The Ombudsman has submitted a request to the Constitutional Court for a declaration of unconstitutionality, with general binding force, of rules in force in the Autonomous Region of Madeira that limit the activity of individual passenger transport in uncharacterised vehicles, known by the acronym TVDE. At present, TVDE activity in the Autonomous Region of Madeira is subject to a numerus…
The Deputy Ombudsman, Ravi Afonso Pereira, took part in the Annual Conference of the European Network of Ombudsmen (ENO) “Protection of human rights: approaches to migration and artificial intelligence”, held in Brussels, Belgium, on 9 and 10 November 2023. The ENO comprises more than 95 ombudsmen in 36 European countries. The Network includes the national and regional ombudsmen and similar…
The Ombudsman, as a National Human Rights Institution and as a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), took part in the 14th International Conference of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), which was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 6 to 8 November 2023. The aim of GANHRI’s international conferences is to develop and promote co-operation between national human rights…
The Ombudsman has submitted a request to the Constitutional Court for a declaration of unconstitutionality, with general binding force, of rules contained in Law no. 13/2023, of 3 April, which amended the Labour Code and related legislation “within the scope of the decent work agenda”. The rules in question are those contained in Article 10(3) of the Labour Code, which…
The Ombudsman’s Office welcomes the decision by EMEL – Empresa Municipal de Mobilidade e Estacionamento de Lisboa, E.M.S.A., to reverse the imposition of a fine for non-payment of a parking fee after it was proven that the nearest parking meter was out of order. This review followed the intervention of the Ombudsman’s Office, which found that the metadata of the…
The Ombudsman’s Office has suggested that parish councils offer citizens an alternative to the use of the white stamp as a means of authenticating certifying documents signed by the respective presidents, namely certificates of residence or economic situation. The recommendation came about following a complaint in which it was found that citizens may find it impossible to use these documents…
The Ombudsman, Maria Lúcia Amaral, closed the first cycle of sessions of the conference organised by the Participar+ Association on “The fragility of democratic institutions in Portugal”. The event took place on 18 September at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon. To read the Ombudsman’s speech, click here [in Portuguese only].
The Ombudsman, Maria Lúcia Amaral, attended the hearing requested by the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees as part of the specialised discussion of Bill 560/XV (PSD) and the other legislative initiatives under consideration – PPL 91/XV/1 (GOV) and Bill 826/XV/1.ª (PAN) – on the elections to the European Parliament: You can access the video of the hearing…
The Ombudsman was represented by the Coordinator of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) Miguel Feldmann, at the conference marking World Mental Health Day (10th October), organised by the National Coordination of Mental Health Policies and the National Health Service (Ministry of Health) in partnership with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Miguel Feldmann has taken part as a speaker in the conference on…
The Ombudsperson, Maria Lúcia Amaral, and the Deputy Ombudsman, Estrela Chaby, are participating in the XXVIII Ordinary General Assembly and the XXVII Congress of the Ibero-American Ombudsperson Federation (FIO), taking place between 3 and 5 October in Barranquilla, Colombia. The agenda includes meetings of FIO’s Thematic Networks and Working Groups, the annual Congress on the theme “Independence and Autonomy in…
