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Law Nr. 9/91, of 9 April
1991 The Parliament, under the terms of Articles 164 (d), 167 (1), 168 (b)
and 169 (3), of the Constitution, decrees as follows: CHAPTER 1 General principles Article 1 Functions 1. Under the terms of the Constitution, the Ombudsman is an organ of the State elected by the Parliament whose main functions shall be to defend and promote the rights, freedoms, safeguards and legitimate interests of the citizens, and secure through informal means that the exercise of public powers shall abide by justice and the law. 2. In exercising his functions, the Ombudsman shall enjoy
total independence. Article 2 Scope of action 1. The Ombudsman shall exercise his functions notably with respect to the activities of the central, regional and local public administration, the Armed Forces, public institutes, public enterprises, enterprises the largest share of whose capital stock is publicly owned, enterprises that are concessionnaires of public services or exploit property in the public domain. 2. The activity of the Ombudsman may also extend to the
relations between private persons, which involve a special relationship
of dominion, in the scope of the protection of rights, liberties and safeguards. Article 3 Right of claim Any citizen may submit to the Ombudsman claims concerning
actions or omissions of the public powers. The Ombudsman shall examine
the claims and address to the relevant bodies such recommendations as
he deems fit to prevent or redeem injustice; the Ombudsman shall appreciate
the claims without the power to take decisions on their matters, but only
to address to the relevant bodies such recommendations as he deems fit
to prevent or redeem injustice. Article 4 Autonomy The Ombudsman may also act on his own initiative; his activities shall
be carried out independently of judicial administrative or remedies provided
for in the Constitution and in law. CHAPTER II Statute Article 5 Nomination 1. The Ombudsman shall be appointed by the Parliament, by a two thirds' majority of the Members present where that majority is larger than the absolute majority of the Members entitled to vote. 2. The appointment may only fall upon a citizen who fulfils the conditions required to be elected a Member of the Parliament and who enjoys a well-established reputation for integrity and independence. 3. The Ombudsman shall take up functions before the Speaker of the Parliament. Article 6 Duration of the term of office 1. The Ombudsman shall be appointed for a period of four years and may be reappointed only once, for the same period of time. 2. His term of office having reached an end, the Ombudsman shall nevertheless remain in office until his successor takes up functions. 3. The appointment shall take place within the last thirty days of the term of office of the incumbent Ombudsman. 4. Where the Parliament has been dissolved, or is outside its period
of session, the appointment shall be made within fifteen days of the first
sitting of the new Parliament or the new session, unless an extraordinary
meeting of the Parliament is called for that purpose. Article 7 Independent and irremovable nature of the office Once appointed, the Ombudsman shall be independent and irremovable; his
functions shall not be discontinued before the end of his term of office,
save where otherwise provided in this law. Article 8 Immunities 1. The Ombudsman shall not be answerable, either on civil or on criminal law grounds, for the recommendations or remarks that he makes, the opinions that he gives, or the acts that he performs in the exercise of his functions. 2. The Ombudsman shall not be arrested or imprisoned without the authorisation of the Parliament, except for commission of a crime that carries a prison sentence of over three years, for which he is caught in "flagrante delicto". 3. Where criminal proceedings are moved against the Ombudsman and the latter is definitively accused, the Parliament shall decide whether or not to suspend him from office so that the proceedings can be continued, save in the case of a crime punishable with a prison sentence of over three years. 4. In a case as referred to in paragraph 2 above, the imprisonment of
the Ombudsman carries with it the suspension of the latter from office
during the time of imprisonment. Article 9 Honours, rights and safeguards The Ombudsman shall enjoy such rights, honours, precedence, rank, remuneration,
and privileges as minister, including those provided in Law Nr. 4/85,
of 9 April, and in particular Articles 12, paragraphs 1 and 2, and 24
to 31 thereof. Article 10 Office of the Ombudsman 1. The Office of the Ombudsman is hereby set up; it shall provide the Ombudsman with direct and personal assistance. 2. The staff of the Office shall comprise one Head of the Office, three assistants and four personal secretaries. 3. The Ombudsman shall be empowered to appoint and remove or exempt from duty the staff of the Office as he deems reasonable. 4. The rules applicable to the appointment and remuneration and those
