REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
LAW ON THE OMBUDSMAN FOR CHILDREN
25 May 2000 No VIII-1708
(As last amended on 25 September 2012 – No XI-2229)
Vilnius
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Purpose of the Law
This Law shall establish the legal basis and powers of the Ombudsman for Children of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter referred to as the “Ombudsman for Children”) as well as the status and organisational structure of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter referred to as the “Office of the Ombudsman for Children”).
Article 2. Purpose of Activities of the Ombudsman for Children
The purpose of activities of the Ombudsman for Children is to improve legal protection of children, to defend the rights and legitimate interests of children, to ensure implementation of the rights and legitimate interests of children provided for in international and national legal acts as well as to exercise supervision and control of the implementation and protection of the rights of children in Lithuania.
Article 3. The Basic Principles of Activities of the Ombudsman for Children
The activities of the Ombudsman for Children shall be based on the following principles:
1) priority of the rights and legitimate interests of children; The Ombudsman for Children shall adhere to this principle and take into consideration the impact on a child well-being when adopting decisions related to children.
2) participation of a child and listening to a child. The child shall have the right to express his opinion and influence the decisions related to his well-being in the family and society. The Ombudsman for Children shall ensure the possibilities of active participation of a child and those of listening to him and shall take into consideration the opinion of the child if it does not contradict the interests of the child;
3) freedom, independence and autonomy of the activities; The Ombudsman for Children shall be autonomous from state and municipal institutions, officials and other persons and shall act independently within its competence. No political, economic, psychological or social pressure or any other illegal actions that might influence the decisions of the Ombudsman for Children may be exerted on the Ombudsman for Children.
4) accountability. The Ombudsman for Children shall be accountable for its activities to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
5) legitimacy, justice and impartiality. In its activities, the Ombudsman for Children shall be guided by the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, international treaties and agreements, this Law and other laws and legal acts and the principles of law. The Ombudsman for Children shall equally (equally justly) defend all the children and shall be impartial in his activities;
6) publicity. The Ombudsman for Children shall make public the information to the society about his activities and the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of children in the Republic of Lithuania except for information that might violate the rights or legitimate interests of a child, or which is considered confidential according to the laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 4. The Ombudsman for Children
The Ombudsman for Children shall be a state official appointed by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter referred to as the “Seimas”) exercising supervision and control of the implementation and protection of the rights of children, investigating the cases of violation of the rights and legitimate interests of children and seeking to improve the situation of children in Lithuania.
Article 5. Requirements for the Ombudsman for Children
A citizen of the Republic of Lithuania of good repute who has acquired a bachelor’s or master’s degree in law, or a lawyer’s professional qualification degree (one-cycle university education in law) and whose period of employment in legal or pedagogical work is at least 10 years may be appointed as the Ombudsman for Children.
Article 6. Appointment of the Ombudsman for Children
1. The Seimas, upon recommendation of the Speaker of the Seimas, shall appoint the Ombudsman for Children for a term of office of five years.
Article 7. The Oath of the Ombudsman for Children
1. A person appointed to the position of the Ombudsman for Children shall take up the position upon swearing the oath to the Republic of Lithuania. The person swearing the oath shall be entitled to choose one of the following texts of the oath:
“I, Ombudsman (Ombudswoman) for Children of the Republic of Lithuania (forename, surname) swear to be faithful to the Republic of Lithuania, to respect and observe its Constitution and laws, to perform my duties in good faith, to protect the rights, freedoms, and legitimate interests of children, and to always be impartial and keep the secrets entrusted to me.
“I, Ombudsman (Ombudswoman) for Children of the Republic of Lithuania (forename, surname) swear to be faithful to the Republic of Lithuania, to respect and observe its Constitution and laws, to perform my duties in good faith, to protect the rights, freedoms, and legitimate interests of children, and to always be impartial and keep the secrets entrusted to me.”
2. The Ombudsman for Children shall swear the oath in the Seimas. The oath shall be administered by the Speaker of the Seimas or Deputy Speaker of the Seimas.
