and the court, public prosecutors, the penal system and investigations into delays in proceedings. This year numerous complaints related to court rulings of the independent judiciary. 2010 saw 781 investigative proceedings relating to the area of internal security (handled by Ombudswoman Mag.a Terezija Stoisits). That represents a 60% increase relative to 2009 (2009: 474). As in earlier years, this was largely attributable to the numerous complaints relating to foreigners’ rights and asylum law. Complaints related to matters involving the Federal Ministry of the Interior and agencies subordinate to it: the Asylum Court and the Independent Federal Asylum Senate (UBAS). The parties involved complained in particular about the length of appeal proceedings. Completed Investigative Proceedings within the Federal Administration 2010 2009 No case of maladministration 4,021 3,664 Maladministration on the part of the authorities 829 641 Investigative proceeding inadmissible (administrative proceeding still ongoing) 1,141 1,076 1,240 890 Complaints not suitable for handling (per the relevant regulations) 106 114 Complaints retracted 600 490 12 4 0 1 7,949 6,880 Complaints outside the mandate of the AOB Qualified case of maladministration / recommendation Challenges to statutory orders TOTAL 6,613 new investigative proceedings were initiated in 2010; 1,336 investigative proceedings in progress from earlier years were processed. A total of 7,949 investigative proceedings were completed in 2010, an increase of 15% relative to 2009. At the same time the number of investigative proceedings which found maladministration also increased, to 829 (17.1% of investigative proceedings found maladministration (2009: 14.9%)). In 4,021 cases, no maladministration was found, and the parties involved were notified accordingly regarding the legal situation. On average, investigative proceedings took 46 days. Internal affairs: significant increase 17% of investigative prooceedings found maladministration 9