SERBIA: Support to the strengthening of the Ombudsman Office (Twinning)

About the Project

Given that the institution of the Ombudsman – Protector of Citizens – was first introduced into the Serbian legal system by the National Assembly in 2005 and entrenched by the Constitution in the year 2006, this project aimed at improving the professional skills of the institution’s staff.

In this respect, the overall objective of this project was to contribute to the further democratization of society, promotion of the principles of the rule of law, human rights and good governance through more efficient control of the legality in the work of public administrative bodies. The project also aimed at supporting the Ombudsman’s office to fully perform its mandate in order to ensure utmost legality and equity of public administrative acts vis-à-vis all citizens.

To this end, the activities of the project were structured according to four crucial areas:

  1. Organizational improvement of the Ombudsman’s office in accordance with the best European practice
  2. Cooperation among Ombudsman offices on all levels and cooperation with state bodies
  3. Strengthening of the capacity of the Ombudsman’s office in terms of human resources and technical equipment
  4. Promoting the relationship with the professional and wider public and creating public awareness about the role and importance of the Ombudsman

The Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR) contributed to the project by providing short term expertise on trainings in all areas concerning human rights protection.

Project Data

Country: Serbia
Persons involved: Susanne Fraczek
Contact persons: Agnes Taibl
Lead Organisation: The Greek Ombudsman
Partner Organisations: The National Ombudsman of the Netherlands, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR), The Austrian Ombudsman; Beneficiary institution (RS): Ombudsman of the Republic of Serbia
Project start: 09/2009
Project end: 12/2011
Project completed: Yes
Funded by: European Commission , Directorate-General Enlargement
Programme Line LBI-GMR: Rule of Law and Public Sector Reform