Article 8. Grounds for Dismissal of the Ombudsman for Children from Office
1. The Ombudsman for Children shall be dismissed from office in the following cases:
3) he is absent from work due to temporary incapacity for more than 120 calendar days in succession or more than 140 days during the last 12 months, unless the laws provide that in the case of certain illnesses the position shall be retained for a longer period, or when the Ombudsman for Children is unable to perform his duties pursuant to the conclusions of the Disability and Capacity for Work Establishment Office under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour;
2. In the cases stipulated in subparagraphs 2 and 3 of paragraph 1 of this Article, the Seimas, upon recommendation of the Speaker of the Seimas, shall adopt a decision concerning the dismissal of the Ombudsman for Children from office.
3. In the case stipulated in subparagraph 3 of paragraph 1 of this Article, the Seimas shall adopt a decision concerning the dismissal of the Ombudsman for Children from office only after receiving a conclusion of the commission of doctors set up by the Minister of Health.
Article 9. Activity Incompatible with the Position of the Ombudsman for Children
The Ombudsman for Children may not hold any other elected or appointed office in state and municipal institutions and agencies or be employed in legal entities. The Ombudsman for Children may not receive any other remuneration except for his official salary and remuneration for scientific and teaching activities at higher education establishments or training institutions for civil servants, for non-formal adult education and for creative activities. The Ombudsman for Children may not participate in the activities of political parties.
Article 10. Submission of the Annual Activity Reports
1. Each year, the Ombudsman for Children shall, by 1 April, submit, in writing, a report on activities of the Ombudsman for Children for the previous calendar year.
2. The Seimas shall, pursuant to the Statute of the Seimas, adopt a decision concerning the report of the Ombudsman for Children and the activities of this Office.
Article 11. The Duties of the Ombudsman for Children
The Ombudsman for Children shall:
1) control and supervise how the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania, legal acts of the European Union, laws and other legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania regulating the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of children are implemented in Lithuania;
3) refer the material to a pre-trial investigation institution or the prosecutor if features of a criminal act have been established;
4) submit proposals to the President of the Republic, the Seimas and the Government concerning the measures that could improve the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of children, the amendments to valid legal acts and the adoption of new legal acts as well as formulation and implementation of the policy related to the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of children;
5) inform the society about his activities and the situation in the field of the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of children in Lithuania on the website of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children and, if possible, – made public through the media, or during the meetings with the people and representatives of the interested institutions, agencies and organisations.
Article 12. The Rights of the Ombudsman for Children
1. In performing his duties, the Ombudsman for Children shall have the right to:
1) having obtained the information about violations that was not specified in the complaints, initiate, on his own initiative, the investigation or transfer it to other competent state institutions for investigation;
2) request to immediately submit the information, explanations, minutes, material and any other documents required for the performance of his functions as well as to get access to the documents comprising a state, official, commercial or bank secret and the documents that contain information about personal data protected by laws in accordance with the procedure prescribed by laws. Where necessary for exercising this right, police officers may be employed and an appropriate act concerning the seizure of the documents shall be drawn up;
3) upon showing a certificate of employment, freely enter the premises of agencies, enterprises and organisations and the premises where persons are kept for 24-hours per day – at any time of the day and freely see and talk to the people present in the premises as well as familiarise with activities of agencies, institutions and organisations. The territory and premises of agencies, enterprises and organisations whose activities are regulated by statutes of service shall be entered with the officials of these agencies, enterprises and organisations;
4) get access to the cases already heard in court that are related to violation of the rights or legitimate interests of children;
5) request the persons whose activities are subject to investigation or who are aware of the circumstances related to the subject matter of the investigation provide explanations or information in writing or orally;
7) film, make photographs, sound and video recordings and use any other technical means during the investigations in accordance with the procedure prescribed by laws and without violating the persons’ right to inviolability of private life;
8) attend the sittings and meetings organised by the President of the Republic, the Seimas, the Government, other state and municipal agencies, enterprises, organisations and other persons and take part in the activities of various commissions and working groups when the issues related to the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of children, the activities of the Ombudsman for Children or the investigation carried out by the Ombudsman for Children are considered and express his opinion;
9) set up working groups and commissions for drafting legal acts and proposals, organising events and considering other relevant issues;
10) inform the President of the Republic, the Seimas, the Government or the municipal council of an appropriate municipality and other agencies, enterprises or organisations about violations of legal acts or any shortcomings, contradictions or gaps in legal (administrative) acts;
11) apply to the administrative court with a request to investigate whether an administrative regulatory enactment (or a part thereof) conforms to a law or resolution of the Government, and also to investigate whether a general act adopted by a specific public organisation, society, political party, political organisation or association is lawful;
12) propose the Seimas to apply to the Constitutional Court for examining whether legal acts related to the protection of the rights of children conform to the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and other laws;
13) coordinate the actions of state and municipal institutions and agencies, non-governmental organisations and other legal and natural persons when dealing with issues related to the protection and ensuring of the rights and legitimate interests of children, and promote interdepartmental cooperation;
14) draw up a record of administrative offences regarding the failure to comply with the requirements of the Ombudsman for Children or any other hindrance to the Ombudsman for Children to exercise the rights granted to him by this Law;
15) when not investigating the merits of a complaint that is beyond the competence of the Ombudsman for Children, submit proposals to respective agencies, enterprises or organisations concerning the improvement of the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of children so that the rights and legitimate interests of children would not be violated;
2. On assignment of the Ombudsman for Children, the employees of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children shall assist him in exercising the powers granted to him and performing the functions provided for in this Law (communicate with children, question the officials and other persons, familiarise with the cases already heard in court, etc.). The employees of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children shall not be entitled to carry out the actions that are attributed to the exclusive competence of the Ombudsman for Children (sign the documents, adopt decisions, etc.).
