BackOn 17th May 2012, the Portuguese Ombudsman, Alfredo José de Sousa, delivered to the President of the Parliament his Annual Report of Activities concerning the year of 2011.
According to the Report, in 2011 the Ombudsman received 7753 complaints, of which 7341 were submitted by individuals and 412 by legal persons, including 85 trade unions and 123 associations. 5796 cases were opened pursuant to those complaints, some of which aggregating more than one complaint. The Ombudsman also opened 16 cases on his own initiative. Thematically, there was a significant increase in the number of complaints regarding health matters, which rose from 148 in 2010 to 180 in 2011.
Furthermore, in the current economic and financial context Portugal is facing, 1 out of 5 cases opened in 2011 concerned social rights, with an increase of complaints relating to unemployment benefits (173 complaints in 2011 against 101 in 2010).
Concerning environmental matters, the highest number of complaints related to urban noise, mostly produced by bars and nightclubs often operating in residential buildings. Also, the Ombudsman marked the International Year of Forests with Recommendation 1/B/2011, aiming to protect national forests and other wooded areas, whose regulation is still ensured by a decree from the time of the monarchy and by other disperse legislation.
The Ombudsman addressed 3 requests for constitutionality review to the Constitutional Court. In June 2011, the Ombudsman also carried out a reorganization and rationalization of his Local Offices in the Autonomous Regions of Azores and Madeira. Overall, 83 cases were opened in the Azores and 126 in Madeira. The Children’s Hotline and the Elderly Citizens’ Hotline received 740 calls and 2685 calls, respectively.
Source: Provedor de Justiça
