OSCE ODIHR Comments on the draft Law on the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro 67. In order to ensure recognition and debates on the main issues, Article 50 should further specify that the Protector should present the annual report to the parliament and that this presentation should be followed by a parliamentary debate on the main issues of concern included in the report. Article 50 should be amended to include an obligatory parliamentary debate on the annual work report and its main topics. 68. Article 54 deals with the financial resources for the work of the Human Rights Protector. According to the Paris Principles, adequate funding is indispensable for any national human rights institution to ensure complete independence from the Government. Such institutions should not be subject to financial control, as this may also interfere with their independence24. 69. It is welcomed that the financial resources of the Protector are provided in a separate budget allocation and that the Protector shall propose the annual allocation of the budget for his/her work. Also, it is positive that the Human Rights Protector has the right to participate in the parliamentary session at which the budget proposal is discussed. 70. However, it is unclear why the Protector proposes his annual budget allocation to the Government. In this context, it is important to note that any interference in the Institution’s budgetary planning through the executive could have inappropriate effects on the independence of the Human Rights Protector and his/her office. To avoid misunderstandings on this very important point, it is recommended to include in Article 54 an addition stating that, neither the government nor any other budgetary association has the right to change or in any way modify or affect the budget proposed by the Human Rights Protector. This may only occur at a later state, following the discussion on the budget allocation before the Parliament. 4.3. The Human Rights Protector as an Anti-Discrimination Body 71. In the Montenegro Law on Prohibition of Discrimination25, Chapter III deals with the competences of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms under this law. Article 20 specifies that, in addition to the competences prescribed in a separate law (namely the Law on the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms), the Protector shall also be competent to provide information on his/her rights and duties and on possible court protection to complainants considering themselves discriminated by natural or legal persons. According to this same provision, the Protector is also competent to conduct conciliation proceedings between the parties with a view to concluding an extra-judicial settlement. Further competences include informing the public and conducting awareness-raising regarding important discrimination issues, research in the field of discrimination, keeping separate records of discrimination cases, and collecting and analyzing statistical data on discrimination cases. 72. According to Article 20 of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, persons who consider themselves discriminated against by a public authority, or by a legal or natural person, may complain about this to the Human Rights 24 25 Paris Principles, Composition and guarantees of independence and pluralism, par. 2 See footnote 3 20