Konec formuláre
LAW
of 8th December 1999
On the Public Defender of Rights
Parliament has hereby adopted this Law
of the Czech Republic:

PART ONE
GENERAL PROVISIONS

§ 1

The Public Defender of Rights (hereinafter referred to as "the Defender") works to defend persons in relation to the actions of official bodies and other institutions listed in this Law, should such actions be inconsistent with the law, in contradiction to the principles of a democratic legal state and good administration, and also in the event of inaction by these Offices, thereby contributing to the defence of fundamental rights and freedoms.

The competence of the Defender under clause 1 encompasses the Ministry and other administrative bodies with authority over the entire territory of the Republic, administrative offices subordinate thereto, the Czech National Bank where it acts as an administrative body, the Radio and Television Broadcasting Council, district offices and towns carrying out district administration duties, the Czech Republic police Force, the Czech Republic Army, the Castle Guard, the Czech Republic Prison Service, detention or imprisonment facilities, those of protective or institutional education, protective medical treatment, and the public health insurance companies (hereinafter referred to as "Office(s)").

The scope of activity of the Defender does not encompass Parliament, the President of the Republic and the Government, the Supreme Control Office, intelligence services of the Czech Republic, Czech Republic Police investigators, state prosecutors and courts, with the exception of state administration of courts.

The Defender is not authorised to encroach upon the activities and decisions made by Offices in any other way than those stated in this Law.

§ 2

The Defender is elected by the Parliament for a term of six years, and is chosen from a group of candidates, of whom two are proposed by the President and two by the Senate; identical proposals are permitted. The Defender may be elected for a maximum of two consecutive periods.

All those who are eligible for election to the Senate are eligible for the post of Defender.

The seat of the Defender is Brno.

The Deputy Public Defender fully represents the Defender during periods of his/her absence. The Defender may delegate part of his/her duties to the Deputy. Regulations governing the election, removal from office and the legal status of the Deputy are the same as those for the Defender, unless stated otherwise in this Law.

§ 3

The function of the Defender is incompatible with that of the President of the Republic, Member of Parliament, senator or judge, and also with all public administration functions.

The function of Defender is incompatible with other profit-making activities, with the exception of the management of his/her private property and activities of a scientific, publishing, literary or artistic nature, as long as this is not to the detriment of the discharge of his/her function and its dignity, nor threatens the trust in the independence and impartiality in the discharge thereof.

The Defender may not be a member of a political party or a political movement.

During the term of office the Defender, if he/she is subject to compulsory military conscription, will not be called up for active service or the active service will be suspended; military training periods thus missed shall be waived.

§ 4

The Defender will assume his/her duties by taking an oath to the Chair of Parliament.

The oath is worded as follows: "I swear on my honour and conscience that I shall carry out my duties independently and impartially, in compliance with the Constitution and other Acts, and that I shall protect the inviolability of human rights".

§ 5

The Defender shall carry out his/her duties independently and impartially.

The Defender is accountable to Parliament.

§ 6

The Defender shall lose his/her function on the day that follows one of the following events:

a) His/her term of office has expired,

b) A court sentence has come into force whereby the Defender is convicted of a criminal act,

c) The Defender has ceased to be eligible for election to the Senate,

d) The Defender has assumed a function listed in § 3 clause 1 or carries out public administration duties, or

e) The Chair of Parliament has been served the Defender’s notice in writing of his/her resignation.

The loss of the function for one of the reasons stated in clause (1) above shall be pronounced by the Chair of Parliament, who shall in turn inform in writing the person who has lost the function of Defender.

Should the Defender carry out an activity which, pursuant to § 3 clause 2, is incompatible with the function of Defender, or if he/she is a member of a political party or political movement, Parliament shall remove him/her from office and shall inform the Defender of this action in writing; this removal shall take effect on the day of receipt of the written notification

The Chair of Parliament shall inform the President of the Republic, the Senate and the public about such removal from office; Parliament, too, will be informed about the loss of function.

Should the Defender fail to take the oath within 10 days of his/her election, or has lost the function or has been removed, an election shall take place within sixty days pursuant to § 2 clause 1.

§ 7

Criminal proceedings may not be instigated against the Defender without the approval of Parliament. Should Parliament refuse approval, such action shall be impossible until the expiry of the term of office of the Defender.

