ROMANIA PEOPLE’S ADVOCATE REPORT of activity for 2008 Bucharest 2009 CONTACT DATA OF THE PEOPLE’S ADVOCATE INSTITUTION: Str. Eugeniu Carada nr. 3, sector 3, Bucharest Telephone: +4021.312.71.01; +4021.312.71.34 Fax: +4021.312.49.21 Internet: www.avp.ro E-mail: [email protected] The report was submitted to the President of the Chamber of Deputies and to the President of the Senate to be discussed in the Parliament Session, as per art. 60 of the Romanian Constitution 5 R O M Â N I A Avocatul Poporului Str. Eugeniu Carada, nr. 3, Sector 3, Bucureşti Telefon +40-21-312.71.01 Fax: +40-21-312.49.21; Internet: http://www.avp.ro E-mail: [email protected] Ombudsman Minister Office Address No. 1072/January 30, 2009 Dear Mr. President, According to the provisions of the art. 60 of the Romanian Constitution and art. 50 of the Law no. 35/1997 on the organization and functioning of the People’s Advocate Institution, republished, we present you the Report of activity for 2008, with the request to be presented to the two Chambers of Parliament. I take the opportunity to assure you, dear Mr. President, of my high consideration. Prof. Ioan MURARU, Ph.D. People’s Advocate Bucharest, January 27, 2009 To Mrs. Roberta Alma ANASTASE, President of the Deputies Chamber ANNUAL REPORT 2008 PEOPLE’S AVDOCATE 7 R O M Â N I A Avocatul Poporului Str. Eugeniu Carada, nr. 3, Sector 3, Bucureşti Telefon +40-21-312.71.01 Fax: +40-21-312.49.21; Internet: http://www.avp.ro E-mail: [email protected] Ombudsman Minister Office Address No. 1072/January 30, 2009 Dear Mr. President, According to the provisions of the art. 60 of the Romanian Constitution and art. 50 of the Law no. 35/1997 republished on the organization and functioning of the People’s Advocate Institution, republished, we present you the Report of activity for 2008, with the request to be presented to the two Chambers of Parliament. I take the opportunity to assure you, dear Mr. President, of my high consideration. Prof. Ioan MURARU, Ph.D. People’s Advocate Bucharest, January 27, 2009 To Mr. Mircea-Dan GEOANA, President of the Senate ANNUAL REPORT 2008 PEOPLE’S AVDOCATE 9 Mrs. President of the Chamber of Deputies, Mr. President of the Senate, Ladies and gentlemen, deputies and senators, We submit for consideration and deliberation to the joint assembly of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, the Report of the People’s Advocate Institution for 2008. Therefore, we comply with the provision of the art. 60 of the Romanian Constitution, as well as of the art. 50 from Law no. 35/1997 on the organization and functioning of the People’s Advocate Institution. Following an overview and retrospective, we inform you that in 2008, the institution development accomplished not only a quantitative, but also a qualitative progress. Thus, in figures, we can notice that in 2008, comparing to 2007, a number of 17783 citizens were heard, an increase of 14 %; a number of 8030 petitions were registered, that is an increase of 16 %; the phone calls service was used by 5820 citizens with an increase of 3 %. Besides that, we can add 42 inquiries, 12 recommendations, 2088 points of view submitted to the Constitutional Court (an increase of 27%), 6 exceptions of unconstitutionality by which we notified the Constitutional Court (an increase of 50%). This development progress could be achieved due to the existence of a complete personnel plan, for the central office, as well as on the level of the 14 territorial offices of the People’s Advocate Institution. The present report details and explains the problems the institution was focused on, according to the specialization fields stipulated by the law. Complete information and assessment are offered concerning: procedures and means specific to the institution; material and budgetary resources; cooperation with similar international institutions and authorities, etc. The joint assembly of the two Chambers of the Parliament gives us the opportunity of presenting also a few pertinent explanations concerning achievements in the activity of the People’s Advocate Institution. ANNUAL REPORT 2008 PEOPLE’S AVDOCATE 10 ¾ The concern of the People’s Advocate Institution regarding the protection of physical entities rights Believing that it is the duty of the Ombudsmen to make efforts for imprinting an attitude of respect and tolerance in the public opinion and the behaviour of public authorities, favourable to the free movement of persons and for the elimination of any forms of discrimination between the citizens of a member state of the European Union and the citizens of the other member states, the People’s Advocate drafted an Open Letter, addressed to the European Ombudsman, the President of the International Institute of the Ombudsman – the European Region, the Ombudsmen of the European Union, insisting on the idea of cooperation between the Ombudsman institutions of the European Union member states, with a view to favouring the right to free movement of Romanian citizens abroad. Also, the People’s