18 the rooming-in system for mother and baby, the child- and par- Commissioner’s on-site inspection conducted upon a civil ent-friendly functioning of neonatal intensive care units, the complaint could neither confirm, nor deny whether there had protocol followed in case of a patient leaving a healthcare in- been a serious case of abuse in the institution of Mozsgó which stitution without permission, or the situation of limb salvage and takes care of persons living with disabilities. At the same time, vascular surgery. In the year under review, several reports dis- the inquiry uncovered problems regarding the operation of cussed the education and development of children with disabilities the institution with a high number of beds, and its staff and and special education needs. Reviewing a unique segment at the facilities, and due to the high risk of further improprieties, intersection of education and healthcare, a report was prepared on the Commissioner repeatedly called for the acceleration of the the enforcement of the educational rights of hospitalised chil- process of de-institutionalisation. dren. The latter report revealed that if a child needs to receive Another important inquiry emphasised that the existing long-term hospital care, but would like to keep up with his/her legislation does not permit the use of therapy dogs in health studies, very few establishments can provide him/her with the institutions; on the contrary, entrance can be denied to such necessary education. Therefore the Ombudsman turned to the dogs with reference to the regulation in force. The Ombudsman competent ministry with a recommendation proposing that the reviewed the applicable legal provisions, and asked the ministry review the legal provisions pertaining to the educa- Minister of Human Capacities to amend the relevant regulation tion of hospitalised children, and ensure the staff and facilities as soon as possible. necessary for their education. For several years now, the Ombudsman has been looking into 1.9. the anomalies of the operation of residential care homes with a high number of beds. Gradual changes in legal reasoning have led to an increasingly intensive preventive mechanism aimed at the protection of the fundamental rights of persons with disabilities (and of the elderly, children, and psychiatric patients), forced T THE ACTIVITY OF THE COMMISSIONER AND HIS DEPUTIES RELATED TO LEGISLATION he formulation of a legal norm is of cardinal importance in the legislative process, as the technical con- by their condition to live in residential institutions. Essentially, tent of a legal regulation is determined already at that point. the set of arguments of human dignity questions the hierar- In respect of his/her constitutional function and legal compe- chical system of institutionalised life. The CRPD specifically tence, the Commissioner takes part directly in the codification protects the basic principles of independent life and autonomy, work only exceptionally. However, by formulating legislative which is inherently incompatible with the large-scale opera- proposals and commenting on draft legislation from the as- tion of care homes with a high number of beds. Consequently, pect of fundamental rights, he/she may influence the drafting the solutions proposed these days centre around the so-called of legislation on the substance. de-institutionalisation. However, in the meantime, all the institutions must operate, while the quality of their operation contin- The Ombudsman’s comments on draft legislation ues to be rather varied. In this reporting period, several reports In 2019, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights was were made in the series of inquiries affecting closed institutions, asked to comment on 108 bills. During this time, nearly 900 four of which were conducted in institutions looking after per- acts, and government and ministerial decrees were promulgated, sons with disabilities. which is an indication of the fact that the presenters did not ful- The comprehensive inquiry into the operation of the institution at Mozsgó should be highlighted. The ly meet their obligation to request the Commissioner’s opinion in this reporting period, either. Prime Minister’s Office: 6 Ministry of Justice: 11 Ministry of Interior: 49 Ministry of Agriculture: 9 Draft legislation sent by ministries for comments Ministry for Innovation and Technology: 6 REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMISSIONER FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF HUNGARY AND HIS DEPUTIES – 2019 Ministry of Finance: 2 Ministry of Human Capacities: 25