New Challenges for the Ombudsman Institution in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The paper introduces some new challenges that await the Czech Ombudsman concerning protecting individual rights. They have recently been transformed into a human rights institution, and a new ombudsman institution, the Children’s Ombudsman, has been established, with whom the Ombudsman will have to cooperate.
In the first part of the paper, I describe what competences have been entrusted to the Ombudsman in the past and how they have changed the view of the institution, with an emphasis on those that are relevant for the protection of individual rights. In the second part, the paper analyses what it means for the ombudsman institution to shift its focus from protection against maladministration to the protection of human rights, and what impact the establishment of the Children’s Ombudsman may have on its activities.