Lygiateisiškumo principą užtikrinančių institucijų teisinio statuso problemos

Abstract

The article 29 of the Constitution consolidates the principle of equality of all persons before the law, the court, and other state institutions and officers. The constitutional principle of equality of persons is a constitutional guarantee of the innate human right to be treated in the same manner as the others are treated. In its rulings the Constitutional Court has held for more than once that this principle obligates to apply uniform legal assessment to homogeneous facts and prohibits to arbitrarily assess essentially homogeneous facts in a different manner. Although the principle of equality is regulated by the Constitution, as well as national laws and international treaties, but the mechanism of its’ practical implementation and a possibility to protect equality rights in reality is a great importance. The UN Paris Principles provide that a national human rights institution or the ombudsman’s office should be established in the national Constitution or by a law that clearly sets out its role, procedure of appointment, mandate and powers, accountability. The ombudsman shall be accountable only to the Parliament, thus none of the executive power institutions or any other public or private institution, organization, or any politician may directly or indirectly interfere with his work.
The national institution shall have an infrastructure which is suited to the smooth conduct of its activities, in particular adequate funding. The purpose of this funding should be to enable it to have its own staff and premises, in order to be independent of the Government and not be subject to financial control which might affect its independence.
The Ombudsman’s office should be based on pluralism and transparency. The UN Paris Principles provide that for equality body shall be given as broad a mandate as possible. The Article 13 of the Racial Equality Directive provides three different competences for equality bodies: to give assistance to victims, to conduct surveys and to issue recommendations and reports.
In this article the author analyses the problems of legal status of the equality body (the ombudsman): independence, competences, quasi-judicial functions, and effectiveness of activity.