The Defender of Rights
The Defender receives complaints about the violation of any right of Title III by an organ of the Republic, a territory, a planning body, a public establishment, a cooperative, a federation or a licensed foreign entity. It investigates, publishes findings, proposes remedies, and brings proceedings before the courts where a violation is not remedied.
Allocation of a complaint
Say what happened, and this will name the body
Powers of the Defender
Article 252(1): the Defender receives complaints from any person concerning the violation of a right of Title III by any organ of the Republic, any territory, any planning body, any public establishment, any cooperative, any federation, or any licensed foreign entity.
Article 252(2): the Defender assists complainants, investigates, publishes findings, proposes remedies, and brings proceedings before the courts in its own name or in support of a complainant.
Article 252(3): the Defender holds standing under Article 231(3) and may intervene in any proceeding concerning a right of Title III.
Three divisions
Complaints
Any right of Title III, against any body listed above. This is the main work of the office and the route most people use.
Data and automated systems
The data division keeps the public register of every machine used in administration, planning, allocation and provision, and may order a prohibited one to stop.
Places of detention
The detention division visits without announcement, speaks with detained people in private, and may in no case be refused entry.
Recent findings
| Date | Body | Right | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 July 2026 | Communal housing service, Lindoma | Article 65, adequate housing | Upheld |
| 11 June 2026 | Public order service, Eastern Region | Article 50, private life | Upheld |
| 29 May 2026 | Place of detention, Cortius | Article 47, prohibition of ill treatment | Upheld in part |
| 17 April 2026 | Regional training service, Western Region | Article 51(7), prohibited scoring | Upheld |
All findings, with the remedies proposed and the answers received
Limits of competence
It gives no order to a commune, quashes no decision and awards no reparation. Where a body fails to remedy a violation the Defender has found, Article 253(4) takes the matter to the competent court, and the remedies of Article 43 are ordered by that court alone.
It also has no power over criminal matters. A file disclosing an offence goes to the prosecution service, which decides under Article 226 and publishes the decision with its reasons.