Public Defender of Rights
Veřejný ochránce práv
Údolní 39 60200 Brno Czechia
jana.kvasnicova@ochrance.cz
+420 542 542 888
+420 542 542 334
Czech, Slovak, English
Markéta Bočková
marketa.bockova@ochrance.cz
The institution of the Public Defender of Rights (Ombudsman) was founded in 2001. Its main task is to defend the good governance principles. Since 2009 the Public Defender of Rights is the national equality body and its vision is based on 3 pillars: “to inform, to educate and to help”. The Office of the Public Defender of Rights deals annually with approx. 8000 submissions, approx. 400 of them contain a discriminatory element.
The Public Defender of Rights has been a national equality body pursuant to the law and applicable directives of the European Union since 2009. The Act on the Public Defender of Rights stipulates: ‘The Defender shall contribute to promotion of the right to equal treatment of all persons regardless of their race or ethnic origin, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, belief or opinions.’
The Ombudsman provides a complex legal support and assistance to victims of discrimination. The Defender cooperates with a legal NGO providing pro bono help (www.probonoaliance.cz). The Defender cooperates with the inspection bodies. The Defender also holds educational events for the main stakeholders, experts, and general public. The Defender also publishes “Recommendations on non-discrimination”. The recommendations are focused on the public and address different phenomena related to discrimination. The Defender also conducts research on various anti-discrimination issues.
Private, Public
Amicus curiae brief or similar
Fields | Grounds |
---|---|
Employment | Gender, Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, Race and Ethnic Origin, Religion or Belief, Age, Disability |
Education | Gender, Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, Race and Ethnic Origin, Religion or Belief, Age, Disability, Other Grounds |
Goods and Services | Gender, Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, Race and Ethnic Origin, Religion or Belief, Age, Disability, Other Grounds |
Housing | Gender, Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, Race and Ethnic Origin, Religion or Belief, Age, Disability, Other Grounds |
Social Protection & Healthcare | Gender, Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, Race and Ethnic Origin, Religion or Belief, Age, Disability, Other Grounds |
Other | Gender, Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, Race and Ethnic Origin, Religion or Belief, Age, Disability, Other Grounds |
Nationality, citizenship, worldview, pregnancy
Multi-mandate equality body
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of cases handled | ||||||||
Number of inquiries | 418 | 497 | 384 | 383 | 403 | 360 | ||
Number of litigation cases |
Single headed equality body (led by director or ombudsman/commissioner)
The Head of the Czech Equality Body is the Public Defender of Rights (Ombudsman). The Defender has its Deputy Defender. The Defender may delegate part of his/her mandate to the Deputy. The Defender’s tasks are carried out by the Office of the Public Defender of Rights. The Office of the Public Defender of Rights has in total 156 employees (approx. 100 legal officers). The protection against discrimination is ensured by the Department of Equal Treatment established within the Office. The Department has 15 employees (legal officers), some of them working part-time (recalculated number of employees is 13).
The Ombudsman is elected by the Chamber of Deputies, the lower chamber of the Parliament. Two candidates are nominated by the President of the Republic and other two by the Senate. The term of office lasts six years. Two consecutive terms are possible.
This institution does not have regional officies.
National Parliament
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of staff members working on equality | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 |
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Operating budget in euros [ACTUAL] | 4214000 | 4231000 | 4671000 | 7072000 | 6244000 | 6647470 | ||
Operating budget in euros [ALLOCATED] | 4242000 | 3862000 | 4620000 | 6027000 | 6462000 | 5935820 | ||
Operating budget in euros for the parts of the organisation dealing with equality issues (all types of functions) [ACTUAL] | 332000 | 330000 | 378000 | 447000 | 504000 | 512000 | ||
Operating budget in euros for the parts of the organisation dealing with equality issues (all types of functions) [ALLOCATED] |