The People’s Advocate has asked the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights to support his efforts to suspend the process of establishing the People’s Advocate for Entrepreneurs’ Rights within the Office of the People’s Advocate until the international expertise of the draft law.
The draft law on the establishment of the Ombudsman for Entrepreneurs’ Rights was discussed and approved yesterday within the Parliamentary Legal Committee for Appointments and Immunities meeting. Also, it was on the agenda of the plenary session, although the People’s Advocate addressed to Parliament Speaker, Mrs. Zinaida Greceani, and standing committees with the request to postpone the examination of this document in the Legislature until obtaining the opinion from the international organizations.
The People’s Advocate is puzzled and outraged by the insistent way in which this document is promoted, ignoring the legal procedures for adopting legislative acts and without notifying and consulting the institution. Mihail Cotorobai hopes that at the stage of the examination in the Parliament his point of view will still be taken into account. In order to argue his position, the People’s Advocate asked the opinion from several international organizations on the mentioned draft law, if the People’s Advocate for Entrepreneurship Rights corresponds with the mandate of the Office of the People’s Advocate (OPA), as the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), accredited according to the Paris Principles.
In the opinion of the People’s Advocate, the attributions and the role of the People’s Advocate for Entrepreneurs’ Rights is in dissonance with the standards activity of an NHRI, according to the Paris Principles, because its mandate in the field of business and human rights consists of protection of human rights from abuses of business entities, while the authors of the draft law see the mandate and the core mission of the People’s Advocate for the Entrepreneurs Rights to defend the economic interests of the business representatives.
It is not comprehended the haste with which this draft law is examined in Parliament because there is another draft amendment to Law no. 52 on the People’s Advocate in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission of 2015 has been in the process of finalization for over 3 years.
Earlier, the People’s Advocate asked the Prime Minister to withdraw the initiative on establishment of the People’s Advocate for Entrepreneurs’ Rights within the OPA, emphasizing that the adoption of the draft law will have detrimental consequences for the NHRI of the Republic of Moldova, because it is contrary to the mission of a NHRI.
That is why the People’s Advocate has asked the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle BACHELET, and the CoE Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja MIJATOVIĆ to support the Ombudsman’s demarches to the Moldovan authorities to suspend the process of establishing People’s Advocate for Entrepreneurship within the Office of the People’s Advocate until the international expertise of the draft law.
