2000 Budapest
All rights reserved
Editor: Parliamentary Commissioners' Office
Responsible editor: Dr. Katalin Gönczöl

1. Introduction

Investigations carried out in 1999 were more complicated than those of the previous three and a half years. On the one hand, this was due to the fact that new categories of cases came into our scope of responsibility, the solving of which presented a real professional challenge. These new challenges included issues such as patients' rights in the new legal environment, the termination of foster parenthood, the examination of public buildings in relation to disabled accessibility, as well as analysis of complaints in connection with the large-scale closing of schools. On the other hand, after three and a half years, in 1999 - due to new and similar complaints - time has come for following-up previous comprehensive investigations of, for example, social care homes, nursing homes for the mentally and physically disabled, children's homes, rights of people who have attempted suicide, and the status of the professional and conscripted members of the armed forces. While in 1998 we found 972 constitutional improprieties in the course of 1266 investigations, in 1999, 1198 improprieties were established in the course of 1066 investigations. The majority of the investigated cases - 12-16 percent - were expressly related to social matters, the second largest group after that were cases related to criminal matters (10-12 percent). Then, at about the same rate, cases related to public utilities (6 percent) and public education (6 percent), followed by petty offenses, reparation and land matters, as well as environmental protection. Compared to the previous years, the number of investigations in connection with criminal procedure, penal enforcement, health care, public education and social care provided by the local government had increased. While the number of investigations on cases related to construction and reparation had slightly decreased. Complainants usually indicate their grievances in a very exact way. Their complaints, however, do not always coincide with the value judgements or professional hypothesis upon which the suspicion of constitutional impropriety arises and which will be either substantiated or not during the course of the investigation. In the reported period, the majority of investigations were initiated after a suspicion of injurious proceedings had arisen. Compared to the previous year, the increase in this respect was more than 15 percent. Whereas similarly to the previous year, about 28-29 percent of the investigations started from harmful decisions. At the same tune, the number of grounded suspicions of constitutional impropriety due to lengthy proceedings or objections against the law itself decreased as opposed to 1998. According to Article 27 (1) of Act No. LIX on Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, the Commissioner (Ombudsman) shall report annually to the Parliament on the experiences of his or her activity; in the course thereof on the status of constitutional rights protection in the proceedings before the authorities, as well as the reception and results of her initiatives and recommendations. Here, the social characteristics related to the most typical complaints are also demonstrated, since it is the only way that the effects and reception of our initiatives and recommendations may be valuably assessed. Cases of human rights violations are in fact conflicts of individuals or a group of individuals with excessive state power, professional knowledge representing increasing power, and dominant market positions, i.e. monopoly. In our practice, the analysis of this conflict does not simply mean to discover the injury to individual interest, but also to throw light on the injury to citizens' rights or interests, the redress of which is a constitutional and legal obligation on the state. The Commissioner thus promotes a more harmonic interaction and cooperation between citizens and state power.
Investigation of human rights conflicts is actually catching nlanii-estations of human vulnerability. The individual may be vulnerable owing to his or her social conditions, state of health, physical condition, age or having to live or work in a highly hierarchical structure. Our practice shows that the more or less pronounced, but existing vulnerability implies the lack or an imperfect, as well as defective realization of human rights. These conditions might be of a permanent, definitive nature, or only episodic leading to occasional inconveniences. The Commissioners are authorized to remedy these conditions. Their activities, however, are determined not only by the rules defining their competence, but also by the complaints addressed to them. Since the Commissioners are working from the complaints brought by the citizens, the presentation of their grievances conveys very important information to the Government about the citizens' public "feeling". In the past year a low number of proceedings were initiated by the Commissioner ex officio. When doing so, the Commissioner acts as an "agent of necessity." In our practice, ex officio investigations are initiated in the interests of the most vulnerable who are unable to register complaits for themselves. Occasionally, however, in matters of severe injuries affecting a large group of people, the Commissioner also has to take action. The ,,maintenance" of fundamental human rights of the most indigent and vulnerable is one of the pledges of democratic development and of closing-up to the Western world.

The following groups of cases are, in our opinion, the most significant illustrations of the state of human rights.

Twelve to sixteen percent of the cases investigated in 1999 were more or less related to social problems which make living a complete life impossible. It is the duty of the local governments to take care of the ones in the greatest need. In this respect, we had to investigate the practice of the local governments and mayor's offices. The supply of the basic needs of persons or families living on the edge of an uncertain existence and being socially, and often physically, vunerable may be put at risk if the temporary welfare aid, the home maintenance aid, the welfare assistance to unemployed persons or the aid for subsistence is late or not paid at all. Delay or failure in paying the nursing aid, or providing the certificate which entitles the needy to get some medication free of charge, gravely endangers not only social existence, but the fundamental rights to life and health as well. By lengthy proceedings in these cases, by failure to pass a decision that is urgent for the client, by failure to decide on the appeal, by the oral refusal of the claim, by failure to deliver or late delivery of the written resolution, the authorities do not only violate the fundamental rules on administrative procedure, but also the aforementioned rights. Neglect and negligence, or lack of expertise on the part of the authorities may result in defenselessness or uncertainty regarding the basic conditions of life. We come across such cases quite often, and according to our experience, authorities generally remedy the procedural flaws and omissions right after our first writ. In these cases, we no longer have to make recommendations on behalf of the complainant. Taking into consideration the nature of social care, however, we always emphasize that the competent officials should take principles of equity into consideration over and above the general rules of administrative procedure. Compliance with the basic rules of procedure is an absolute requirement, independent of whether the petition is justified or well founded. We came across many local government decisions on social assistance cases where the authorities did not, or only partly, complied with their obligations to give reasons for their decisions. We also found a number of cases where the local government or the notary of the local government failed to establish the statement of facts, or it was incomplete, and as a result, the reasoning of the decision was left out. The authorities should know that if' distressed citizens receive "blank" (pre-prepared) decisions, they do not feel that their case was dealt with on its merits, or that the authorities were aware of their desperate situation and took it into consideration in the course of the decision-making. In one case, the Commissioner established that the mayor's office acted unlawfully when it discontinued to grant welfare assistance for an unemployed citizen on the basis that she refused to clean parks. According to the Act on Social Care, the condition for granting welfare assistance is the cooperation of the unemployed with the competent employment center. If the center offers public work to the unemployed, he or she is obliged to accept it, provided that the public work is equivalent to or only one degree lower than his or her level of education. The complainant in this case possessed high qualifications, and since cleaning parks was clearly not equivalent to or one degree lower than her qualifications, she had the right to refuse the work offered by the employment center. As a consequence, the local government acted unlawfully when discontinued paying the welfare assistance for this reason. In an other case, we established that the local government of a small village was wrong in making the granting of the aid for subsistence subject to the court's refusal of the complainant's claim for support from his children. In practice it means that the complainant in desperate need is deprived of any financial assistance until the judge rules on his case, which in Hungary often takes years. The Commissioner initiated in 1995 that in case of delay in making the payment of pensions, the competent authorities should pay interest on arrears. The Parliament then accepted this recommendation. However, in the 1998 amendment of the law in force, provisions related to interest on arrears were ambiguous. The Commissioner therefore suggested to the Minister of Finance to allocate sums for paying interests on arrears when drafting the Bill on the Budget for the year 2000. The Act on the National Budget for the year 2000 has since entered into force, but legal regulations helping uniform interpretation has yet to be introduced, which has created uncertainty for the authorities who are responsible for paying these interests . In 1999, the Minister of Social and Family Affairs made a national survey on the living conditions and care of the homeless. In the reported period, the Commissioner had also planned a comprehensive analysis of the gravest human rights problems related to homelessness, which due to objective obstacles could not have been accomplished. Investigations done on individual cases, however, threw light on some considerable phenomena. According to the law in force, local governments should have established temporary homes for homeless families by December 1, 1999. This would have been important for two reasons: first, because of the perceptible increase in the number of homeless; second, because the 1997 Act on Protection of Children's Rights provided that endangered children should not be separated from their families solely because of their desperate financial situation. Although these homes for families are actually only temporary, they are an indispensable solution for the victims of the real estate loan consolidation attempts, for those who have been evicted in the growing number of enforcement proceedings, and for the small communities who became homeless due to family conflicts. In one case, for example, the Ombudsman learned that a big town's local government intended to expel iliniilies with children from the temporary lodgings where they lived. Since the temporary home for families had not yet been ready, these families would have been left without shelter. The Ombudsman therefore made a recommendation to the local government to establish the temporary home for families by the summer of 2000, and to urgently accommodate these tlmllles until then. The local government accepted the recommendation and immediately took steps to solve the problem.