Article 13. The Duty to Keep the Secrets and Data
The Ombudsman for Children and civil servants and employees of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children must keep the state, official, commercial or bank secrets and the personal data protected by laws, which they get to know when performing their duties.
Article 14. Binding Character of the Requests of the Ombudsman for Children
1. The persons must provide, within the term limit specified in paragraph 2 of this Article, the Ombudsman with the requested information, documents and any other material required for the performance of his functions, give him access to the requested documents and any other material as well as ensure the possibility of freely communicating with children and exercising other powers granted to him by legal acts.
2. Where no specific time limit is indicated, the information requested by the Ombudsman for Children shall be submitted within 10 working days from the day of the receipt of the request to provide information.
3. At the request of the working groups and commissions set up by the Ombudsman for Children, Ministries, Government agencies, other state and municipal agencies, enterprises and organisations must provide information and any other material on issues considered (prepared) by such working groups and commissions.
4. Representatives of Ministries, Government agencies, other state and municipal agencies, enterprises and organisations in the working groups and commissions set up by the Ombudsman for Children shall coordinate with the head of the agency, enterprise or organisation the proposals and a draft legal act submitted on behalf of the head of the represented agency, enterprise or organisation.
Article 15. Cooperation of the Ombudsman for Children
1. When implementing this Law, the Ombudsman for Children shall cooperate with the institutions, agencies and organisations of the Republic of Lithuania and foreign states as well as with international organisations and other natural and legal persons.
Article 16. Complaints Investigated by the Ombudsman for Children
1. The Ombudsman for Children shall investigate the submitted complaints concerning the acts or omissions of natural and legal persons as a result of which the rights or legitimate interests of children are violated (allegedly violated) or could be violated as well as the complaints concerning misuse of powers of officials or bureaucracy in the field of the protection of the rights of children.
2. The Ombudsman for Children shall investigate the complaints forwarded to him by agencies, enterprises or organisations if the content of the complaint conforms to the purpose of activities of the Ombudsman for Children stipulated in Article 2 of this Law.
3. The Ombudsman for Children shall not investigate the complaints related to the activities of the President of the Republic, members of the Seimas, Prime Minister, the Government (as a collegiate body), the Auditor General and the judges of the Constitutional Court and other courts as well as the activities of the municipal councils (as collegiate bodies).
4. The Ombudsman for Children shall investigate, in accordance with the procedure prescribed by laws, the complaints concerning the acts (omissions) of prosecutors or pre-trial investigation officers that violate the rights or legitimate interests of children but shall not investigate the complaints concerning the legality and validity of decisions of such officers.
Article 17. Filing of Complaints
1. A complainant shall have the right to file a complaint with the Ombudsman for Children concerning violations specified in paragraph 1 of Article 16 of this Law.
2. A child may apply to the Ombudsman for Children on his own. Where a child applies to the Ombudsman for Children, the requirements specified in Article 18 shall not apply.
3. Usually, the complaints shall be submitted in writing. Where a complaint was received in any other way or if the Ombudsman for Children has established that there is evidence of violations specified in paragraph 1 of Article 16 of this Law, the Ombudsman for Children may start the investigation on his own initiative.
