Section 5 (1) of the Law states that the Ombudsman shall be approved by the Parliament on the proposal of not less than five members of Parliament.
The SCA is of the view that the process currently enshrined in the Law is not sufficiently broad and transparent. In particular, it does not:
- require the advertisement of vacancies for members; and
- promote broad consultation and/or participation in the application, screening, selection, and appointment process for all members.
It is critically important to ensure the formalization of a clear, transparent and participatory selection and appointment process for an NHRI’s decision-making body in relevant legislation, regulations or binding administrative guidelines, as appropriate. A process that promotes merit-based selection and ensures pluralism is necessary to ensure the independence of, and public confidence in, the senior leadership of an NHRI.
The SCA notes that the Ombudsman has proposed amendments to its enabling law to provide for the advertisement of vacancies and the ability for all interested candidates to submit their application prior to proposals being made by the members of Parliament.
The SCA encourages the Ombudsman to advocate for the formalization and application of a process that includes requirements to:
- Publicize vacancies broadly;
- Maximize the number of potential candidates from a wide range of societal groups and educational qualifications;
- Promote broad consultation and / or participation in the application, screening, selection and appointment process; and
- Assess applicants on the basis of pre-determined, objective and publicly-available criteria;
The SCA refers to Paris Principle B.1 and to its General Observation 1.8 on ‘Selection and appointment of the decision-making body of NHRIs’.