OSCE/ODIHR Opinion on the Draft Federal Law on the Support to the National Human Rights Institution of Switzerland protecting and promoting human rights.76 It would be helpful to expressly include this in the Draft Act as a general aim of the NHRI.77 57. The role of the NHRI would be further strengthened if it were also mandated to apply to the constitutional court for an abstract judgment on questions concerning the constitutionality of laws or other regulatory acts, which raise issues affecting human rights and freedoms.78 The right of the NHRI to appear as a third party in domestic and international judicial proceedings could also be included, especially in cases raising important issues concerning human rights matters of a systemic or structural character.79 Some other functions may include assistance to victims taking cases to courts and strategic litigation.80 The legal drafters should consider reflecting these aspects in Article 3 of the Draft Act. This may also require amendments to other relevant legislation to ensure that the NHRI has proper access to files and other documents related to the case prior to submitting amicus curiae briefs. Courts should be obliged to deal with and respond to the NHRI’s arguments in the written reasoning of their decisions. 4.2. Complaints-Handling Mandate 58. Article 3 of the Draft Act does not provide for a mandate to handle individual complaints alleging human rights violations, as also stressed in the Explanatory Statement to the Draft Act.81 This is not contrary to international standards, since the Paris Principles do not require that NHRIs shall receive and investigate complaints or petitions from individuals or groups regarding alleged violations of their human rights. However, an optional provision is included in the Paris Principles, for states that wish to include this mandate.82 Such a complaints-handling mandate presents both benefits and difficulties. On the one hand, it may benefit individuals who suffer human rights abuses and may otherwise be unable to access other venues or achieve redress, which at the same time enhances the public’s confidence in the NHRI. On the other hand, such a mandate can also be overwhelming and costly and may undermine the institution’s ability to devote resources to other programme areas or to deal with systemic issues.83 59. Any complaints-handling mechanism, whether falling within the competency of an NHRI or another thematic human rights institution, should ensure that complaints are handled fairly, quickly and effectively through processes which are clear and readily accessible to the public.84 While this is a policy decision that may go beyond the scope of this opinion, it is nevertheless recommended that the legal drafters and stakeholders re-discuss the existing complaints-handling systems in Switzerland, both at the cantonal 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 of national or ethnic minorities, stateless persons, foreigners, asylum-seekers, refugees and other persons potentially discriminated on other grounds such as sexual orientation or gender identity. For instance, NHRIs can implement gender mainstreaming by developing gender/diversity-assessment strategies or impact analyses for draft legislation and existing laws, policies, programmes and activities; see op. cit. footnote 18, pages 50-51 (2012 OSCE/ODIHR Handbook for NHRIs on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality). See also e.g., OSCE/ODIHR, Opinion on the Draft Act on the Independent National Human Rights Institution of Iceland, 6 February 2017, par 32, <http://www.legislationline.org/download/action/download/id/6947/file/301_NHRI_ISL_6Feb2017_en.pdf>. See op. cit. footnote 63, par 36 (2015 Venice Commission’s Opinion on the Draft Law on Ombudsman for Human Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina). See op. cit. footnote 16, pages 4 and 185 (2010 UNDP-OHCHR Toolkit for Collaboration with National Human Rights Institutions). ibid. page 32 (2010 UNDP-OHCHR Toolkit for Collaboration with National Human Rights Institutions). Op. cit. footnote 19, Sub-Section 2 on page 20 (comments on Article 3) (Explanatory Statement to the Draft Act). Op. cit. footnote 9, Justification to General Observation 2.10. See op. cit. footnote 16, page 23 (2010 UNDP-OHCHR Toolkit for Collaboration with National Human Rights Institutions). ibid. General Observation 2.10 regarding specifically the handling of complaints by NHRIs, which should a fortiori be applicable to other complaints-handling mechanisms. 19