concerning the safeguards and duties of the staff of the ministerial private
offices, shall apply to the staff of the Office of the Ombudsman. Article 11 Incompatibilities 1. The Ombudsman shall be subject to the same rules on incompatibilities that apply to the acting magistrates of the courts of law. 2. The Ombudsman may not exercise any function within the organs of political
parties or associations, nor may he engage in partisan activities of a
public nature. Article 12 Duty of confidentiality 1. The Ombudsman shall maintain the secrecy in respect of facts that come to his notice in the performance of his functions where, in view of the nature of such facts, confidentiality is necessary. 2. The duty to co-operate with the Ombudsman within the field of competence
of the latter has pre-eminence over the duty of any citizen or any entity
to keep information confidential, where the latter duty does not stem
from a constitutional or legal provision. Article 13 Guarantee of work 1. The Ombudsman shall not, in taking that office, prejudice the stability of his employment, his career, or his social security benefits. 2. For all purposes, the period of time actually served in the function of Ombudsman shall be taken into account as if it were served in his prior function; it shall also be taken into account for the purpose of entitlement to benefit from severance and retirement schemes, even if the function held at the time of the appointment did not confer the right to such benefits. 3. The Ombudsman shall benefit from the same social security systems
as the non-military personnel in the civil service, unless he was beneficiary
of a more favourable system before being appointed. Article 14 Identification and free pass 1. The Ombudsman shall be entitled to a special identification card delivered by the secretariat and signed by the Speaker of the Parliament. 2. The identification card shall entitle the bearer to circulate freely
and to have free access to all the places of work of the central, regional,
local and institutional administration and of the civil and military services,
as well as of other entities that are subject to his control. Article 15 Vacancy of the office 1. The Ombudsman's functions shall end before the four year term lapses only in the following cases: a) Death or permanent physical invalidity; b) No longer qualifies to be elected a Member of the Parliament; c) Newly arisen incompatibility; d) Resignation. 2. It is for the Parliament, in accordance with its Rules of Procedure, to control the reasons for the Ombudsman's functions having ended. 3. An Ombudsman must be appointed within thirty days of the office becoming vacant, due consideration being given to the provisions of Article 6, paragraph 4, above. 4. The legal provisions concerning retirement on grounds of age shall
not apply to the Ombudsman. Article 16 Deputy Ombudsmen 1. The Ombudsman shall have the power to appoint and to dismiss two deputies; he shall use as criteria when selecting his deputies, a well-established reputation for integrity and independence and adequate university qualifications. 2. The Ombudsman may delegate to his deputies the powers referred to in Articles 21, 27, 30 to 34 and 42 below; his deputies shall also be empowered to discharge the functions of the office where the Ombudsman's duties end or are temporarily discontinued. 3. The provisions of Articles 11, 12, 13 and 14 above shall apply to
the deputy ombudsmen. Article 17 Assistants In exercising his functions, the Ombudsman shall be assisted
by coordinators and assessors. Article 18 Powers of authority The Ombudsman, the deputy Ombudsmen, the co-ordinators
and the assessors shall enjoy public authority status; they shall in particular
enjoy public authority status for purposes of criminal law. Article 19 Assistance from other authorities Every authority, and every person acting on behalf of an authority, must