We have made several initiatives and recommendations for the prevention of homelessness. The Constitutional Court has yet to rule on our joint petition with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Ethnic and Minority Rights which we submitted in 1998. A promising government decree on housing development entered into force on January 1, 2000, during the drafting of which the legislators took into consideration the previous recommendations of the Ombudsman. The Ministry of Justice sent to us the conception for the amendment of the Act on Enforcement of Judicial Decisions in November 1999. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights acknowledged that the provisions creating a special legal environment for real estates the size of which does not exceed the minimum of social need, are important from the point of view of social security. The amendment positively attempts to settle the legal relation between the buyer at (forced) auction and the former owner of the real estate. The Ombudsman, nevertheless, pointed out that the drafters failed to take into consideration her recommendation that judicial discretion should be introduced during the enforcement of judicial decisions on real estates the size of which does not exceed the minimum of social need, restricting the discretionary powers of the local authorities. If the amendment to the aforementioned enforcement law is accepted and enters into force in 2000, the chance of losing one's shelter will be significantly diminished.

Since the establishment of the Ombudsman's Office, we have always paid special attention to people living in institutions providing personal care. In the reported period, we carried out comprehensive investigations in two types of institutions based upon individual complaints.

One of the comprehensive investigations was conducted in nursing homes ,for senior citizens. After the first comprehensive investigation in this type of institution in 1998, we received more and more complaints which rendered a new on-site comprehensive investigation necessary. The investigation revealed that the most justified complaints were related to the right to highest attainable physical and mental health. Out of the six investigated nursing homes for senior citizens, five of them did not have separated sick-rooms, three of them did not have medical rooms, and two of them failed to provide the minimal medical attendance. We also found that the requirements of elderly or disabled elder accessibility were not met in these institutions. In one of the homes, the condition of the building was actually dangerous as the floor was so damaged that it risked accidents. The comprehensive and individual investigations often showed a lack of the adequate number of qualified staff specified by law that should be necessary for the preservation of the physical and mental health of the elders, and the lack of a continuous and free supply of medication. In the 1998 comprehensive investigation, we had already strongly objected to punishments given for "breach of discipline." In 1999, we still found a notice board in one of the nursing homes where punishments such as deprival of permission to go out of the institution, withholding of pocket money and placement in another institution were displayed. The recent comprehensive investigation also revealed constitutional impropriety in relation to right to property when the institution managed the pocket money of the elders without written authorization to do so, or when the institution did not provide f-or the custody of the money or other valuables of the elders under care. In one home, we established that the elders were unlawfully required to pay a fee if they wanted to use their own electric equipment. The Commissioner made 40 individual recommendations to remedy the constitutional improprieties found in connection with the operation of nursing homes for senior citizens. Thirty eight of them have already been accepted by the concerned homes, and there is an ongoing dialog about the two remaining recommendations. The Commissioner requested the 19 Regional State Administration Authorities to make sure during the licensing procedure for the operation and supervision of social institutions providing personal care that the legal requirements are met. This recommendation was accepted by all the Directors of Regional State Administrative Authorities.

The largest group of disabled persons are the physically disabled. Most of them live among us, and not in an institution providing care. Their interest enforcement activity is only modestly fruitful and their situation remains extremely difficult, even though with relatively little attention, their integration as equal members of society could be achieved. Therefore, we have given special attention to their complaints in the reported period. In 1999, the Commissioner ex officio initiated a comprehensive investigation to examine public buildings with regard to disabled accessibility. Since the Act on the Rights of Disabled Persons and Guaranteeing Their Equal Opportunity (entered into force in January 1999), and the Act on the Protection of Built Environment (entered into force in January 1998), specified the tasks to be achieved by 2005, the Commissioner primarily analyzed the pro-rata implementation, and the commencement of their realization. Prior to that, the Commissioner examined whether the proceedings based upon the law in force or the omissions of the construction authorities during the licensing procedure brought about improprieties in connection with the constitutional rights of the citizens or its danger thereof. The investigation showed that out of the 1760 licenses that were issued in the course of the previous one and the half years, in 260 cases, and in relation to new buildings, in 95 cases the requirements of disabled accessibility set forth by the law were not met. According to the law in force, licenses not containing the requirements of disabled accessibility are clearly in breach of the law. From the data submitted by the selected owners (maintainers), we can assess the present status of compliance with the requirements of disabled accessability, however, it does not give us a full picture. Nonetheless, these data are suitable to determine whether the tasks to be achieved by 2005 are likely to be realized or not. We gathered information on 7230 buildings. In 81 percent of them, disabled accessibility was not provided for. In three quarters of the buildings not providing disabled accessability, accessibility could be achieved, whereas in one quarter, this proved to be impossible. From the latter group, the number of buildings where the problem of accessibility could never be solved for different reasons is significantly high. Projecting the collected data to the country, we draw an overall picture of the present situation of disabled accessibility and the extent of the tasks facing us. Taking into consideration the pace of construction and reconstruction, we estimate that it would take at least 57, or maximum 182 years, to make all public buildings accessible where this is architecturally possible. In the course of the investigation, we analyzed the law in force and the practice based upon it. It turned out that the legislature caused improprieties by not harmonizing the definitions used in the different legal regulations, and by failing to enact the law on implementation. All these adversely influence the licensing procedure of the construction authorities. Moreover, the accessibility requirement and other safety regulations are not harmonized. For example, it is impossible to comply with fire protection rules, to operate safety doors in the banks and at the airports, and to meet accessibility requirements all at the same time. The brief wording of the law defining the accessibility requirement leaves many questions unanswered. Amongst others, the law does not specify whether the duty to make public buildings accessible for the disabled pertains to the whole building, including all places from the cellar to the attic. Also, whether accessibility has to be provided only to the disabled clients and customers, or to the employees working in the building as well. The law imposed a deadline of January 1, 2005 for making public buildings accessible for disabled persons, but it fails to specify the consequences in case the deadline is not met, and to allocate the responsibility for the implementation. Having evaluated the collected data, we found that solutions substituting for the reconstruction of the building are being applied, and they will be necessary in the future as well. The law, however, does not provide what kind of temporary or permanent solutions would be acceptable, if the absolute deadline is not met. The investigation revealed that the majority of the addressees (state and local governments) failed to comply with the obligation set out in the 1997 Act on the Protection of Built Environment to work out a program on making public buildings in their ownership accessible for disabled persons. Without proper assessment of the present situation, timing of the reconstruction, assessment of the funds needed, and without a program, there is no chance for real planning. The Parliament reacted to the mass non-compliance by repealing the relevant paragraphs of the law. Consequently, since March 1, 2000, the organs concerned have been relieved of their obligation to work out a reconstruction program. By repealing the law, the Parliament violated the constitutional requirement of legal security. According to this requirement, a law could only be repealed if it had been implemented, or turned out that it was superfluous, or unsuitable for the purpose, or if it became unnecessary, but by no means because of non-compliance. Based upon the investigation, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights established that improprieties related to the constitutional rights of disabled persons have existed for a long time, and that new ones come up continuously. The legislators gave a high quality response to the recommendations of the European Idea of Disabled Accessibility by enacting laws on equal opportunities and the transformation of the built environment. It is especially important that the law gave a legal definition of disabled accessibility. At the same time, however, the failure to adapt the rules to the Hungarian situation, to take measures for implementation, and to provide the necessary means for the realization of the aims, puts the implementation in danger. Therefore, equal opportunities for disabled persons and the accessibility of the built environment cannot realistically be achieved without the modification and completion of the relevant laws. For this reason, the Commissioner made a number of recommendations to the Minister of Social and Family Affairs, the Minister of Agriculture and Countryside Development, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of National Cultural Heritage. The recommendation made in our previous annual report to the Parliament concerning sign language seems to have finally achieved its objective. On December 7, 1999, the Parliament accepted the National Program for Disabled concerning the rights of disabled persons and guaranteeing equal opportunities for them. Pursuant to Point 2, Chapter 4 of Parliament Resolution No. 100 of 1999 (XII. 10.), disabled persons shall be granted the possibility of communication during the provision of public services. According to the National Program for Disabled, it is reasonable to have one news broadcast per day on a national television channel that is subtitled or sign language interpreted for people «-ith a hearing impediment. Adequate communication has to be guaranteed to disabled persons in all areas of public service. The National Program for Disabled provides that in the area of communication, the accessibility to public services has to be achieved by January 1, 2003, the subtitling and sign language interpretation of news by January 1, 2001.