4. At the request of a complainant, his name and surname shall not be mentioned in further investigation.
Article 18. Requirements for a Complaint
1. A complaint shall specify:
3) name and registered office of a legal person in whose respect the complaint is filed or name, surname of a natural person in whose respect the complaint is filed, the agency, enterprise or organisation in which he is employed, or address;
4) description of the decision or actions against which the complaint is being filed, the time and circumstances under which they have been committed;
2. Attached to the complaint may be:
3. Non-compliance to the form of a complaint specified in paragraph 1 of this Article may not serve as a basis for refusal to investigate the complaint except for the cases where it is impossible to start the investigation due to the lack of data and the complainant fails to present them at the request of the Ombudsman for Children or where the text of the complaint is illegible.
Article 19. The Time Limit for Filing Complaints
The time limit for filing complaints shall be one year after commitment of acts or omissions in respect of which a complaint is filed or the adoption of the contested decision. Complaints filed after the expiry of this time limit shall not be investigated, unless the Ombudsman for Children decides otherwise.
Article 20. Anonymous Complaints
Anonymous complaints shall not be investigated, unless the Ombudsman for Children decides otherwise.
Article 21. Refusal to Investigate a Complaint
1. The Ombudsman for Children shall, within 10 working days from the day of the receipt of a complaint, adopt a decision to refuse to investigate the complaint if:
1) the subject matter of the complaint does not conform to the basis provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 16 of this Law;
2) the complaint was filed after the expiry of the time limit specified in Article 19 of this Law. In such case, the Ombudsman for Children may decide to investigate the complaint;
3) the investigation of the circumstances specified in the complaint is beyond the competence of the Ombudsman for Children;
2. Upon adopting a decision to refuse to investigate a complaint, grounds for refusing shall be specified to the complainant. In those cases when the complaint is beyond the competence of the Ombudsman for Children, the refusal to investigate the complaint shall contain an instruction to which particular institution or agency the complainant should address concerning this issue or information to which particular institution or agency the complaint has been transferred.
3. A repeated filing of a complaint after the investigation shall not be considered, except for the cases where new circumstances are indicated or new facts are provided. If the complainant misuses the right to address to the Ombudsman for Children, correspondence with such complainant may be terminated by decision of the Ombudsman for Children.
Article 22. The Time Limit for Investigation of a Complaint
1. A complaint must be investigated and the complainant must be given a reply within 3 months from the day of the receipt of the complaint.
2. Due to the complexity of circumstances indicated in the complaint, abundance of information, continuous nature of actions against which the complaint has been filed or the fact that an additional investigation had to be carried out during the course of investigation of the complaint (to receive documents or explanations, to question the persons, etc.), the time limit for investigation of the complaint shall be extended. The complainant shall be informed about the decision of the Ombudsman for Children to extend the time limit for investigation of the complaint. Complaints shall be investigated and the investigations started on the initiative of the Ombudsman for Children shall be carried out in the shortest time possible.
Article 23. Investigation Carried out by the Ombudsman for Children
1. The Ombudsman for Children shall investigate the circumstances specified in a complaint or carry out an investigation on his own initiative and adopt a decision.
2. The decision shall specify the circumstances established in the course of the investigation, the collected evidence and legal evaluation of actions of the persons.
3. The decision of the Ombudsman for Children shall be submitted to the complainant, the head of the agency, enterprise or organisation that were subject to investigation, the person whose actions were investigated and other persons specified in the decision. Where the decision contains information that the laws treat as a state, official, commercial or bank secret or the personal data protected by laws, not the full text of the decision shall be presented.
4. The investigation of a complaint or the investigation started on the initiative of the Ombudsman for Children shall be terminated if the circumstances due to which the investigation is carried out disappear in the course of the investigation, the complainant withdraws the complaint or the complainant’s request not to investigate the complaint is received, and also where there is a lack of objective data about the committed violation, the problems are solved in good faith through the mediation of the Ombudsman for Children or the activities that violate the rights or legitimate interests of children are terminated.
