83 CHAPTER VIII THE SERVICE FOR CONSTITUTIONAL LITIGATION, APPEAL IN THE INTEREST OF THE LAW, ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL LITIGATION, LEGAL AFFAIRS, EXTERNAL RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATION The service for constitutional litigation, appeal in the interest of the law, administrative and legal litigation, legal affairs, external relations and communication carries out its activity in the direct subordination of the Ombudsperson, being composed of three structures, with well delimited duties: the bureau for constitutional litigation and the appeal in the interest the law, the bureau for administrative and legal litigation and the bureau for legal affairs, external relations and communication. Section 1. The activity of the Bureau for constitutional litigation and appeal in the interest of the law The role of the Bureau for constitutional litigation and appeal in the interest of the law is determined by the accomplishment of the People's Advocate's duties as a defender of the rights and freedoms of the people, through the constitutionality control of the laws and ordinances, as well as the unification of the judicial practice throughout the country, establishing direct relations between the People's Advocate and the Constitutional Court, the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the other courts. 1.1. Direct referral of the Constitutional Court For 2019, there is an increase in the number of exceptions of unconstitutionality raised directly by the People's Advocate, the activity of the Bureau for constitutional litigation and appeal in the interest of the law totaling a number of 12 direct notifications addressed to the Constitutional Court, whose purpose is both to protect the rights and freedoms guaranteed at constitutional and legal level, as well as the observance of the Constitution in the process of adoption of normative acts, as follows: a) Protection of vulnerable categories (pupils, students, persons with disabilities, pensioners) and citizens living in rural areas, materialized in challenging the legislative solution by which the paid public transport of persons at county level was eliminated from the sphere of public services, regulated by the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 51/2019 for the modification and completion of some normative acts in the field of passenger transport; By Decision no. 785/2019, the exception of unconstitutionality was rejected as inadmissible. Until the date of this report, the decision has not been published in the Official Gazette of Romania. b) The Government's failure to comply with the constitutional requirements and the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court, regarding the adoption of emergency ordinances, by issuing the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 57/2019 on the Administrative Code; c) Defending the rights of persons with disabilities, by challenging the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 60/2017, normative act by which occurred a drastic limitation of PEOPLE’S ADVOCATE ANNUAL REPORT 2019