“Section 9 of the enabling law provides that the budget of the Ombudsman is paid from monies appropriated for that purpose. In practice, the Office of the Ombudsman requests funding through the budget of the Minister of Justice who tables it before Parliament for discussion and approval.

The Ombudsman relies on the Ministry’s centralized budget for public education, outreach, procurement, and other expenses. The Ministry of Justice funds major activities and operational needs, including IT and case management upgrades. The Ombudsman does not have a separate budget line within the State budget.

The Ombudsman notes that there is no willful interference or refusal of requests for funding by the Ministry of Justice, but that delays in receiving funding are caused by lengthy procedures.

The SCA reiterates that national law should indicate from where the budget of the NHRI is allocated. Government funding should be allocated to a separate budget line applicable only to the NHRI and should be regularly released and in a manner that does not impact adversely on its functions, day-to-day management and retention of staff.

The SCA encourages the Ombudsman to advocate for appropriate amendments to its Law in order to specify the source of its funding and provide the institution with a specific budget line within the State budget.

The SCA refers to Paris Principle B.2 and to its General Observation 1.10 on ‘Adequate funding’.”