Article 24. Decisions of the Ombudsman for Children
The Ombudsman for Children shall adopt any of the following decisions:
2) to warn the persons and within its competence to propose natural and legal persons to eliminate the shortcomings in the activities or violations of legal acts due to which the rights and legitimate interests of children are, or could be, violated;
3) to propose the founder (participant) of the legal person who has violated the rights or legitimate interests of children by his acts or omissions to consider the issue regarding further activities of the legal person;
4) to propose to impose (initiate) disciplinary (official), administrative, civil or criminal liability for persons who have violated the rights or legitimate interests of children;
5) to propose the prosecutor to apply to court in accordance with the procedure prescribed by laws for the protection of public interests;
6) to propose to repeal or amend, in accordance with the procedure prescribed by laws, the decisions that contradict legal act regulating the rights and legitimate interests of children or to suspend the validity of contradicting decisions or to propose to adopt the decisions that were not adopted due to misuse of powers or bureaucracy;
7) to draw the attention of the persons to negligence at work, failure to comply with legal acts, breach of official ethics, misuse of powers, bureaucracy or any other violations of the rights and legitimate interests of children and to propose to undertake the measures aimed at eliminating violations of legal acts as well as the underlying reasons and conditions;
8) to notify the President of the Republic, the Seimas or the Prime Minister about violations of the rights or legitimate interests of children committed by the Ministers or other officials accountable to the President of the Republic, the Seimas or the Government;
10) to terminate the investigation started at its own initiative if violations or circumstances due to which the investigation was started have not been corroborated;
Article 25. The Office of the Ombudsman for Children
1. The Office of the Ombudsman for Children shall be established to ensure the work of the Ombudsman for Children.
2. The Office of the Ombudsman for Children shall be a state budgetary agency established by Resolution of the Seimas.
3. The Office of the Ombudsman for Children shall be a legal person that has a bank settlement account and a seal with the coat of arms of the state of Lithuania and the name “The Office of the Ombudsman for Children of the Republic of Lithuania” and which is financed from the state budget. Additional funds from the state budget to finance individual national programmes related to the protection of the rights of children shall be allocated by decision of the Seimas or the Government. The Ombudsman for Children shall be held liable for the use and safekeeping of the seal of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children.
Article 26. The Structure of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children
Article 27. The Ombudsman for Children
1. The Ombudsman for Children shall:
2) represent the Office of the Ombudsman for Children as a legal person on a national and international level;
3) approve the structure of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children, the list of staff, the rules of procedure of the Office with the established internal rules of procedure, the lists of positions and descriptions of all positions of civil servants, staff regulations of other employees, attribute the positions of civil servants of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children to categories and establish specific salary weightings applicable to employees working under employment contracts;
4) in accordance with the procedure prescribed by laws, recruit and dismiss civil servants and other employees of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children;
5) grant the civil servants and employees of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children the annual and any other types of leave and send them on business trips;
6) adopt the decisions concerning the improvement of qualifications of the civil servants and other employees of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children;
3. When the Ombudsman for Children is on holidays is incapable to hold office due to other reasons (illness, business trip, pregnancy, childbearing, child raising, etc.), he shall, by the decision of the Seimas Board, by deputised for by a Seimas Ombudsman or the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, or the Seimas shall, for a fixed period of time, appoint to this office a person who meets the requirements set for the ombudsman for children.
Article 28. Remuneration for Work and Social Guarantees of the Ombudsman for Children
1. The Ombudsman for Children shall be granted a 28-calendar day annual leave. The Ombudsman for Children with a length of service to the state of Lithuania of more than 5 years shall be granted additional 3 calendar days of the annual leave for each subsequent three-year period of service, however the total duration of the annual leave may not exceed 42 calendar days.
2. After the expiry of the term of office of the Ombudsman for Children, he shall be paid a severance pay in the amount of 2 monthly wages. Where the Ombudsman for Children is dismissed from office when he is incapable of performing his duties for health reasons, he shall be paid a severance pay in the amount of 3 monthly wages. In case of death of the Ombudsman for Children, his family shall be paid a severance pay in the amount of 3 monthly wages. These payments shall be paid from the funds allocated to the Office of the Ombudsman for Children from the national budget. No severance pay shall be paid where the Ombudsman for Children is dismissed from office at his own request, where a court judgement concerning him becomes effective, or where more than half of the total number of members of the Seimas has expressed no-confidence in him.
3. After the expiry of the term of office, except for the cases where a court judgement concerning the Ombudsman for Children becomes effective, or where more than half of the total number of members of the Seimas have expressed no-confidence in him, the Ombudsman for Children shall have the right to return to the previous position in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Law on Civil Service.
I promulgate this Law passed by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.