Regarding the allegations of the political life participants who call on the Protector of Citizens “not to be an accomplice of the city authorities in harassing and robbing citizens”, as they allege, and to speak up about the problem of issuing supposedly incorrect BusPlus misdemeanor orders, which were handed over to the citizens by public transport controllers, as well as regarding the stated opinion that the Decision on public passenger transport on the territory of the city of Belgrade illegally delegated the powers to Bus Plus controllers to identify citizens, the Protector of Citizens reminds that two and a half years ago, he expressed publically his assessment that the controllers in public city transport are not entitled to identify passengers.
The Protector of Citizens is mandated to control the respect for the citizens’ rights and to determine the violations that may be inflicted by administrative bodies if it is a violation of national regulations, but he is not authorized to do so if the administrative bodies violate the general acts of the autonomous province, city and municipality to the detriment of the citizens. The Protector of Citizens reminds that in the specific case, the Decision passed by the Assembly of the City of Belgrade is mentioned.
The Protector of Citizens notes that it cannot assess the correctness of specifically issued misdemeanor orders because this is within the jurisdiction of the misdemeanor court that may examine it if a citizen submits a request for court decision, according to the Law on Misdemeanors.
The Protector of Citizens urges the participants in political life to refrain from unfounded and malicious attacks on an independent state body such as the Protector of Citizens, because only in that way can they contribute to the development and improvement of a democratic society and its institutions.