treatment. The number of German and Slovak petitions was especially high: the bulk of these complaints were related to individual and collective nationality rights, nationality self-governments, and nationality institutions maintained by the latter. The number of cases pertaining to several or all of the nationality communities continued to rise, and they were mostly connected to education, cultural rights, the operation and financing of nationality self-governments, and comments on legislation. The types and subject matters of the petitions in 2019 3. The third outstanding professional challenge of last year In 2019, the subject matters and their distribution were similar was the preparation of the comprehensive amendment to last year, and clearly, there is still a classical polarisation of of the Act on the Rights of Nationalities. Based on her ju- petitions between cases concerning nationality and Roma equal risprudence-related experience and specific professional opportunities, and cases related to equal treatment, as indicated materials accumulated over the previous years, the Deputy several times above. This also determined the methodology of Commissioner contributed to the joint efforts by making 27 complaints processing. The green fields of the diagram typically technical and 31 substantive overarching proposals aimed represent petitions belonging to the former category, whereas the at the elimination of the anomalies encountered in practice blue ones stand for petitions in connection with the latter. and at the necessary improvement of the legislation. 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Number of petitions and ex officio inquiries, 2013–2019 350 400 450