assist the Ombudsman as required for the proper performance of his duties. CHAPTER III Aims Article 20 Competence 1. The following shall be within the Ombudsman's competence: a) To address to the competent organs recommendations aimed at correcting illegal or unfair acts of public authorities, or aimed at improving the services of the latter; b) To point out shortcomings in the law and accordingly to make recommendations concerning the interpretation, amendment or repeal of the relevant provisions, as well as to make suggestions for new legislation; such findings, recommendations and suggestions shall be forwarded to the Speaker of the Parliament, the Prime Minister and the Ministers directly involved, and, where applicable, to the Speakers of the Regional Legislative Parliaments and the Presidents of the Governments of the Autonomous Regions; c) To give an opinion on any matter pertaining to his activities, upon request from the Parliament; d) To promote the widespread knowledge of (1) the substance and the meaning of each of the fundamental rights and freedoms, (2) the objectives of his office, (3) the competencies and jurisdictional reach of his office and (4) how to obtain access to it; e) To intervene, under the terms of the applicable law, for the safeguard of collective and diffuse interests where a public entity is involved. 2. The Ombudsman shall be a member of the Council of State. 3. Under the terms of Article 281, paragraphs 1 and 2 (d), of the Constitution, the Ombudsman shall be empowered to request the Constitutional Court to pass a ruling on the unconstitutionality or illegality of any rules made by public entities. 4. Under the terms of Article 283, paragraph 1, of the Constitution, the Ombudsman shall be empowered to request the Constitutional Court to take a stand and pass a ruling on unconstitutionality by default. 5. The recommendations addressed by the Ombudsman to the Parliament or
to the Regional legislative Parliaments shall be published in their respective
official journals. Article 21 Powcrs 1. In the performance of his duties, the Ombudsman shall have the following powers: a) To visit for the purpose of inspection, with or without notice, any place of activity of the central, regional and local administration, including civil and military public services and prisons, and any entities subject to his control; to give hearings to officials of these respective organs and request from them such information and documents as he deems fit; b) To undertake such investigations and inquiries as he deems necessary or convenient; he may for that purpose use any reasonable ways and means of collecting and producing evidence, provided that such means do not impinge upon legitimate rights and interests of the citizens; c) To search, in co-operation with the competent bodies and services, the solutions that more adequately serve the purposes of safeguarding the legitimate interests of the citizens and improving the activities of the administration. 2. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 22 below, the Ombudsman's
powers to act and intervene shall not be affected by judicial and non
judicial remedies provided by the Constitution or the law, pending or
not pending. Article 22 Limits 1. The Ombudsman shall not be empowered to quash, repeal or reform decisions of public authorities; his interventions shall not suspend the computation of time limits, in particular procedural time limits established for judical or administrative appeals. 2. The organs of supreme authority (i. e., the President of the Republic, the Parliament, the Government and the Courts of Law), the Regional Legislative Parliaments and the Regional Governments shall not be subject to the Ombudsman's control and supervising powers, save in so far as their administrative activity, as well as the acts that they perform in supervising the administration, are concerned. 3. Any claims relating to judical activities, where they do not fall
outside the Ombudsman's scope of activities, shall be dealt with through
the Higher Council of the Bench, the Higher Council of the Public Prosecution
or the Higher Council of the Administrative and Fiscal Courts, as applicable. Article 23 Report to and co-operation with the Parliament 1. The Ombudsman shall report yearly to the Parliament on his activities, his initiatives, the complaints received, the actions undertaken and the results obtained; the report shall be published in the official journal of the Parliament (Diario da Assambleia da Republica). 2. If he deems fit, and at their request, the Ombudsman may participate
in the work of parliamentary committees for the purpose of dealing with
matters within his competence. CHAPTER IV Procedure Article 24 Initiative 1. The Ombudsman shall discharge his duties, either in response to claims submitted to him by one or several citizens, or, on his own initiative, in response to facts that come to his notice by any other means. 2. Claims addressed to the Ombudsman are not subject to any requirements
concerning a direct, personal and legitimate interest on the part of the
claimant, nor to time limits. Article 25 Submission of claims 1. Claims may be submitted orally or in writing and may take the form of a letter; claims must include the identity and the address of the claimant and if possible his signature. 2. The claims submitted orally shall be officially written down into a formal document that the claimant, where possible and provided he is able to do it, must sign. 3. Claims may either be handed in directly to the Ombudsman or handed to any Public Prosecutor; in the latter case the claim shall be immediately forwarded to the Ombudsman. 4. Where a claim is not submitted in proper terms, its replacement shall
