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2009 Assessment

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: National Ombudsman
Indicators		Score
55	In law, is there a national ombudsman, public protector or equivalent agency (or collection of agencies) covering the entire public sector?	100
56	Is the national ombudsman effective?	30
57	Can citizens access the reports of the ombudsman?	50

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

In law, is there a national ombudsman, public protector or equivalent agency (or collection of agencies) covering the entire public sector?

55: In law, is there a national ombudsman, public protector or equivalent agency (or collection of agencies) covering the entire public sector?

Score:

YES

Comments: As far back as 2006, the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Law on Changes and Amendments to the Law on the Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which provides for the termination of the entity-level ombudsman offices and transfers responsibility to the institutions of BiH. Acting in compliance with this law, in 2007 the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina passed the Law On Manner of Terminating the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ombudsman Office in the Transitional Period and Transfer of its Responsibility to the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This law asserts how the Office of the Ombudsman of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina will eventually cease to operate once the legal requirements regarding the transitional period are fulfilled. These legal requirements are necessary for merging the entity-level ombudsman offices with the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

References: Law on the Human Rights Ombudsman of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH Nos.19/02, 32/06

Peer Review Comments: To be clear, as the names suggests, these are ombudsmen for human rights.

Is the national ombudsman effective?

56a: In law, the ombudsman is protected from political interference.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on the Human Rights Ombudsman of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH Nos.19/02, 32/06

56b: In practice, the ombudsman is protected from political interference.

Score:

100

Comments: Given the fact that over the last two years the ombudsman offices in BiH have been operating in an unusual environment with regards to the political authorities (failure to merge entity-level ombudsman offices into the state-level ombudsman office on the one hand, and failure to appoint the state ombudsmen within the legally stipulated time frame on the other), it is obvious that the position of the ombudsmen as an institution in BiH is not clearly and finitely defined. This significantly undermines the credibility of the ombudsmen as protectors of human rights. When they assumed office in early 2009, the newly-appointed ombudsmen of BiH stated that the Ombudsman Office in Sarajevo contained a backlog of complaints that citizens filed over two years ago.

References: Populari: Are we ticking the right boxes? The BiH Ombudsman institutions reform saga, Sarajevo, May 13, 2009 [ LINK ]

Acting High Representative Raffi Gregorian: Work of Institution of BiH Ombudsmen is of utmost importance, Feb, 11, 2009

Ivo Bradvica: There Is A Backlog Of Cases Interview with the newly appointed BiH ombudsman, Ivo Bradvica Nezavisne novine [independent daily], Jan. 2, 2009 [ LINK ]

56c: In practice, the head of the ombudsman agency/entity is protected from removal without relevant justification.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: REPORT ON THE STATUS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 2008, The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo, Feb. 11, 2009 [ LINK ]

The Report of Informal NGO Coalition for UPR of Bosnia and Herzegovina, June 2009 [ LINK ]

56d: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

Comments: According to the newly adopted Rulebook there will be total of 13 offices. Further on, the Rulebook stipulates there will be 86 people employed in the BiH Ombudsman Institution. On the day the new Ombudsman took over the institution, there were 29 - including eight interns - in three offices: Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Br ko.

References: Populari: Are we ticking the right boxes? The BiH Ombudsman institutions reform saga, Sarajevo, May 13, 2009 [ LINK ]

Acting High Representative Raffi Gregorian: Work of Institution of BiH Ombudsmen is of utmost importance, Feb, 11, 2009

Peer Review Comments: I would rather say that there is a limited number of staff, rather than a limited and clearly unqualified staff.

Peer Review Comments: I think that number of currently employed staff enables the ombudsman agency to fulfill its role to a certain extent.

56e: In practice, agency appointments support the independence of the ombudsman agency (or agencies).