In the interest of protecting people with disabilities, we pay special attention to complaints about guardianship. We came across one situation where a person under guardianship did not have a guardian for years until our intervention, due to a grave procedural omission on the part of the competent authorities. In another case, the public notary deliberated the possibility to put the endangered person under guardianship. However, he thought that the proceeding would be lengthy and complicated and therefore he did not start it. In our opinion, this was a mistake because in the course of the proceedings, the notary could have initiated the placement of this person in a home for elders. In this case, circumspect proceedings of the authority and a medical expert opinion could have prevented the unfortunate death of a young disabled man.

One part of the investigated complaints related to health care are evidently attributable to problems of financing. Estimating the efficiency and success of the system is not a question of constitutional and human rights, but a problem to be dealt with by the legislators through political debate. However, we cannot overlook the fact that the critical lack of resources in certain areas may directly effect the constitutional human rights of the ones receiving care, as well the ones working in the health care system. Shortage of financing directly endangers the provision of care. Impropriety may occur in relation to the right to life and the right to the highest attainable level of physical and mental health. This is so even if one person who is entitled to care does not receive it, due to lack of resources. In investigating complaints related to health care, the Commissioner's competence has an absolute limit: she cannot investigate and take-up a position on questions related to the practice of medicine. In this area, she can still deal with complaints related to patients rights, right to complaint, treatment and discrimination. In 1999, we interpreted the patient's consent to operation. The 1997 Health Care Act regulates in detail the conditions and procedure of giving consent. In the investigated case, the patient and his relative were adequately informed on the surgical intervention, but during the operation an expansion of the intervention became necessary. The Commissioner established that pursuant to the 1997 Health Care Act, if the unavoidable expansion of the intervention becomes necessary during the operation, the expansion is not subject to the consent of the patient, or his relative.

As a result of an ex officio investigation carried out in 1997, the Commissioner made several recommendations for the effectuation of human and constitutional rights of people who have attempted suicide. One part of the recommendations was then accepted by the addressees, the other part was not. For this reason, the Commissioner made a supplementary report in 1999, in which she either maintained, withdrew or modified the refused recoininendations. The COnlilnissioner requested the Minister of Health to work out the rLiles whereby a person who had attempted suicide should always be examined by psychiatrist, and the validity of his or her legal declarations concerning the treatment should be determined pursuant to the expert opinion of the psychiatrist. She also recommended to the Minister of Health to prepare a crisis intervention training program for ambulance attendants, fire-fighters, policemen and general practitioners. The Minister of Health has not responded on the merits of the recommendations yet, and upon his request, the Commissioner extended the deadline for answering. The Ombudsman recommended to the Minister of Social and Family Affairs to expand the ambit of social care to prevention of suicide, care and after-care of people who have attempted suicide, and to work out a program for suicide prevention in the framework of the National Mental Hygienic Program. The Minister accepted the recommendations. In 1997, the Commissioner also recommended that the Emergency Telephone Counseling should remain a free service, and its availability should be extended. She repeated this recommendation in 1999, and the competent official at the Ministry of Interior Affairs made a promise that staff who will be on duty at the (soon to be introduced) uniform emergency number service shall be prepared to receive calls from people in crisis due to mental problems. The supplementary report was debated by the Supervisory Subcommittee of the Parliament's Health Committee on the 23rd of November 1999, and considering the discussion, the Committee decided to support the acceptance and realization of the recommendations.

The Deputy Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights conducted comprehensive investigations in 13 homes for children in 1998. In the course of the investigations concerning the rights of 1067 children and minors living in these homes, he shed light on 51 improprieties related to constitutional rights. The 1999 follow-up to these investigations showed positive developments in this area. Moving out of buildings that were unsuitable for the task has begun, and in many places the further training of the staff is in process. In the capital, a home was established for drug addicted youth, where experts with special skills will be employed. In 1998, the majority of the institutions accepted the recommendations, and they acknowledged that these recommendations promote the realization of the objectives set out in the 1997 Children's Rights Act. The gravest problems concerning children's rights came to light through the investigations conducted in relation to the formation and operation of the child protection system. Disturbing news that appeared in the press about children who were uncared for, badly assaulted, or even neglected to the point of death, showed that the operation of the child protection system was ineffective. In 1999, the Commissioner initiated 5 ex officio investigations in this area. In the five cases already closed, the Ombudsman found that serious improprieties occurred related to child protection due to the failure or default of local governments in setting up the basic care system for child protection, or even if they had, they failed to supervise (or only formally did) their activities. Out of the five, in three cases the investigation only started after the news about a child's death had broken out. From the responses to our recommendations it emerged that under the influence of the shocking events, the local governments understood their responsibility, and it is likely that in their territories basic care for child protection shall be given more attention in the future. The majority of the local governments did not take seriously their tasks concerning child protection. In most cases, they claimed lack of resources. In our opinion, however, preparations for the new tasks were iiisufl icient, and local governments did not get enough assistance for their realization. In many cases, the principle declared in the Child Protection Act that "a child shall not be separated Irons his or her family because of their economic difficulties" has been rigidly interpreted and in given occasions, it has even been directed against the child. We found cases where the authorities did not or only tardily realized that some children are seriously endangered in their family. The Act on Child Protection and the Administration of the Public Guardianship Authority entered into force on 1St of November 1997. According to this Act, it is a mandatory and fundamental duty of local governments to establish Child Welfare Services, and thereby providing services to promote the protection and welfare of children. However, our investigations showed that even two years after the entering into force of the Act, these services have yet to be established countrywide. The Commissioner, therefore, recommended to the Minister of Social and Family Affairs to conduct an overall survey on the compliance of the local governments with their duty to establish Child Protection Services, and to take steps in cases where she finds shortcomings. In individual cases, the Parliamentary Commissioner also made recommendations to the concerned local governments to establish, or where it existed, to improve the effectiveness of these services. The local governments in question accepted these recommendations. The state supervises the realization of children's rights through the Public Guardianship Authorities. These authorities are the guardians of the rights of children living both in families and children's homes. Thus, the gravest violations of rights occur when Pubic Guardianship Authorities fail to act or when a decision is passed which is in breach of the law. Out of the investigations completed in 1999, most violations have been established in the report on the situation of foreign children under child protection care. The ex officio investigation, tracing the fate of 213 foreign children, was initiated by the Deputy Parliamentary Commissioner. He found many children in the children's homes whose mothers had abandoned them right after they had been born, but they could not be adopted due to omissions on the part of the Public Guardianship Authorities, lack of uniform guidance on this matter and outdated legal regulations. The Deputy Commissioner made recommendations to the Minister of Social and Family Affaires. Amongst others, he initiated the establishment of a inter-departmental committee for creating a uniform children register. He also requested the minister to provide professional help, guidance through legal regulations (and other means of state administration) for the Public Guardianship Authorities and other child protection authorities. During the investigation, it turned out that if a mother of Hungarian nationality appears at the maternity center without papers, and she claims to be of foreign nationality, the authorities accept it without any further inquiry, and thus deprive the child of the possibility of being adopted. Mothers who are not able to raise their child for different reasons use this method so that their families and neighbors do not learn about their situation. In the opinion of the Deputy Commissioner, this problem could be easily overcome by permitting mothers to offer their child for adoption in secret. In one case, a conflict arose between the freedom of the media and children's rights. A relative of an 8 years old child notified us, that a TV channel intended to broadcast a program on the murder of her mother. The child did not know how her mother died and the relative was concerned that he would learn about it in the broadcast. The Parliamentary Commissioner immediately intervened, as in her opinion the planned broadcast directly endangered the child's right to high priority care. As a result, the TV channel disregarded the broadcasting of the program. In 1998, the Deputy Parliamentary Commissioner proposed that the use of children's security seats in vehicles should be made mandatory. The Minister of Internal Affairs and the Minister of Transport, Telecommunication and Water Affairs agreed to the proposal in 1998, but as of 1999 the relevant laws had not been amended to this effect.

