Assistance to Commissions 3 and 4 of the Ombudsmen Board

Research Topic & Roadmap

The Ombudsman Board has been responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights in the Republic of Austria since 1 July 2012. Together with a federal commission and six regional commissions, institutions in which personal freedom is or may be deprived or restricted are inspected. In doing so, the commissions are guided by the inspection priorities specified by the Ombudsman Board. The core of this preventive mandate is to identify and eliminate risk factors for human rights violations at an early stage.

The office of Regional Commissions 3 and 4 (responsible for Vienna, Styria and Carinthia) is located at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR) under the programme line “Human Dignity and Public Security“.

Research Focus

The commissions of the Ombudsman Board are a central component of the national preventive mechanism against human rights violations. They have unrestricted access to all places of deprivation of liberty (such as prisons, nursing homes or child and youth welfare facilities). The control also extends to facilities and programmes for persons with disabilities. In addition, the exercise of direct command and coercive power, for example during deportations, demonstrations and police operations, is observed. The commissions report their findings to the Ombudsman Board. In doing so, they can make proposals for findings of maladministration, recommendations and suggestions for measures of official supervision.

Research Method

In addition to the preventive monitoring carried out by the commissions, anyone can also turn to the Ombudsman Board on their own initiative with human rights complaints.

• Project Title: Support for Commissions 3 and 4 of the Ombudsman Board (NPM)
• Project Responsibility: Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights
• Project Leader LBI-GMR: Caroline Paar – Commission 3 and 4 of the Ombudsman Board
• Project Duration: Commission 3: 1 June 2021 to 30 June 2027/ Commission 4: 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2024
• Funding Sources: Commissions 3 and 4 of the Ombudsman Board
• Programme Line LBI-GMR: Human Dignity and Public Security