The Office of the Ombudsman explained that Malta remains one of the four European Union countries without a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) in line with the UN Paris Principles.

To address this, the Office of the Ombudsman said that it has formally presented a new Ombudsman Bill to the Government, proposing an expansion of its mandate to include the protection and promotion of human rights.

The Office said that “this initiative builds on years of advocacy and aligns with international standards, ensuring that Malta has a strong, independent institution to safeguard fundamental rights, promote good governance, and uphold the rule of law.”

The Office of the Ombudsman stressed that it has “consistently advocated in favour of its appointment as the NHRI for Malta, by extending its present remit to include a broader human rights mandate.”

The Ombudsman Act 1995 as it stands today empowers the Office to investigate complaints and make recommendations on acts or omissions of the public service and/or the public administration that result to be maladministration due to unjust, oppressive, or improperly discriminatory behaviour.

The Office explained that “the strength of the Office of the Ombudsman, eventually to act also as a promoter and/or protector of human rights and fundamental freedoms, derives from its statutory and constitutional independence from Government and the other organs of the State, from the fact that its budget is not dependent on Government, and from the fact that although the budget has to be receive parliamentary approval as the Ombudsman is an officer of Parliament, the Office enjoys financial autonomy.”

Photo: Office of the Ombudsman

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