public servants working for public-sector enterprises (see below, § b) of No. 6.4.1.); and the duty of the public service responsible for granting the compensatory pension due to military officials who suffer from permanent disability to decide the requests of the disabled officers based on the evidence presented, without posing merely bureaucratic obstacles (such as demanding the submission of a specific kind of form, not required by law). Among the cases that required a more formal and substantiated intervention, the Ombudsman issued, in 2016, five recommendations (see below, § a) of No. 6.4.1) and intervened in various complex situations, that involved a significant number of complainants or public servants: for instance, by urging the Secretary of State of the Public Administration to clarify the law applicable to public servants in case of long-term absence due to illness and its consequences in the right to vacation or the count of service time (see below No. 6.4.2.); or by addressing the Secretary of State Assistant and of Education while the amendment of Decree-Law No. 132/2012 (the Decree-Law that disciplines the yearly procedure of recruitment of teachers) was being discussed, in order to stress the need to solve various problems brought to the attention of the Ombudsman by plaintiffs over the past years. Yet, obeying the principles of informality and celerity that preside to the activity of the Ombudsman, many of the cases come to an end following simple contacts by email or telephone, that allow, v.g., to clarify facts or the rules that should be followed by the Administration. Frequently, the informal intervention of the Ombudsman leads delays in the conclusion of administrative procedures or purely bureaucratic obstacles to be swiftly overcome. The success of the Ombudsman’s interference greatly depends, nevertheless, of the level of the cooperation of the entities addressed. In some cases, the Ombudsman tries special strategies of communication – such as scheduling regular meetings or asking for the appointment of a privileged interlocutor of the public body at stake. In 2016, these strategies, especially when used with entities that are targeted in a great number of complaints (v.g., the school administration), have been proven effective. 1.2.5. Right to justice and security In 2016, the complaints concerning the administration of Justice and security gave rise to 762 complaint procedures. During the same period, 911 procedures were filed. It should be noted that the instruction of the procedures relating to the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira is carried out by advisors that are part of this thematic unit. | 51