In an other complaint, a group of residents protested against the unwanted effects of a licensed brothel in their neighborhood. Besides other fundamental rights, the suspicion of impropriety related to the constitutional principle of protection of the interests of' the ~)outh arose, causing the Commissioner to investigate this complaint in subsequent proceedings. Despite many exchanges of letters, police measures, and a concretely elaborated police strategy, we came to the conclusion that there are no effective legal means for closing the brothel. As a result, despite all our efforts, the constitutional rights of the youth in the neighborhood are constantly being violated.

In 1998, the Parliamentary Commissioner initiated a comprehensive investigation on the assertion of students' rights between the ages of 14-18. In her report, she made two recommendations to the Minister of Education, who in principle agreed with the proposals, although the implementation of the concrete tasks has been delayed. Notwithstanding the delay, our investigation on students' rights is far from being unsuccessful. It inay have motivated the Minister of Education to appoint a Commissioner on Education whose duty it is to give assistance in solving conflicts related to student rights. Following the investigation, more good quality teaching material had been prepared on constitutional rights. For us, the direct effect of the investigation is the growing number of complaints from this area. The press and the electronic media more often deals with violations against students, in given cases referring to violations of human rights. As a result, the possibility of starting investigations ex officio in this area has increased. From the investigations on students' rights completed in 1999, it turned out that the gravest problem in schools is the lack of respect for human rights, especially human dignity. In the course of investigating such complaints, we came across the long lasting "dictatorial" disciplinary practice of a former boarding school teacher, which included brutal physical assaults. Students themselves are rather merciless to each other at times, and in these cases our investigation is directed towards the teachers' reaction to this behaviour. Due to fear from retorsion, complaints were often withdrawn or anonymous proceedings were requested. During the investigations, we observed that the assault on students was not a bit morally condemned either by the non affected students' parents, nor by the supervising local government. Disciplinary proceedings recommended by our office were instituted, although often only formally. Even in cases where the incriminated act or the illegal pedagogical practice was clearly proved, disciplinary proceedings ended without effective sanctioning. For example, in one case, as a result of disciplinary proceedings instituted upon the recommendation of our office, the principle dismissed the teacher. Nevertheless he was later re-engaged following a campaign for signatures initiated by the inhabitants of the village. The intervention of the Regional State Administration Authority was needed to reinforce the original decision. In an other case, a teacher who launched a campaign for the assertion of the students' right to complaint was dismissed by the principal as a "subversive element." The teachers' and the students' self-esteem was reestablished only after the ruling of the Court of Labor in the teacher's favor. Thus, generally speaking, students are defenseless in schools. The situation is even more difficult if the respect for human dignity is non-existent in their Iamily, and as a result, they lack the ability to defend their interest, or even to complain. The legally permissible, although in practical terms not right, intertwining in smaller villages also hinders the establishment of the statement of facts, as well as proper disciplinary proceedings. In one case, for example, the supervisory local government reprimanded the principal of a school for physical assaults. Four members of the local government body worked as teachers in the same school which was under the supervision of the censured principal. However, they were not disqualified for bias from the disciplinary proceedings. The closure of schools, nursery schools and day nurseries have usually an indirect influence on students' rights, however, in some cases, they are fundamentally effected. In 1999 we investigated more than a dozen complaints on the planned merger, reorganization or closure of educational institutions by local governments or other supervisory bodies. In investigating complaints against the decisions of supervisory bodies, we always had to keep in mind that rights and duties of local governments have to be interpreted in the light of the "self government principle" declared in the Constitution and the Act on Local Governments. According to this principle, decisions of local governments shall only be reviewed from the perspective of legality and constitutionality. Local governments have to organize their economic activity in the interest of the whole community. The Act on Local Governments merely specifies the mandatory duties, and local governments enjoy wide discretion in choosing the means of their realization. Therefore, we are not entitled to review the economy of local governments for their reasonableness. The right to culture, known as the part of the second generation of rights, is also set out in the Constitution. This right, or rather, a consensus-based value, is formulated as a state purpose. On a local level, the state realizes this right through cooperation with local governments by providing free and mandatory elementary school education. The right to free choice of schools cannot be interpreted expansively. Therefore, the right to culture does not include the right to leave solve institution unchanged, provided it does not adversely effects the right to basic education. Laws in force leave a wide scope of discretion to supervisory bodies in determining the institutional structure in the area of their competence. Guarantees against decisions of local governments and latent violations of material rights can only be found in the procedural rules. The Act on Public Education, for example, gives the possibility to employees and students of the concerned institution to express their opinion on questions that fundamentally effects the operation of the institution. Such rules guarantee that local government representatives fully consider the possible consequences of their decisions, avoid foreseeable problems, does not cause disproportionate burdens, and find remedies for the compensation of the negative effects. It follows from the foregoing that the Commissioner may not investigate whether the local government properly considered all these aspects provided the decision had not violated the right to free and mandatory elementary and nursery school education. The violation of this right can only be established by the Parliamentary Commissioner if due to the local government's decision, same quality elementary or nursery school becomes unavailable (or still available, but only with great difficulties) for students and children. Despite our narrow competence to investigate closure of elementary or nursery schools, we almost always investigate in case the right to culture of disabled children is endangered. In their case, the question of whether they were discriminated against automatically emerges. According to data provided in the National Disability Program (Resolution No. 100 of 1999 (XII. 10) of the Parliament) only 9.6 percent of disabled children above 15 years of age go to school, only 30 percent graduated from elementary school, and 37 percent never finished even elementary school. (At the time of the survey, altogether 170 disabled persons were studying at universities and colleges.) The Parliamentary Commissioner regards educational programs designed specially for the disabled as particularly protected values. We conducted circumspect investigations after the reorganization of three schools and one nursery school. Due to the fact that we kept the reorgaiiizatioii process under close scRitiny and transmitted signals as preventive interventions, in the end, we found no improprieties related to the constitutional (human) rights of the disabled and only in a few cases did we find violations of interests.
In one case, the complainant turned to the Commissioner because due to financial difficulties, the local government had decided to close the last two day nurseries in the village. The investigation initiated by the Commissioner revealed that money received from the central budget covered only 17 percent of the maintenance expenses, and the local government was not able to produce the remaining 83 percent. Since the law prescribes that local governments shall provide day care of children, the local government in question promised to organize it in the village on an entrepreneurial basis providing the necessary equipment. They also promised to give aid for the paying of the fee for parents who otherwise could not afford this kind of day care. According to the Act on Child Protection, the day care of children under 3 years may be provided in the form of day nurseries, family day care centers or home children care. This list leaves room for local governments to choose how and to what extent it wishes to fulfill this duty, taking into account their possibilities and the needs of the population. However, if the needs of the population require so, the choice of day care form cannot merely be based on economical considerations. The Commissioner established that the local government closed the day nurseries providing continuous day care for children with such short notice that they made it impossible for the citizens to plan ahead, and that they had even failed to establish other institutions to substitute for the care provided by the day nurseries. By so doing, it caused improprieties related to the constitutional rights of the citizens to legal and social security, and violated the principle to protect the youth. The Commissioner called upon the local government notary to review the resolutions on the closure to initiate a new debate on the issue by the representatives. The body of representatives refused the recommendation by pointing out the there are already two entrepreneurial home care services, each of them providing day care for 7 children, and that they promised to enlarge the service in case it is needed. The Commissioner indicated that she will follow up on the ftilf llment of the demands of the population. The Commissioner requested the Minister for Social and Family Affairs to initiate the amendment of the Child Protection Act, according to which the local governments shall be obliged to provide day care for children proportionately to the population. The Minister did not agree with the proposal, therefore the Commissioner modified her recommendation requesting alternative solutions. In his response, the Minister envisaged an amendment to the law on the basis of which it would be possible to evaluate whether the day care of children provided by local governments is meeting the real needs of the population, and if necessary, makes it possible to apply for additional funds. The Commissioner regarded the response of the Minister as the acceptance of the recommendation. In 1999, the amount of funds had been modified, but the establishment of an independent institution for the evaluation of the needs for day nurseries and supervising the provision thereof is still awaited. 