be ordered. Article 26 Grievances transmitted by the Parliament The Parliament, its parliamentary committees, as well
as its Members may hear the Ombudsman and may request him to take whatever
steps are necessary in order to deal with petitions or grievances that
are submitted to any of the former. Article 27 Preliminary examination of the claims 1. A preliminary examination of claims shall be made with a view to deciding upon their admissibility. 2. Manifestly unfounded or ,,mala fide" claims shall be dismissed
immediately. Article 28 Investigation 1. The investigation shall consist of requests for information, inspections, examinations, inquiries or any other procedures that are reasonable and do not impinge upon fundamental rights of the citizens; it shall be undertaken through informal and expeditious means and compliance with the procedural rules applicable to the producing of evidence shall not be required. 2. Measures within the investigation process shall either be carried
out by the Ombudsman and his collaborators or, at his request and if necessary
with priority and urgency, by the Public Prosecutors or any other public
entity. Article 29 Duty to co-operate 1. It shall be the duty of any organ or official of a public entity, both civil and military, to provide the Ombudsman with all the information and clarification that the latter might request from them. 2. At his request, both civil and military public entities, shall fully co-operate with the Ombudsman; such co-operation shall include producing information notes, undertaking inspections through those services competent to do so, making documents and files available for examination or deposit with the Ombudsman. 3. The provisions in paragraph 2 above shall not prevail over the legal restrictions relating to the judical confidentiality, nor shall they preclude the competent organs from alleging superior interests of the State in duly justified cases relating to security, defence or international relations. 4. The ombudsman may stipulate, in writing, a time limit of not less than 10 days which an urgent request present by him must be fulfilled. 5. The Ombudsman shall be entitled to order any civil servant, any official of any public entity and any incumbent of any organ subject to his control under the terms of Article 2 above, to be present at his seat, or at any other place according to circumstances, with the object of co-operating with him as required; any such order addressed to any of these persons shall be conveyed through the proper authority. 6. Non compliance by an official of the central, regional or local public
administration, the armed forces, a public institute, a public enterprise.
an enterprise the largest share of whose capital stock is publicly owned
or an enterprise that is concessionaire of public services or exploits
property in the public domain with the duty to co-operate provided for
in paragraphs 1, 2, 4 and 5 above shall, if unjustified, amount to a crime
of disobedience and, where applicable, may be subject of disciplinary
proceedings. Article 30 Statements 1. The Ombudsman may request statements or information from any citizen whenever he deems it necessary for establishing facts. 2. Absence from work shall be deemed justified where it stems from the duty to be present before the Ombudsman. 3. Where a person convoked refuses to make a statement or to be present at the date and hour indicated, the Ombudsman may convoke that person again by registered mail; a subsequent refusal to be present or to make a statement shall amount to a qualified crime of disobedience. 4. Travelling expenses, as well as other expenses if authorised by the
Ombudsman at the request of the person convened, shall be borne by the
Office of the Ombudsman, under its budget. Article 31 Discontinuation of claims Claims shall be discontinued: a) Where they do not come under the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman; b) Where the Ombudsman deems that the claim is unfounded or the facts available are not such as to justify proceeding; c) Where the illegality or the unfairness raised have already been remedied. Article 32 Forwarding to other authorities 1. Where the Ombudsman deems that a judicial or administrative remedy especially provided by the law is available to the claimant, he may limit his intervention to directing the claimant to the competent entity. 2. Regardless of the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the Ombudsman
shall always keep the claimant informed of the judical remedies available