Advocate Institution sent the open letter concerning the situation of Romanians in Italy to the 19 local Ombudsmen in Italy. Through written responses, the European Ombudsman, the National Ombudsman of Ireland, the Parliamentary Ombudsman of Finland, the Civic Defender- the Basilicata Region, the Commissary for the Protection of Civil Rights in Poland, the Civic Defender - the Friuli Venezia Region, the Civic Defender - the Romana Region, have shown that they were impressed by the People’s Advocate’s message, promising support for the institution in the matters regarding the discrimination that some Romanian citizens, who exercise their right to free movement, are confronted with. Moreover, Jean- Paul Delevoye, the Mediator of the French Republic, has addressed Mr. François Fillon, the French prime-minister, requesting information regarding the situation of the Romanian citizens in France. The exchange of correspondence between the People’s Advocate and the Ombudsmen of the European Union member states expresses the concern of these institutions for the protection of the rights and freedoms of physical entities. In what concerns us, this exchange is established in art. 17 of the Romanian Constitution, according to which the Romanian citizens abroad are protected by the Romanian state. Here we also mention the collaboration with Janusz Kochanowski, the Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection in the Polonaise Republic, ANNUAL REPORT 2008 PEOPLE’S AVDOCATE 11 regarding the case of a Romanian citizen deceased in a penitentiary in Poland. Through the letter addressed to the People’s Advocate on May 5th 2008, the Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection in the Polonaise Republic guaranteed he would make all the necessary efforts and use all the means at his disposal to establish the causes and circumstances of the noted situation. ¾ Involvement in constitutionality control In the actions undertook (drawing 2088 points of view regarding the exceptions of unconstitutionality and notifying the Constitutional Court of 6 exceptions of non-constitutionality, out of which, to the present date, 3 were admitted), the People’s Advocate expressed himself as an autonomous and independent authority and completely committed to conducting in a loyal constitutional manner. The actions undertaken during the constitutionality control were energetic actions, undoubtedly critical regarding some normative documents. Those who have observed the activity of the People’s Advocate in this direction closely and in good-faith can ascertain the fact that there have not been nor are there conflicts between the People’s Advocate and the public authorities issuing normative documents undergoing constitutionality control. All the authorities have fulfilled their constitutional obligations and the Constitutional Court has also fulfilled its constitutional obligation of guarantor of the Constitution’s supremacy, and these actions of the People’s Advocate have been the result of opinions from different angles. As a result, the activity of the People’s Advocate in this department has been a natural activity in a free society, organized in a constitutional state, governed by the principles of legality, pluralism and transparency. ¾ During the year 2008, there was a stronger communication with the mass- media interested in informing the public opinion regarding the role and activity of the People’s Advocate Institution. Thus, over 170 manifestations on the level of televisions and radios, central and local newspapers were registered. ¾ We must state the fact that we have had the support of the Parliament, even though at the ANNUAL REPORT 2008 PEOPLE’S AVDOCATE 12 debate and approval of the state budget Law for the year 2008, we would have expected the parliamentarians, who, during the debate for the People’s Advocate Institution’s budget within the parliamentary committees, had promised to support us. Naturally, the activity undertook during the year 2008 could not be objectively characterized, unless we mentioned some inexecutions here. ¾ Financially, in the context of general austerity, a certain aggression of the structuresof the Ministry of Economy and Finances towards the People’s Advocate Institution was also registered. Due to this fact, the People’s Advocate was unable to fulfill some international liabilities within the collaboration rapport with the International Institute of the Ombudsman, the European Institute of the Ombudsman and the Association of Ombudsmen and Francophone Mediators, as well as with other similar institutions or international authorities. ¾ We were unable to determine some public authorities, especially from the structures of the city halls, to be receptive to the requests of the People’s Advocate Institution and, without doubt to those of the citizens. In those cases, the means at the disposal of the People’s Advocate Institution proved to be ineffective, while the support of the superior hierarchic authority was null.