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Rights in their mother tongues, with the cost of interpretation borne by the
State. In the Russian Federation, the High Commissioner for Human
Rights regularly receives citizens in person, including via
videoconference, which allows any citizen, regardless of location, to seek
protection of their rights directly.
The legislative mandates of several Ombudsman institutions make
particular reference to the Ombudsman’s role in protecting the most
vulnerable in society. For example, in Hungary, the Commissioner for
Fundamental Rights is tasked – especially in investigations of his or her
use of own initiative – with paying special attention to the rights of
children, of persons of other nationalities, of the interests of future
generations, and of the rights of vulnerable groups. Similarly, in Portugal,
the Ombudsman’s own initiative power of investigation is granted
particularly in order to defend and promote the rights and interests of the
most vulnerable citizens in terms of age, race, ethnicity, gender, and
disability.
The Ombudsman’s special concern with the protection of vulnerable
groups is illustrated in practice by the work of the Lithuanian Seimas
Ombudsman. In its Annual Report for 2017, it highlighted the key human
rights issues in Lithuania as relating to the protection of vulnerable
individuals, including: protecting prisoners from inadequate detention
facilities; protecting disabled children from social exclusion through
institutionalisation; and protecting those with mental health issues from
arbitrary detention and compulsory treatment.

Legal basis for the Ombudsman institution

Principle 2
This principle of the Recommendation reflects a very common approach
to providing a legal basis for the Ombudsman is that of including relevant
provisions in the national constitution and a more detailed framework in
subsequent legislation. An example of this approach is that the Albanian
People’s Advocate, whose role is set out in Articles 60 – 63 of the
Albanian Constitution. These constitutional provisions set out the role of
the People’s Advocate and the process for his/her appointment and
dismissal as well as the principle of the independence of the People’s
Advocate’s Office and its powers. The Law on the People’s Advocate sets
out more detailed rules about the organisation and functioning of the
Office. A broadly similar approach is used in many countries, among
others: Armenia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Bulgaria,
Estonia, Greece, Lithuania, Malta, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal,
Russian Federation, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Spain.
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