OSCE/ODIHR Opinion on the Draft Amendments to the Act on Establishment of the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights III. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 10. It is welcomed that the Draft Amendments seek to bring the Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic on Establishment of the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights in line with the requirements of the Paris Principles. The Draft Amendments contain a number of positive developments in this respect. However, regarding issues such as the NHRI’s mandate, its funding and the selection and appointment of its leadership, some adjustments are recommended to bring the Draft Amendments in line with international standards. 11. More specifically, and in addition to what was stated above, OSCE/ODIHR makes the following recommendations to further enhance the Draft Amendments: A. To define the relationship between the SNCHR and the Public Defender of Rights, the division of competences between them and ways in which they should cooperate to ensure that legislation is clear and accessible and overlapping mandates are avoided as far as possible; [pars 24, 22, 26] B. To include opinions and recommendations on legislative proposals and review of existing legislation within the mandate of the SNCHR; [par 28] C. To modify § 1 (3) (a) to ensure that the Centre’s investigative functions are not limited to the area of non-discrimination or to include an explicit investigative function covering the Centre’s human rights mandate in the list of functions in § 1 (2); [par 31] D. To explicitly state in §1 (2) of the Draft Amendments that human rights violations carried out by private persons and entities are covered by the SNCHR’s mandate; [par 34] E. To remove the blanket exclusion of the intelligence services from § 1 (12) of the Draft Amendments ; [pars 36-37] F. To state the obligation to provide the Centre with an appropriate level of funding covering its operations and activities and to specifically provide for a separate budget line for the funding of the SNCHR in the national budget; [pars 38-46] G. To ensure the appointment and selection procedure of the Board is publicly advertised, merit-based, open and transparent, participatory and consultative and that grounds for dismissal are clearly and narrowly defined; [pars 51-60] H. To amend § 3 a (10) of the Draft Amendments to provide for remuneration for all board members, ideally as full-time positions and to state the terms for remuneration of members of the Board and SNCHR staff; [pars 70-71] I. To ensure transitional arrangements prior to the appointment of a new Director and Board and to conduct meaningful public consultations throughout the lawmaking process; [pars 79-81] and; J. To add provisions for functional immunity for leadership and staff of the SNCHR, for acts performed and words spoken or written, undertaken in good faith in their official capacity, during the course of their mandate and after it has ended [par 82]. Additional Recommendations, highlighted in bold, are also included in the text of the opinion. 4