The Defender is obliged to observe confidentiality with regard to all facts that he/she has learned during his/her term of office. This shall apply also after expiry of the term office, unless law provides otherwise; the same obligation applies to employees at his department (§ 25).

In serious cases, the Chair of Parliament may lift the confidentiality obligation under clause 2 above from the Defender and/or employees at his department.

State administration bodies, including bodies responsible for penal proceedings, are authorised to consult the dossiers of the Defender or may take away such dossiers only on a legal basis and with the approval of the Defender. Should the Defender refuse to grant approval, the approval of the Chair of Parliament is required.

§ 8

The function of Defender is a public function.

The Defender is entitled to a salary, expenses and benefits in kind equal to that of the President of the Supreme Control Office. The Deputy Defender is entitled to a salary, expenses and benefits in kind equal to that of the Vice-President of the Supreme Control Office.

PART TWO
ACTIVITIES OF THE DEFENDER

§ 9

The Defender acts

a) On the basis of a Motion filed by a person or entity (hereinafter referred to as "Motion") addressed to his/her person,

b) On the basis of a Motion addressed to a Member of Parliament or a Senator, who has passed the said Motion to the Defender,

c) On the basis of a Motion addressed to either of the Houses of Parliament, which has passed the said Motion to the Defender, or

d) On his/her own initiative.

§ 10

Anyone has the right to address the Defender with a written Motion in matters that are in his/her sphere of competence (§ 1); such a Motion may be entered verbally into a record.

A Motion that is put forward by a person held in detention must not be submitted to official inspection.

The Motion is not subject to a fee.

§ 11

(1) A Motion must contain:

a) A description of the important circumstances of the case (§ 10 clause 1), including information as to whether the case was presented to another state administration body and, if relevant, the outcome.

b) The designation of the Office, and/or, if relevant, the name and surname or other information as to the identity of the person concerned in the Motion.

c) Documentary proof that the Office that is mentioned in the Motion was unsuccessfully appealed to for rectification of the matter.

d) The name, surname and domicile or, in the case of an entity, the registered name, address and authorised attorney, of the filer of the Motion (hereinafter referred to as the "Appellant").

Should the Motion concern an official decision, the Appellant shall submit a copy thereof.

§ 12

The Defender shall suspend the Motion if the case in question does not fall within his/her competence, or does not concern the person or entity who has filed the Motion.

The Defender may suspend a Motion if

a) The conditions under § 11 have not been fulfilled even after the set time period,

b) It is manifestly unfounded,

c) The time elapsed from the coming into force of the legal decision or from the measures or facts which are relevant to the Motion until the day of presentation of the Motion is longer than one year,

d) The case that concerns the Motion is before a court or has had a court decision passed upon it, or

e) If the Motion is a case that has already been considered by the Defender (§§ 17 and 18) and the re-presented Motion does not contain any new facts.

The Defender shall inform the Appellant in writing of the suspension of the Motion and the reasons thereof.

§ 13

Should the Motion by its content be a matter for appeal according to regulations on administrative or judicial affairs, an action or matter for appeal before the administrative courts, or a constitutional complaint, the Defender shall inform the Appellant without delay and shall provide instructions as to the correct procedures.

§ 14

If the Defender does not suspend the Motion (§ 12) or does not proceed according to § 13, the enquiry process will begin and the Appellant shall be informed of this in writing.

§ 15

The Defender is, with the knowledge of those responsible for the Offices concerned, authorised to enter all areas of the Office concerned even without prior warning in order to carry out investigation involving the following:

a) Consultation of dossiers,

b) Interviewing of employees,

c) Interviewing of persons detained in detention or imprisonment facilities, those of protective or institutional education and protective medical treatment, without the presence of third parties.

On the request of the Defender, the Offices concerned are obliged to provide the following services within the set time limits:

a) Provision of information and explanations,

b) Provision of dossiers and other written materials,

c) Communication of a written point of view as to the facts of the case and legal matters,

d) Provision of evidence on the suggestion of the Defender,

e) The provision of such supervisory actions as are permitted by law and suggested by the Defender.

The Defender is authorised to be present at interviews and the provision of evidence by Offices and to put questions to the attendees.

The Defender is authorised to request that certain employees of the Office concerned be, for the purposes of the investigation as listed in the above clauses, relieved of the obligation of confidentiality should this obligation have been imposed on them by law.

§ 16

All state administration bodies and persons exerting the public administration are, within the scope of their competence, obliged to provide all aid necessary to the Defender in the performance of his/her investigation.

