More than a forum for complaints - Presenting the English version of the Ombudsman's 2012 Activity Report to the public

Taking a proactive stance, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights has been challenging the view that the Ombudsman should only investigate complaints – stressed Attila Péterfalvi, President of the National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (NAIH), presenting to the public the English version of the Annual Report on the activities of the Ombudsman in the year 2012.

Several ambassadors, including heads of missions from the United States, France, Belgium, Finland, Norway, Slovenia, Poland, India, Romania, Estonia, Venezuela and Italy, as well as the representatives of  international organisations and  other embassies accredited to Hungary participated in the event and the following reception. Attila Péterfalvi also mentioned that the ombudsman system in Hungary had been transformed in 2012; the Basic Law and the new Ombudsman Act had merged the former four-ombudsmen system into a single ombudsman, and the new Office had received the status of the UN's National Human Rights Institution.

In the last full year of Prof. Máté Szabó's mandate, the number of complaints lodged with the Office of the ombudsman increased with 25 per cent and around 13 thousand people visited its client service. Acting within his competence, the Commissioner responded to the current financial and economic crisis by a special project analysing and focusing on the rights and circumstances of the most vulnerable groups who are the least capable to assert their rights. Beside this project, entitled "The losers of the crisis – in the captivity of legal provisions", Attila  Péterfalvi also mentioned the projects on the situation of lawyers and on the representation of children's rights. In the course of the latter, the Ombudsman and the NAIH this year analyse together the connections between internet safety, online contents and the protection of children's rights. The President of the NAIH also referred to the burden resulting from recent legislative changes, stipulating that, as of 2012, persons who are not involved in a matter personally may not turn to the Constitutional Court but through the mediation of the Ombudsman.

In 2012, 70 per cent of recommendations, made by the ombudsman based on the results of his inquiries, were accepted by the authorities and public service suppliers concerned.  The activities and the attitude of the ombudsman have paid off: according to a periodic opinion poll, last year the institution of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights was ranked first in public trust, outranking both the Constitutional Court and the most popular political parties, said Attila Péterfalvi.

The full text of the presentation can be found at http://www.ajbh.hu/documents/14315/128545/peterfalvi_introduction.pdf

Following the presentation of the Activity Report, Prof. Máté Szabó opened the Exhibition of the Symbols of Ombudsman Institution from all around the World in Korczak Hall, the Office's ground floor event hall named after a renowned Polish human rights activist.

The book presentation and the exhibition's opening were followed by the last meeting of the Civil Consultative Body, a group established to assist the work of the Ombudsman, during which the members gave their assessment of the activities of Máté Szabó, Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, whose mandate is coming to its end in September 2013.They highlighted the usefulness of the project method, introduced by the Commissioner 6 years ago, the proactive assertion of the principles of the rule of law, the value-based approach of case reports and, in the case of the petitions to the Constitutional Court and the Court's subsequent decisions, the contribution to the establishment of constitutional standards. The members also spoke highly of the fact that, in the wake of the ombudsman's reports, recommendations and public actions, the visibility of and the public trust toward the institution protecting fundamental rights had greatly increased: compared to all other organisations, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights was the most popular institution in public trust ranking in 2012.