The Ombudsman welcomes the repeal of the Exceptional Temporary Regime for Urban Rehabilitation, which exempted the application of various technical building standards without any justification, and welcomes the legislative amendments that now require the seismic assessment and reinforcement of buildings, as well as compliance with technical building standards, in particular accessibility. The new legal framework, published today in Diário da…
The Ombudsman has asked the Constitutional Court to review the constitutionality of Articles 4, 6 and 9 of Law 32/2008 of 17 July, which transposes Directive 2006/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March, concerning the conservation of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or public communications…
Operators should consult the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN) database for the details of the vehicle identification holder when sending the very first notification to collect tolls. This is the wording of the recommendation sent by the Ombudsman, Maria Lúcia Amaral, to Portvias, following a complaint lodged by a citizen who received the notification procedure for payment of tolls,…
From the beginning of this year until mid-August, the National Prevention Mechanism (NPM) has carried out 21 monitoring visits to places of deprivation of liberty. Of the 21 visits made, 13 went to prisons, four to Temporary Settlement Centers and Matched Spaces (EECIT), two to Educational Centers and two to places of detention by the police. It is noteworthy that…
July 30 was elected by the United Nations World Day against Trafficking in Persons. According to this organization’s data, more than 225,000 victims of trafficking have been signaled since 2003: women, children and men, exploited for various purposes. The World Report on Trafficking in Persons notes that in recent years the number of victims has increased. Virtually every country in…
The Ombudsman welcomes the determination of ANACOM to reduce the tariff of telephone calls to the telephone numbers beginning with 707 and 708 and to recommend that they should not be used by suppliers of goods and services within the framework of consumer legal relationships. These positions, which were accompanied by the recommendation to the Assembly of the Republic and…
The Ombudsman welcomes the recent construction of a ramp allowing disabled access to Torralta Beach in time for the current bathing season. The Ombudsman’s intervention was requested following the construction of a footbridge in Praia da Torralta, Alvor, which entailed the destruction of existing access and made it impossible for people with reduced mobility to travel. Despite the various steps…
Today’s International Day of Support for Victims of Torture offers us one more opportunity to reaffirm the current relevance of the problem and the need to continue the fight against torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, thus contributing to not to leave in the penumbra the anonymous victims that deserve our support. Their right to live…
The Ombudsperson, Maria Lúcia Amaral, receives her Turkish counterpart, Seref Malkoç, this week in Lisbon for a high-level study visit marking the closure of the training program that has been developed since November 2018 by the Portuguese Ombudsman in the framework of an initiative of the European Union. This last study session includes a visit to the Ombudsman’s Office, the…
The Ombudsman, Maria Lúcia Amaral, was heard on June 19 at 11:00 am in the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees on the Activities Report of 2018 and the report on the activity carried out by the Ombudsman as a National Mechanism Prevention of Torture. To learn more, click here. To listen to the audition, click here.