In accordance with Article 14 of the Ombudsman Act, Parliament has the authority to relieve the Ombudsman following a prior opinion of the Committee for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities and the Committee for the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System, and the deputies following the prior opinion of the Ombudsman. Article 17(2) of the Law grants the ORC the right to participate in Parliamentary sessions on issues within its competence, which the ORC informs would include the Ombudsman dismissal proceedings.

However, SCA notes that Article 17(2) is a general participation clause and not an express codification of the right to be heard in dismissal proceedings.

The SCA is of the view that, to address the Paris Principles’ requirement for a stable mandate, which is important for reinforcing independence, the enabling legislation of an NHRI must include an independent and objective dismissal process, similar to that of other independent state agencies. Such requirements ensure the security of tenure of the members of the governing body and are essential to ensure the independence of, and public confidence, in, the senior leadership of an NHRI.

The SCA therefore recommends for the ORC to advocate for changes within its enabling law to codify an express right to be heard during dismissal proceedings of the Ombudsman and the deputies.

The SCA refers to Paris Principle B.3 and to its General Observation 2.1 on ‘Guarantee of tenure for members of the NHRI decision-making body’.