8. Continuity in the Operation of the Market, and Defenselessness of the Citizen in Market Relations The legal basis for the operation of the market economy had been created in the past 10 years. Guaranteeing the liberty of the market, however, often results in too much liberty. Complaints received in 1999 gave an idea of the difficulties encoutered while adapting to market relations and the defenseless of the individual that can result from the operation of the market, especially where violations of rights by powerful public utility providers are concerned. During our investigations, several improprieties were established related to constitutional (human) rights. One of the features of a prosperous economy is the dumping of' constructions. Violations of human rights occur if the lengthy and overcomplicated (therefore unlawful) proceedings of the authorities restrict citizens in the realization of their aim to build houses. Human rights are also violated when the authorities, unlawfully, fail to provide effective protection against environmental threats or to protect the property rights of the neighbors. The authorities may cause serious material damages for clients if the authorities fail to carry out proper construction procedure, or to implement the legally binding decisions, or if the implementation is severely delayed. We came across a case where a capital district notary failed to take steps against an unlicensed construction project, to refer the appeal to the competent body, and to take into account a verdict in which the court ordered to repeat its initial proceedings. Due to the time that had passed, the building which was constructed and used illegally could not have been demolished. Moreover, disciplinary proceedings could have not been carried out as the responsible executives who dealt with the case no longer worked in the local government. Ownership of neighboring houses can be disturbed by the establishment of a new public building. In one case, a partly finished county jail had been operating without a license to put it into use for years, and neither the authorities, nor the builder had taken the requests of the complainants into consideration. A piece of private real estate and a public passage way between two real estates had been used as an ,,open air visiting place" by the detainees and their visitors. Interestingly, when we started our investigation, both the notary and the county chief police officer immediately took the measures they deemed necessary. The complainants, even after that, did not find the situation around the jail satisfactory, therefore the Commissioner urged the county police office to take further steps. At the current stage of the evolving market economy we have observed that job creating big investments do not give preferences to envirownent tiendly .solutions. Authorities lack the consistent vigor in enforcing the relevant legal regulations. From the past, Nve have inherited industrial as well as other establishments which threaten the health and quality of life of the narrower, as well as the broader community. During our investigations, we found that apart from the catastrophic cases, the authorities do not act with due diligence. They regard complaints from the population and civil organizations as superfluous anxiety and the flaws in their proceedings are derived from this attitude. The effective protection of the environment is this is not the best word, perhaps "inhibited" by the fact that sanctions against violations are not strict enough, and the enforcement procedure is ineffective. The amount of penalty that can be imposed for damaging or endangering the environment is too small to prevent contamination or to clean up the damages. According to the laws in force, the only 30% of the environmental protection penalty that had been imposed on its territory is due to the local government. Revision of the whole sanction system is necessary for the guaranteeing of the right to healthy environment and providing the physical conditions for human life. With regard to that, the Commissioner recommended to the Minister of Environment and Water Protection to review the recent penalty system and requested him to ensure the enforcement of environmental requirements specified in the concerned resolution. The vast majority of the Hungarian population receives basic services necessary for civilized life (drinking water, lighting or telephone) from service providers in a monopoly silzralion. In the reported period, the largest number of complaints were against telephone cor»hccnies, especially against over-billing. In these cases, for the most part we investigated the reasoils for the inefficiency of the complaint procedure. Our possibilities to take ally meaSllI'eS are very limited as we have no means to verify the validity of the statements of fact in the documents sent to us. Documents refusing the complaints mostly contain statements such as "no central error have been detected in the respective period", "the itemized phone bill shows phone numbers that are usually called by the owner", "the higher tariff phone numbers had been dialed from the complainant's apartment." One of the telephone companies refused the complaints with a blank printed form on which the relevant cause was indicated by crossing out the other causes from the list. That was how the complainant received information about the investigation of his complaint. Investigation of complaints related to the drinking water supply in 1999 showed that some local governments failed to take all the necessary measures to supply the village or a part of it with healthy drinking water. We thoroughly investigated complaints in which the issue was whether the local government had fulfilled its duty to construct and develop a sewage systm corresponding to the needs of the population. In the reported period we successfully intervened against the deprivation of the irrigation subsidy. Local governments regulate in decrees the conditions for district heating supply. Sometimes the decree itself raises concerns, other times the implementation of the services contract causes difficulties for the population. Reoccuring conflicts are related to the order of supplemental heating and the uncertainty of its costs, and the heating costs of unheated staircases and other public premises of housing estates. Due to the fact that in 1998 the Act on District Heating was accepted, and in 1999 the Government Decree on its implementation entered into force, we succeeded in more effectively remedying these complaints in the reported period. Legal security has been improved in this area as well. Since 1999, new concerns have arisen relating to flaws in the legal regulation of public f rnerals. We investigated, for example, whether the authorities are required to inform the closest relatives about the date of the public funeral. One case was closed in 1999, and we are now in the process of investigating why unburied bodies have to lie at the Forensic Medical and Pathological Institute for 9-12 months. A decreasing number of complaints are related to remedying injustices of' the past regime, but such conflicts are still present. More improprieties occurred from the failure of the legislators to enact laws on the compensation of damages caused by international agreements, which is also a treaty obligation of Hungary according to the Paris Peace Treaty. Impropriety would occur if the scope of this future law would not extend to the Agreement between Hungary and Czechoslovakia on the exchange of population, as well as to the Agreement between Hungary and Czechoslovakia pertaining to rights of propriety that was signed on February 3, 1964. Since 1996, more complainants claimed that they had not received compensation for damages caused by international agreements. 9. Citizens' Demand for Public Safety and the Human Rights Situation of Participants in Criminal Proceedings Due to the growing number of complaints against police since our establishment, the number of investigations we conduct in this area is constantly increasing. We cannot determine whether the relationship between the authorities empowered to use coercive measures (especially the police) and the population is effectively getting worse, and if it is, what kind of sociological and social-psychological processes are ill the background. Our investigations, however, show that citizens react more arid more sensitively to coercive measures taken by the authorities. It seems to us that people who went through a transforlnatloll from subject to citizen have increasing expectations regarding the rule of law, and visibly, of police behavior. One complainant lodged a complaint against the police because in the course of a clash, alter having admitted his fault, he was taken to the police station without any special cause. His complaint to the police was turned down, as was his appeal against the classification of his act. Within the hierarchy of the police, he was granted no real possibility to enforce his rights. The local public prosecutor's office failed to remedy the violation of rights derived from procedural flaws. The severe consequences to the complainant were actually remedied by the court. The Deputy Parliamentary Commissioner established that at the time of the arrest there was no well-founded suspicion that a crime had taken place, therefore it was unnecessary to take the complainant to the police for a small clash regarding which he had admitted his responsibility. The chief of the police station failed to pass a formal decision regarding the complaint, and to teach the complainant about the available remedies. The appeal was also turned down without formal decision. The Deputy Commissioner established that the subsequent reclassification of the act (from petty offence to crime) for making the arrest of the complainant lawful, gravely violated his right to legal security, as well as to due process of law. Our complainant fought for years in vain for the justice of his cause. Despite the subsequent remedy, he and people around him have probably lost confidence in the authorities. In another case, the Parliamentary Commissioner established that by having taken the arrested person to the police station in the trunk of the police car, the policemen gravely violated the prohibition on humiliating and inhuman treatment. We found a violation of the right to appeal in a case where the authorities had failed to incorporate the dismissal of a complaint against arrest into a formal decision, and as a consequence, the aggrieved person was deprived of the possibility to lodge an appeal. In that case, the public prosecutor's office accepted our recommendation, and ordered an investigation against the policemen concerned. One complaint was filed against brutal and vehement behavior of a policeman which proved to be well-founded. However, the Deputy Commissioner did not make a recommendation, because the chief police officer had warned the concerned policeman and called upon him to refrain from such behavior in the future. These cases demonstrate that one of the most important guarantees of conflict prevention is the professional expertise of policemen who most frequently get in touch with the population. The existence of proper laws is very important because they create a framework of guarantees for the establishment of a relationship based on confidence between the population and the police. By themselves, however, they are not sufficient for the development of a behavioral culture that meets the expectations. The number of complaints related to criminal matters remained the same in 1999 as in the previous years. These complaints were mostly investigated in a urgency procedure, but the decisions were made after