The Portuguese Postal Service (CTT) is unduly demanding payment of Value Added Tax (VAT) on small-value non-EU remittances between private individuals, concluded the Ombudsman after examining several complaints in this regard. In a recommendation addressed to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of CTT – Correios de Portugal, S.A. and communicated to the Director of Customs Regulation Services of…
The Ombudsman’s Office pays a heartfelt and grateful tribute to the memory of Alberto Manuel de Sequeira Leal Sampaio da Nóvoa, recalling the decisive role he played in the founding moment of this State institution for the defense of citizens’ rights. Sampaio da Nóvoa was the author of the project that gave rise to Decree-Law 212/75, which established the creation…
The Ombudsperson, Maria Lúcia Amaral, was present at the award ceremony for the António Champalimaud Vision Prize, which in its 2022 edition recognised Gerrit Melles (Netherlands) and Claes Dohlman (Sweden) for breaking new ground in the research and treatment of corneal diseases by restoring sight to millions of people and preventing others from going blind in the future.
On 10 December the international community celebrates International Human Rights Day, marking the moment when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Constituting a civilizational milestone in our collective history, the Declaration brought to the legal, social and cultural level the strong idea that all human beings are holders of inalienable rights, regardless…
The Ombudsman, Maria Lúcia Amaral, participated in the XXVII General Assembly of the FIO, Ibero-American Federation of Ombudsmen, which took place in Mexico City from 28 November to 1 December 2022. The work brought together more than a hundred representatives of public human rights bodies from 21 countries. They focused in particular on the challenges posed by the pandemic and…
The Ombudsman has received various complaints about delays in the issue of the Former Combatant’s Card, and it has been established that these delays are often the result of out-of-date data from the applicants. In order to update this data, interested parties may access the Balcão Único da Defesa and submit the completed form, which is available there. Alternatively, this…
The Ombudsman, Maria Lúcia Amaral, was in Parliament for a presencial hearing on the legislative initiatives under appraisal by the Working Group on the legal framework of Professional Associations. The hearing took place at the request of the coordinator of the Working Group, constituted in the scope of the Commission of Labour, Social Security and Inclusion.
To mark International Day of the Person with Disability, the Ombudsman presented a brief assessment of the activity developed by the telephone line especially dedicated to supporting these fellow citizens. Throughout 2022, in the period between 1st January and 30th November, the Disabled Citizens’ Line received 502 calls, a number that exceeds the total received in the previous year. Evolution…
The NPM – National Preventive Mechanism carried out joint visits to places of detention with its UK counterpart in November. The British NPM participated in the visits to the Detention Space at Lisbon Airport and to the Torres Novas prison establishment, and the Portuguese NPM team took part in the inspection of Garth prison, in Lancashire. The joint visits stem…
A Provedora de Justiça enviou ao Secretário de Estado do Ambiente e da Energia um ofício sugerindo alterações ao PAES – Programa de Apoio a Edifícios Mais Sustentáveis, destinadas a evitar, de futuro, a repetição de constrangimentos e iniquidades que levaram a mais de uma centena de queixas ao longo do último ano. Com base na experiência resultante da instrução…