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Populari: Are we ticking the right boxes? The BiH Ombudsman institutions reform saga, Sarajevo, May 13, 2009 [ LINK ]

Acting High Representative Raffi Gregorian: Work of Institution of BiH Ombudsmen is of utmost importance, Feb, 11, 2009

56f: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) receives regular funding.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: 2008 Human Rights Report: Bosnia and Herzegovina BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR Feb. 25, 2009 [ LINK ]

Acting High Representative Raffi Gregorian: Work of Institution of BiH Ombudsmen is of utmost importance, OHR Feb, 11, 2009

56g: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) makes publicly available reports.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: REPORT ON THE STATUS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 2008, The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo, Feb. 11, 2009 [ LINK ]

The Report of Informal NGO Coalition for UPR of Bosnia and Herzegovina, June 2009 [ LINK ]

56h: In practice, when necessary, the national ombudsman (or equivalent agency or agencies) initiates investigations.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: The agency aggressively starts investigations -- or participates fully with cooperating agencies\' investigations -- into judicial misconduct. The agency is fair in its application of this power. <p>50 Score Criteria: The agency will start or cooperate in investigations, but often relies on external pressure to set priorities, or has limited effectiveness when investigating. The agency, though limited in effectiveness, is still fair in its application of power. <p>0 Score Criteria: The agency rarely investigates on its own or cooperates in other agencies\' investigations, or the agency is partisan in its application of this power.$

Comments: When they assumed office in early 2009, the newly-appointed ombudsmen of BiH stated that the Ombudsman Office in Sarajevo contained a backlog of complaints that citizens filed over two years ago (interview of the newly appointed BiH ombudsman, Ivo Bradvica with Nezavisne novine [independent daily] on Jan. 2, 2009 (Ivo Bradvica: There Is A Backlog Of Cases). Considering the state of the ombudsman office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is clear that the everyday actions and influence of the ombudsmen on government bodies in cases of human and civil rights violations are significantly weakened. Namely, according to the ombudsman laws currently in effect in BiH, the opinions and recommendations that the ombudsmen give in individual cases are not binding for the government bodies concerned. Thus government bodies often turn a deaf ear to the ombudsmen's suggestions and recommendations and no one from these bodies or organizations are held accountable for failing to comply.

References: REPORT ON THE STATUS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 2008, The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo, Feb. 11, 2009 [ LINK ]

The Report of Informal NGO Coalition for UPR of Bosnia and Herzegovina, June 2009 [ LINK ]

56i: In practice, when necessary, the national ombudsman (or equivalent agency or agencies) imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: There is no legal ground.

56j: In practice, the government acts on the findings of the ombudsman agency (or agencies).

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Ombudsman\'s reports are taken seriously, with negative findings drawing prompt corrective action. <p>50 Score Criteria: In most cases, ombudsman\'s reports are acted on, though some exceptions may occur for politically sensitive issues, or particularly resistant agencies. <p>0 Score Criteria: Ombudsman\'s reports are often ignored, or given superficial attention. Ombudsman's reports do not lead to policy changes.$

Comments: Considering the state of the ombudsman office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is clear that the everyday actions and influence of the ombudsmen on government bodies in cases of human and civil rights violations are significantly weakened. Namely, according to the ombudsman laws currently in effect in BiH, the opinions and recommendations that the ombudsmen give in individual cases are not binding for the government bodies concerned. Thus government bodies often turn a deaf ear to the ombudsmen's suggestions and recommendations and no one from these bodies or organizations are held accountable for failing to comply.

References: Acting High Representative Raffi Gregorian: Work of Institution of BiH Ombudsmen is of utmost importance Feb. 11, 2009

2008 Human Rights Report: Bosnia and Herzegovina BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR Released on Feb. 25, 2009 [ LINK ]

56k: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) acts on citizen complaints within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Populari: Are we ticking the right boxes? The BiH Ombudsman institutions reform saga, Sarajevo May 13, 2009 [ LINK ]

Acting High Representative Raffi Gregorian: Work of Institution of BiH Ombudsmen is of utmost importance, Feb. 11, 2009 [ LINK ]

Can citizens access the reports of the ombudsman?

57a: In law, citizens can access reports of the ombudsman(s).

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law on the Human Rights Ombudsman of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH Nos.19/02, 32/06

57b: In practice, citizens can access the reports of the ombudsman(s) within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: REPORT ON THE STATUS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 2008 The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo, Feb 11, 2009 [ LINK ]

The Report of Informal NGO Coalition for UPR of Bosnia and Herzegovina, June 2009 [ LINK ]

57c: In practice, citizens can access the reports of the ombudsman(s) at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: REPORT ON THE STATUS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 2008 The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo, Feb 11, 2009 [ LINK ]

The Report of Informal NGO Coalition for UPR of Bosnia and Herzegovina, June 2009 [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: It is impossible to find a way to access recent ombudsman reports. Therefore, the question of access cost is irrelevant.