thorough analysis of each case. We give detailed reasoning on the dismissal of complaints that proved to be unfounded, and if necessary, we adequately inform the complainant. Complaints related to criminal matters were made against the police, with the exception of two cases, where the grievance was made against the Investigations Department of the Customs and Fiscal Matters Authority and the Military Prosecutor's Office. No complaints were filed against the Investigations Department of the Tax Authority in 1999. Victims of crimes complained of unsuccessful and ineffective investigations by the police, lengthy proceedings, and the disregarding of evidence and relevant legal regulations. More complainants found that criminal proceedings they initiated were unreasonably lengthy. These complaints were generally well-founded, however, we only made individual recommendations if the chief police officer failed to remedy the default in the meantime. We detailed complaints related to the unclear procedural status of victims of crime in two annual reports, and we made two specific recommendations to the Parliament. As a result, in July 1999, the Government passed a resolution on the legislative duties and other necessary measures related to protection of victims of crime and their relatives, compensation and mitigation of the damages they sustained. The annex to this resolution regulates conditions and procedure for the mitigation of damages. The National Budget for the year 2000 allocated 400 million forints for this purpose. Organizations for victims of crime were set up at police stations nationwide. Suspects and their defenders have also turned to us many times in the reported period. Their complaints were related to house searchs, seizure, measures taken by the police/ public prosecutor during or after criminal proceedings or the omission thereof, unfounded orders of investigation, violations of right to defense as well as lengthy investigations. The reasons for the justified complaints included, amongst others, the following: house search and seizure were ordered as immediate investigation measures, the policemen failed to guarantee the presence of a representative with legal capacity at the house search, and the delay in the termination of seizure. In these cases the Commissioner found violations of constitutional rights. The majority of the suspects complained of the investigating authorities' failure to take the relevant rules into consideration. In one case, a relative complained of the pubic prosecutor's office establishing the criminal responsibility of the deceased in the decision on the closure of the proceeding. In a justified complaint we found that the Minister of Justice acted wrongfully when she, instead of forwarding the request for mercy to the President of the Republic, took the decision herself. In many instances, the authorities failed to comply with the provisions of the Act on Criminal Proceedings. This happened, for example, when the forwarding of the documents on a closed investigation to the pubic prosecutor's office was delayed. In another case the new decision, which was taken upon the order of the public prosecutor's office overruling the previous decision, did not cover all parts of the complaint. Again, in another case, the public prosecutor's office failed to notify the defender of the judicial hearing before the ordering of pretrial detention. Furthermore, the public prosecutor's office did not inform the police about the order of the Attorney General to terminate the investigation. Finally, the testimony of the interrogated person had not been recorded. When the Parliamentary Commissioner and her Deputy found it necessary, they made recommendations which were generally accepted by the relevant authorities. Investigations conducted in 1999 revealed violations of the right to defense. The Commissioner established that restrictions of the right to access to investigating documents, which originates before a public defender has been appointed or the power of attorney had been filed, and making copies thereof, causes improprieties related to constitutional rights. The Commissioner recommended to the Minister of Justice to modify the relevant law, who subsequently complied with an amendment which entered into force on March 1, 2000. Last year we already dealt with the institution of the public defender. We found one complaint well-founded, where the defendant claimed that his public defender was neither present at either of the investigating acts, nor was he willing to visit him during the pretrial detention. The right to defense of a pretrial detainee minor was endangered when, despite having had two public defenders, both failed to contact him. Despite our repeated request, the President of the County Bar refused to answer or act upon our recommendation. The Commissioner also reviewed the realization of the earlier recommendations made concerning the issue of harmonizing public defense provisions with constitutional standards. It was established that the new Act on Attorneys and the new Act on Criminal Procedure (to be effective on .January 1, 2003) actually incorporated most of the earlier recommendations. The latter Act, however, did not embrace the formalized institution of the public defender nor did it have propositions to incorporate new procedural rights for defenders in general. The Commissioner particularly emphasized the importance of raising her voice for the compensation of innocently arrested and convicted defendants, and for respective reforms to be incorporated into criminal procedure law. In 1997, a recommendation was issued thereabout, which received a promising and positive reaction, nevertheless the criminal procedure codification left the former regulations unchanged. Therefore, the earlier recommendation, which is now in the 1999 report, is being transmitted to the Parliament. In 1998, the Deputy Commissioner issued several recommendations related to vehicle seizure and the termination thereof. The acceptance of these recommendations was on the agenda and in 1999 (taking into consideration other earlier recommendations) the seizure provisions of the criminal procedure code underwent a favorable change. In the reported period, the Commissioner paid special attention to the investigation of complaints filed by criminal convicts and suspects whose personal liberty had been restricted. Detainees of police detention centers complained about the quality of the treatment and unlawful placement. The latter complaint was found reasonable by the Commissioner. In one case for example, the police authority failed to provide segregated placement for the minor detainee - a requirement set forth by the law. In the same case, the detainee was denied the right to complaint - as provided for by the law. Following the practice of the previous years, the Parliamentary Commissioner carried out on-site detention center inspections. During the post-inspection of the Pecs police detention center, it was established that the conditions indeed were improved, yet the closure of a small-size, disciplinary or security purposed separation room was found to be necessary. The chief police officer complied with this recommendation. In 1996, the Commissioner conducted an ex officio investigation on the unexpected death of a detainee in one county police detention center. It was then recommended to the Parliament's Constitution and Justice Committee to transfer the exclusive competence to investigate such cases from the police to the public prosecutor's office. This recommendation was not accepted, however, an ad hoe parliamentary committee carried out a thorough on-site investigation on the case. Finally, the committee requested the Minister of Interior Affairs in March 1998 to review the police's Rules of Service in the Detention Centers, and to incorporate it into a law. They initiated an amendment to the Decree of the Minister of Interior Affairs on the Detention Centers to the effect that the public prosecutor shall be notified about any investigation on unexpected deaths in police detention centers, and the burial shall take place after the declaration of the public defender and the official autopsy. The Minister only partly complied with the recommendation and the opinion of the ad hoc committee. The Rules of Service in the Detention Centers has not yet appeared as a law. The Rules of Service had been amended, but apart from the Commissioner's recommendation, the public prosecutor's office has only to be notified in cases where a weapon was used against the detainee. The 1998 Decree of the Minister of Interior Affairs (issued in agreement with the Attorney General and the Minister of Justice) amended the procedural rules pertaining to investigations of unexpected deaths in police detention centers. An Order of the Attorney General regulated the public prosecutor's procedure relating to the unexpected deaths of detainees. Nonetheless, all these amendments left these investigations within the competence of the police. Considering that the problem is still unsolved, the Commissioner transmits it to the Parliament in her 1999 report. Complaints of detainees in penitenliaf.>> institutions or their relatives were generally related to health care, work, refusal of the request for interruption of imprisonment and orders of stricter prison rules for the detainee. The majority of the complaints on appropriate health care or provisions for medication were held to be unfounded. In one case, however, the Commissioner established the endangerment of the right to the highest attainable health and free choice of physician, and therefore recommended to the Chief Commander of Penitentiaries to convene an independent medical experts' consultation. The National Chief Commander complied with the recommendation. A grave violation of constitutional rights was established in another case, when the detainee had been put into the State Institute for Psychiatric. Observance for temporary coercive mental treatment. The Commissioner conducted an on-site investigation, and drew general conclusions. In this institute, patients were permanently restricted in their free movement and banned from maintaining contacts. Moreover, their relatives had not been notified about these restrictions. The endangerment of psychiatric patients' rights to judicial hearing was also established. Taking all this into consideration, the Commissioner made individual recommendations to the Minister of Health and the Chief Commander of Penitentiaries and the head of the investigated institution. All the concerned parties complied with the recommendations. Furthermore, it was recommended to the Minister of Justice to supplement the law on enforcement of sentences and measures, which was accepted on the provision that the rights of sick detainees would be regulated in the Act on Enforcement of Sentences. As a result of this investigation, we hope to contribute to the solving of the long lasting dilemma on whether detainees in prison hospitals have to be primarily regarded as patients or detainees with regard to applications of legal regulations. Today, it is the latter concept which prevails. The Commissioner found partly well-founded the complaint in which a pretrial detainee who was held in a penitentiary complained of the difference between the rules of detention in a penitentiary and a police detention center. For this reason, the Commissioner recommended to the Minister of Justice the amendment of the relevant laws, as well as the issuance of uniform rules. The Minister then agreed to comply with the recommendation, however, the Act of 1999 had not contained rules to this effect.

