People'S Advocate Recommendations From The Current International Perspective On The Ombudsman Institution

This paper aims to contribute to a change in perspective regarding the Ombudsman institution and the legal means at its disposal for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. In recent years, the international community has shown a growing interest in Ombudsman institutions, seeking joint solutions to support the national Ombudsman in order to strengthen its statute with all the guarantees it needs to effectively exercise its legal powers. As regards the legal framework in which the Ombudsman institutions operate, the Venice Commission has consistently advocated strengthening their constitutional foundation so as to guarantee full independence for Ombudsman. At the same time, the Commission sustained the importance of creating Ombudsman institutions where they are lacking and giving wider powers to the existing ones. The Commission is currently carrying out a comprehensive codification process of a set of constitutional and legal principles, so-called “Venice Principles”, specifically dedicated to the Ombudsman institution. All these developments announce interesting changes in the legal systems where there are Ombudsman institutions. In this favourable international context and analysing the situation within the People's Advocate-the Romanian Ombudsman institution, we dare to say that we are not far from the moment when the Ombudsman's good practices and mechanisms of action will become instruments with an irrefutable legal force, comparable to legally binding acts.