The Protector of Citizens, Zoran Pašalić, said today that the new law on local ombudsmen should stipulate that every municipality and city in Serbia must have a local protector of human rights, but also explicitly define the protection of people who perform this function after their mandate expires.
"The essence of this law should be that every local self-government must have an ombudsman and that this should no longer depend on the decision or desire of the local self-government unit. The position of the local ombudsman must be regulated in detail – the duration of the mandate, the manner of work, who provides the premises for his work, but also how he will be protected when his mandate ends", said Pašalić after the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Association of Local Ombudsmen of Serbia, which was held in Niš.
Pašalić explained that if the local ombudsman does his job well, it can have far-reaching consequences for himself and his family, which is why the institution of the Republic Protector of Citizens insists that the protection of the local ombudsman after the end of his mandate be explicitly defined by law.
Pašalić added that the Institution of the Protector of Citizens receives the most complaints from citizens of Serbia in connection with the work of the local administration, the Republic Geodetic Authority and the cadastre.