In the reported period, the Deputy Commissioner conducted an ex officio comprehensive investigation in the Kalocsa Penitentiar<'. It was established that the right to the highest attainable physical and mental health of women held in this institution had been violated or directly endangered several times because the sewage system was in a very bad repair, most cells were dark and airless, there were no opportunities to do sports, and also because of the screening tests. The right to property was endangered as well, because the institution could not adequately provide for the safe custody of the detainee's valuables. For the termination of improprieties related to constitutional rights, the Deputy Commissioner made recommendations to the Chief Commander of Penitentiaries, and for the amendment of rules on custody, to the Minister of Justice. These recommendations were all accepted.

As a result of increased economic and political migration worldwide, the consequences of the Yugoslav crisis and the almost unlimited travel possibilities of Hungarian citizens, the Hungarian authorities were forced to face new and challenging problems. We revealed several improprieties related to constitutional rights in the practice of the Hungarian autlloi-ities. In our 1998 annual report to the Parliament, we initiated (illustrating with case studies) the adoption of the Consular Act for the effective protection of Hungarian citizens' constitutional rights abroad. According to our latest official information, the draft of the proposed act had already been prepared, and we hope that it will be introduced to the Parliament for debate in 2000. Similarly to the previous years, in 1999 the Commissioner paid special attention to the protection of illegal aliens' constitutional rights whose personal freedom was being restricted. The Act No. LXXXVI of 1993 on Entry, Stay or Immigration of Foreign Nationals recognizes two forms of restriction of aliens' personal freedom. One of them is the detention of aliens which means full deprivation of personal freedom. The other form, which does not amount to alien detention, only restricts personal freedom by obliging aliens to stay in a designated place. The Commissioner in 1996 (for the first time) carried out an et officio on-site investigation on the human rights situation of detained aliens. In her report, the Commissioner established that "detention of illegal aliens, especially in penitentiaries, is a gravely disproportionate prejudice to their rights. Due to the unforeseeable and protracted duration of the detentions and their present form, the requirements of fairness and proportionality with regards to the committed unlawful act are not met." Thus, the detention of aliens presently results in an impropriety related to the constitutional right to legal security. For the termination of the impropriety, in 1996 the Commissioner recommended to the Minister of Justice to initiate (in agreement with the Minister of Interior Affairs) the amendment of the 1993 Act oil Entry, Stay and Immigration of Foreign Nationals to the effect that the illaxinlunl duration of alien detention would be determined. The Minister of Justice accepted the recommendation, however, the regulation of the maximum duration of alien detention entered into force only on September 1, 1999 as follows: "in case expulsion does not take place in 18 months, detention shall be terminated. The authority who ordered the detention shall designate a mandatory place of stay for the alien." In 1997, the Commissioner compared alien detentions carried out in police detention centers and in penitentiaries. In her report, she drew attention to the fact that alien detention in penitentiaries is not a stricter degree of penal enforcement than in police detention centers. Comparing the Minister of Interior Affairs Decree No. 19/1995 (XII. 13.) with Minister of Justice Decree No. 1/1995 (1. 6.), the Commissioner found that the situation of aliens detained in police detention centers is more favorable with regard to keeping contacts, corresponding, getting packages or receiving visitors than those in penitentiaries. The differences in alien detainees' rights and duration of detention caused improprieties in connection with the right to legal security. For the termination of this impropriety, in 1998 the Commissioner initiated that the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Interior Affairs should take steps to harmonize rules pertaining to alien detention. The Minister of Interior Affairs accepted the recommendation within the appointed time, and considering the Minister of Interior Affairs Decree's more favorable regulations, he buttressed the amendment of the Minister of Justice's Decree to this effect. After the due time, the Minister of Justice finally accepted the recommendation and amended the law as it had been suggested by the Commissioner. The new rules entered into force on October 16, 1999. . The Commissioner has been following with attention for years the human rights situation (especially the right to personal freedom) of aliens living in community shelters of the border guards, a designated place where the aliens have to stay. Of the nine community shelters in Hungary, four (in Miskolc, Gy6r, Balassagyarmat, Nyirbator) were investigated oil the spot in 1998, and two (in Kiskunhalas, at the Ferihegy International Airport) in 1999. A part of~ the community shelter invest igatioils were initiated by civil organizations, but the President of the Republic requested the investigations as well.