to the latter. Article 33 Less serious cases In less serious and not repetitive cases, the Ombudsman
may limit his intervention, either to cautioning the organ or the services
involved, or to closing the matter upon receiving explanations. Article 34 Preliminary hearing Where Articles 30 and 32 do not apply, the Ombudsman
must always hear the organs and the officials in question and allow them
to put forward any clarification needed, before he draws any conclusions. Article 35 Denunciation and publicity of offences 1. If sufficient evidence of criminal, disciplinary or regulatory offences come to the notice of the Ombudsman during the procedure, the latter shall accordingly inform, as the case may be, either the Public Prosecutor, or the authority that is competent on grounds of hierarchy to start disciplinary or regulatory proceedings. 2. Where circumstances so require, the Ombudsman may decide to issue
"communiques" or publish information concerning the conclusions
reached in cases or any other matter pertaining to his activity, if necessary
through the State owned mass media; in any event, he shall benefit in
accordance with the law from the rules concerning the publication of official
"communiques". Article 36 Absence of appeal The Ombudsman's acts may not be appealed against and
they may only be subject to a complaint if such complaint is addressed
to the Ombudsman; this provision shall not affect the provisions of Article
44 below. Article 37 "Mala fide" claims Where it is established that a claim is "mala fide", the Ombudsman
shall accordingly inform the Public Prosecutor for the purpose of criminal
proceedings in conformity with the law. Article 38 Recommendations 1. The Ombudsman's recommendations shall be addressed to the organ which has the powers to correct the irregular act or situation. 2. The organ to which a recommendation is addressed must, within sixty days, inform the Ombudsman of the stand it has taken on the issue. 3. Decisions not to follow a recommendation must be substantiated. 4. If a recommendation is not followed or the Ombudsman does not meet with the co-operation due to him, he may address himself to the superior authority. 5. If the executive organ of the local authority does not comply with the recommendations of the Ombudsman, he may address himself directly to the respective deliberating assembly. 6. If the Administration should not act in accordance with his recommendations or if it should refuse to co-operate as requested, the Ombudsman may address himself to the Parliament stating the reasons for his initiative. 7. The Ombudsman shall always inform the organs and officials involved,
as well as the claimants if applicable, of his conclusions Article 39 Exemption from expenses, stamps and legal counsel Procedures before the Ombudsman shall be exempted from
expenses and stamps; they shall not require the intervention of a legal
counsel. CHAPTER V Office of the Ombudsman Article 40 Aim, autonomy and seat 1. The purpose of the Office of the Ombudsman shall be to provide the technical and administrative support that is necessary for the Ombudsman to carry out the functions provided in this law. 2. The Office of the Ombudsman shall enjoy administrative and financial autonomy. 3. The Office of the Ombudsman shall have a seat of its
own. Article 41 Staff The Office of the Ombudsman shall have a staff of its
own, in conformity with its organic law. Article 42 Administrative and disciplinary powers The Ombudsman shall be empowered to perform any act relating
to the appointment and to the professional situation of the staff of the
Office of the Ombudsman; he shall also have disciplinary powers over that
staff. Article 43 Budget 1. The Office of the Ombudsman shall have an annual budget prepared according to its organic law. 2. The budgetary appropriations of the Office of the Ombudsman shall figure in the budget of the Parliament. 3. For the purpose of authorising expenses, the Ombudsman
shall have ministerial powers. Article 44 Judicial appeals The Ombudsman's decisions performed within the framework
of his powers of management of the Office of the Ombudsman may be appealed
against; such appeals shall be addressed to the Supreme Administrative
Court under the general terms of the law. CHAPTER VI Final and transitional provisions Article 45 Remittance The words "Office of the Ombudsman" shall for all purposes
replace the words "Services of the Ombudsman" where the latter
are written in existing legislation and any acts with legal force. Article 46 Amendments to the organic law Within the next 180 days, the Government shall introduce
by way of a decree-law the necessary amendments to the Organic Law of
the Office of the Ombudsman, i.e. Law Nr. 10/78, of 2 March 1978. Article 47 Repeal The Law Nr. 81/77, of 22 November 1977, shall be repealed.
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