The Ombudsman’s Office welcomes the decision by EMEL – Empresa Municipal de Mobilidade e Estacionamento de Lisboa, E.M.S.A., to reverse the imposition of a fine for non-payment of a parking fee after it was proven that the nearest parking meter was out of order. This review followed the intervention of the Ombudsman’s Office, which found that the metadata of the…

The Ombudsman’s Office has suggested that parish councils offer citizens an alternative to the use of the white stamp as a means of authenticating certifying documents signed by the respective presidents, namely certificates of residence or economic situation. The recommendation came about following a complaint in which it was found that citizens may find it impossible to use these documents…

The Ombudsman has sent a recommendation to the Minister of Finance to repeal, as soon as possible, the regime on which the so-called Additional Solidarity Tax on the Banking Sector (“ASSB”) is based. After an in-depth study of the tax, carried out following the receipt of a complaint, it was concluded that it violates the principle of ability to pay,…

The Ombudsman submitted a request to the Constitutional Court for a declaration of unconstitutionality, with general binding force, of rules contained in Law 45/2012, of 29 August, which approves the legal regime for access to and exercise of the profession of driving examiner and the recognition of training bodies. The provisions in question are article 4(b) of the law, according…

The increase in the number of complaints from foreign citizens regarding delays in procedures for granting residence permits justified an intervention by the Ombudsman’s Office specifically aimed at the Aliens and Borders Service (SEF), whose conclusions and recommendations are presented in the report now released. Bearing in mind the recent publication of the legislation creating the Agency for Integration, Migration…

The Ombudsperson addressed a Recommendation to the Minister of Internal Administration, drawing attention to the collection of undue charges by the security forces and renewing her appeal for a definitive solution to the lack of delivery of proof of payment for denunciations made by citizens. Through the complaints that continue to be received in this regard, it was verified that…

The National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), which works within the Ombudsman’s Office, focused part of its activity in 2022 on the conditions and procedures of detention in Police Commands, Police Stations and other units of the Public Security Police, having elaborated a thematic report, which is now disclosed. Regarding the material conditions, it was concluded that most of the detention spaces…

The Ombudsman’s Office has been receiving a significant number of complaints regarding various aspects of the measures adopted, since September 2022, in the context of mitigating the effects of inflation. The analysis and resolution of these complaints allowed the acquisition of vast information regarding the practical application of the measures, as well as the revelation of some problems of conception…

The Ombudsperson recommended to the Secretary of State for Tax Affairs the suspension, for two years, of the period for reinvestment of the value of the sale of properties intended for own and permanent housing. The legislative Recommendation aims to ensure that individual taxpayers, within the scope of measures to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, are excluded…

The Ombudsman sent a Recommendation to the Government to promote approval of a new and appropriate regime of protection for teachers during illness, that includes the possibility of adapting the teaching load and functions exercised to the respective state of health. Regarding the system of teachers’ mobility due to illness, it was also recommended that the list of illnesses that…