Credit: Freepik

Czech Republic To Appoint First Children’s Ombudsman By July

The Chamber of Deputies today approved the establishment of a Children’s Ombudsman position as of July this year, with 168 votes out of 175 MPs present. Working in the Ombudsman’s Office, the position should contribute to better observance of children’s rights.

The Czech Republic is one of four EU countries, along with Germany, Austria and Portugal, that do not yet have a children’s ombudsman. The draft now awaits discussion in the Senate.

By establishing a children’s ombudsman, the Czech Republic will comply with the request of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which is based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention entered into force in the former Czechoslovakia in February 1991.

The work of the children’s ombudsman will focus on the protection of children primarily under the terms of the Convention. In addition to monitoring compliance with children’s rights, their powers would also include education on children’s rights and intervening in certain types of court proceedings, such as custody proceedings. According to the government, this will include a few dozen cases per year.

The amendment introduces a model of two separate ombudsmen, so that the children’s ombudsman will work alongside the current ombudsman in their office. The Children’s Ombudsman should be a person over 35 with a law degree who has spent at least half of the previous ten years protecting or promoting children’s rights. The amendment also allows judges to apply for the post, especially those who hear custody cases.

The government’s draft also changes the procedure for electing the ombudsman and regulates the division of competences between the ombudsman and the deputy ombudsman, unless they agree otherwise.

According to the draft, the ombudsman should also perform the tasks of a national human rights institution. These activities are partly carried out by the current ombudsman, but not to the full extent.

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