§ 17

If during the course of his/her investigations the Defender does not discover any violations of law or other misdemeanour (§ 1 clause 1), the Appellant and the Office concerned shall be informed in writing.

§ 18

If during the course of his/her investigations the Defender does discover violations of the law or other misdemeanours (§ 1 clause 1), the Office concerned will be invited to provide a reaction on such discoveries within 30 days.

Should the Office concerned respond to (1) above stating that it has carried out or is in the process of carrying out corrective measures, and the Defender considers these measures to be sufficient, the Appellant and Office concerned shall be informed of the decision. In all other cases the Defender will, following receipt of the reaction, or should the time term expire without reaction, inform the Appellant and Office concerned alike of his/her final decision; part of this decision will be a proposal for corrective measures to be taken.

§ 19

The Defender may propose mainly the following corrective measures:

a) Opening of a procedure to review a decision, action or procedures taken by the Office, should it be possible to open such a procedure by virtue of office,

b) Instigation of measures to prevent non-action,

c) Instigation of disciplinary or similar action,

d) Instigation of prosecution for a criminal act, offence or other administrative wrong,

e) The provision of damage compensation or the claim of damage compensation.

§ 20

The Office is obliged to inform the Defender within 30 days of the receipt of the final decision of the corrective measures that have been taken.

If the Office does not fulfil the conditions under clause 1 above, or if in the view of the Defender, the corrective measures are insufficient, the Defender may:

a) Inform a superior Office or, if there is no such Office, the Government,

b) Inform the public; confidential facts and information as to the identity of the Appellant and employees of the Office concerned shall not be disclosed.

The measures taken under clause 2 above may also be taken by the Defender in cases where the Office concerned fails to fulfil the obligations laid down in § 15 clauses 1 to 3.

§ 21

Should the Defender act on his/her own initiative, the stipulations of § 15 to 20 shall apply likewise.

PART THREE
SPECIAL POWERS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE DEFENDER

§ 22

The Defender is authorised to recommend the issuing of, an amendment to or the annulment of a legal regulation or internal order. Such recommendations are presented to the Office concerned and, if the matter concerns a ruling, a governmental decree or a law, to the Government itself.

The Office concerned is obliged to present its point of view regarding the recommendations under clause 1 above within sixty days. The provision of § 20 clause 2 applies likewise.

§ 23

The Defender shall submit an annual written report to Parliament by 31st March each year on his/her activities during the past year; this report is a parliamentary publication. The report will also be sent to the Senate, the President of the Republic, the Government and other administrative offices which have competence over the entire territory of the Czech Republic; the report will be publicised in a suitable manner.

The Defender will inform the public on a regular basis of his/her activities under this law and of any findings resulting of his/her activities.

§ 24

The Defender shall provide Parliament with the following:

a) Information on his/her activities on a three-monthly basis at least,

b) A report on each case in which adequate rectification of the matter has not been achieved even using the procedure under § 20 above,

c) Recommendations pursuant to § 22, should the case concern legal regulations.

Parliament will debate the reports and information presented by the Defender.

The Defender is authorised to participate in Parliamentary meetings and its services, should matters that fall within the sphere of his/her competence be dealt with, even if the meeting or part thereof has been declared closed to the public. If he/she requests a leave to speak, this will be granted.

PART FOUR
FINAL PROVISIONS

§ 25

Specialist, organisational and technical tasks linked to the activities of the Defender will be carried out by the Department of the Public Defender of Rights (hereinafter referred to as the "Department "), which is a budgetary organisation.

The details of organisation and the tasks of the Department are defined in Regulations to be issued by the Defender.

The Defender may authorise individual employees of the Department to carry out investigations into cases under § 15 clauses 1 and 3 and to represent him/her in certain proceedings before the Constitutional Court. 1)

§ 26

Costs related to the activities of the Defender and his Department will be covered by a separate chapter in the state budget.

§ 27

The Defender is bound by the Labour Code, unless this law provides otherwise.

Salaries of the employees of the Department will be governed by legal regulations on the salaries of state administration employees.

§ 28
ENTRY INTO FORCE

This law will enter into force on the sixtieth day following its proclamation.

Klaus own hand
Havel own hand
Zeman own hand

1) § 64 clause 2 f) of Law no. 182/1993 C.L., on the Constitutional Court, as amended

Zacátek formuláre

Konec formuláre