The Protector of Citizens has the right to submit motions and/or initiate the (procedure for
the) passage of bills and amendments to the laws as well as of other regulations and bylaws
and is empowered to give opinions in the course of the procedure of drafting regulations. It
is further empowered to launch the procedure before the Constitutional Court for assessing
the constitutionality and legality of laws and other regulations and bylaws. It is authorized
to publicly recommend that any functionary held accountable for a breach of a citizen’s right
be removed from office and/or to initiate the start of disciplinary proceedings against any
employee with an administrative body who is directly held accountable for the committed
infringement.
If it is found that the actions carried out by a functionary or an employee with the
administrative body had elements of a criminal act or any other punishable act, the Protector
of Citizens is authorized to submit to the competent body a request or, better to put it, an
application for the relevant criminal proceedings, petty offence proceedings or any other
proceedings to be initiated.
Administrative bodies have the task to work together with the Protector of Citizens, enable
access to premises and make available all data that are at their disposal and of relevance to
the proceedings going on to achieve the goal of its preventive action regardless of the degree
of their confidentiality, except when this is in conflict with the law. The Protector of Citizens
has the right to conduct an interview with any employee with the administrative body when
that is of relevance to the ongoing proceedings.
It has been stipulated in particular that the Protector of Citizens should have the right of
unhindered access to the institutions for enforcement of penal sanctions and to any other
places where persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) are held as well as the right to talk to such
persons behind closed doors.
The Protector of Citizens has one Deputy in charge of protecting the rights of PDLs.
1.2.2. Action-taking
Reactive work
The Protector of Citizens initiates the procedure for control of the legality and regularity of
the activities of the administrative bodies upon a complaint from citizens or on its own
initiative. Any natural or juridical person, be it domestic or foreign, holding the view that by
any act of an administrative body, its action or through its omission to act their rights have
been infringed upon, may submit a complaint to the Protector of Citizens.
The complaint is submitted in writing or verbally for the record and no administrative tax
nor is any other fee charged for its submission. The complaint includes the name of the body
whose activities it concerns, a description of the breach of the right concerned, any facts and
pieces of evidence corroborating the complaint, data on which legal remedies have been
exhausted and details about the individual submitting the complaint.
PDLs have the right to submit the complaint in a sealed envelope. Appropriate envelopes
must be provided in a visible and public manner at all the institutions where PDLs are held,
which should be taken care of by the administrations of such institutions as well as the
ministry in charge of judicial affairs.