From the investigations in 1999, the two conducted at the Kiskunhalas community shelter stand out. We established both times that mental condition of foreigners living in a closed place and sitting around doing nothing is extremely inadequate. We found part of the shelter unsuitable for human beings to live in, and therefore recommended the renovation of the building for the protection of the right to life and highest attainable physical and mental health. The mental condition and feeling of confinement for the community shelter inmates is severely effected by the lack of open space where they could walk and breath fresh air. Consequently we suggested the building of a stroller during the renovation. However, we revealed a lack of legal regulation which would provide that detained foreigners could spend time in open air, and its duration. In these cases, the recommendations of the Commissioner brought about fast results. In July 1999, we had been informed that the renovation of the community shelter was under way, and by February 2000 the renovation was completed. Upon the proposal of the Minister of Interior Affairs, the Government set a minimum time of two hours per day to stay in open air.

In the course of a follow-up investigation, the Deputy Parliamentary Commissioner evaluated the results of the comprehensive investigation of explosive disposal units conducted in 1997. He established that pursuant to his recommendations, basic laws regulating the activity of explosive disposal units had entered into force. A new directive on explosive disposal activities contains provisions on the conditions of safe transport of explosives and other safety regulations. Conscripts no longer carry out explosive disposal activities. As well, the bonus for dangerous work had been increased. However, the Deputy Commissioner's other recommendations had not been accomplished due to lack of financial resources. For example, the number of available job positions had been increased, but half of them are still vacant. In the follow-up investigation report part of the recommendations were repeated, and the competent authorities promised to comply with them by 2000. In 1997, the Deputy Commissioner conducted a comprehensive investigation on the human rights situation of conscripts and professional soldiers. The follow-up of this investigation took place in 1999. In the course of the follow-up investigation he found that a significant part of the recommendations were not accepted, therefore the Deputy Commissioner made ten (new, as well as repeated) recommendations. The investigation of a complaint had also shed light on the continuous vulnerability of conscripts. In this case, four four soldiers in turns of one week were charged with the guarding of an unused military base. It was established that the accomplishment of this task was impossible due to lack of professional requirements and continuous supervision, and to the conditions of the facility. Conscripts were not provided with healthy food, good quality drinking water, as well as cleaning possibilities and other hygienic needs. Conscripts themselves expressed their opinion that it was impossible to fulfill the property protection task unarmed, and the circumstances of the service were unacceptable for everyone. The Deputy Commissioner refrained from searching for those responsible for this situation, however, he transmitted his findings to the Military Prosecutor's Office. He also made recommendations to the Minister of Defense for remedying the revealed improprieties. Thus, the Deputy Commissioner was aware of the terrible situation of the soldiers when the news of the clamidia and meningitis epidemic in the barracks broke out. He immediately ordered an investigation in one of the training camps. The objective of the investigation was to establish whether the competent authorities of the defense forces had taken all the necessary measures to prevent the spreading of the epidemic, especially the meningitis, in and outside tile training camp. From the interviews and on-site inspection, the Deputy Commissioner concluded that the accommodation and service conditions contributed to the striking spread of the epidemic. Therefore, impropriety occurred related to the right to a healthy environment and the highest attainable physical and mental health of the soldiers. Since these problems seem to be common with the Hungarian Army, the Deputy Commissioner plans further follow-up investigations. Anomalies were also found in the authorization of weekend leaves. According to the law in force, single soldiers are entitled to one, while married solders are entitled to two weekend leaves per month. Other leaves may be given or denied without giving reasons. In the investigated training camps, the weekend leave of solders who had asked for medical assistance was denied or threatened to be denied. This practice made sick solders reluctant to turn to doctors, as in the Kalocsa training camp where many sick solders did not receive care, were not isolated, and some of them even worked in the kitchen. Consequently this contributed to the spread of the epidemic. In the opinion of the Deputy Commissioner, this practice contributed to the aggravation of the situation in the training camps. This, and other similar investigations, shed light on a problem which was due to outdated legal regulations which in certain cases had serious consequences. The law in force exempts institutions operated by the armed forces (border guards, defense forces, police, customs officers, national security forces, and penal authorities) from the public health and epidemic supervisory competence of the State Public Health and Medical Health Officer's Service (hereinafter referred to as "State Public Health Service"). The armed forces accomplish their public health related tasks through their own health service. In this area, the State Public Health Service is under an obligation to cooperate with the armed forces, however the law does not specify the forms and meaning of the cooperation. Consequently, cooperation in practice is uncertain and it is often based on personal contacts and determination, which is far from meeting the constitutional requirements. The Deputy Commissioner thus established that in this case, due to the adequate cooperation between the State Health Authority and the Ministry of Defense's the Health Protection Institution, violations of rights did not occur. The lack of legal regulation for cooperation, however, may put people living in barracks, community shelters, police detention centers, penitentiaries, their visitors, staff serving in these institutions, as well as their environment directly in danger. Therefore, this is a direct source of danger that may effect a large portion of the population. We are of the opinion that this flaw in the legal regulation should urgently be corrected by an amendment. According to the experiences of the comprehensive investigations, professional members of the defense forces, the police, the border guards and the penal authorities have almost the same human rights problems. Unsettled questions related to remuneration, bonuses, promotion system, overtime pay, as well as absence pay influence human rights. Uniform and fair solutions may only be expected from a comprehensive review of legal regulations in force. During the preparatory work of the amendment, special attention has to be given to specifying rules pertaining to the termination of service, establishing legal aid service dealing with disciplinary, compensation, criminal and labor issues, and creating the basis for uniform human strategy. In 1999, the Minister of Interior Affairs accepted the recommendation (that effected other ministries as well), and started the preparatory work. We still do not have information on whether the Minister of Defense is willing to cooperate or not.
12. Balance of the Completed Investigations
In 1999, 1066 investigations were completed. In 47.5 percent of the investigations, the suspicion of impropriety was not justified, or the competent authority remedied it before closing the case. In the remaining 42.5 percent we attempted to remedy the improprieties with 1018 recommendations. This means that on average we had to make two recommendations per case to ensure the expected respect for human rights. In 1999, we closed the case with recommendation in 13.3 percent more investigations than in 1998. As a result, in the reported period the number of recommendations is higher. In 1999, we completed 200 less investigations, but the number of cases ending with recommendations and the number of recommendations itself had increased. By following-up our earlier recommendations, we also evaluate the efficiency of our work and the acceptance of the ombudsman institution. In 1999, the addressed authorities accepted 63.6 percent, and refused 12 percent of our recommendations. The fate of the remaining 25.6 percent of our recommendations is still unknown, given the fact that the deadline for answering has not expired yet. Considering the average of the years 1995-1998, the proportion of accepted recommendations increased from 52.5 to 63.6 percent. At the same time, the proportion of refusals decreased by 3 percent. As a positive development, in 1999, there were no cases where the addressee had not answered to the recommendation at all. It is especially difficult to follow the fate of the recommendations where we initiated the enactment, amendment or repeal of a law. Compliance with these recommendations usually takes longer, sometimes years. We made references in the previous parts of this report on enactment, amendment and repeal of laws made pursuant to our earlier recommendations. In 1999, we made 213 law related recommendations, making up 21 percent of our recommendations altogether. At the end of the reported period, 367 recommendations remained that we will have to keep follow-up in 2000. This group is made up of recommendations where the deadline for answering will expire in 2000, as well as the 117 recommendations that were refused. In the majority of the latter, there are still ongoing dialogs between our institution and the addressee. During the dialog, we try hard to reach a solution that is acceptable for both parties. We cannot estimate the proportion of cases where despite the acceptance of the recommendation by the addressee, we feel that new or follow-up investigations are needed to ensure the resolution of the acute problems. Follow-up investigations started in 1998, however, and in 2000 more effort is required in this respect on our part.

Evaluation of our work comes from the citizens, the authorities, and finally the Parliament. In increasingly difficult circumstances, we wish to promote human rights protection in Hungary, and herewith, the protection of the constitutional order. Our objective is to make decisions based on professionalism, free from politics, sentiments, as well as outside influence.