The Commissioner for Fundamental Rights requested the Constitutional Court to examine the provision of the Act on Electoral Procedure which limits in HUF 1 million per candidate the amount that can be used during the electoral campaign for Members of Parliament. The Ombudsman has invited the Constitutional Court to examine also a possible failure to act by the law-maker in connection with the control of the utilisation of campaign funds.

Chien-shien Wang, President of the Control Yuan, recently published the latest annual report. The 2011 report contains the summary of the Control Yuan's work including handling complaints and assuring good governance, sunshine acts, auditing, human rights protection, and international engagement.

The Albanian Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities responded to the official note on measures to be taken for the improvement of conditions and treatment of women and children accommodated in the Centre for Reception and Treatment of the Victims of Violence.

The Laxenburg (Austria) based International Anti-Corruption Academy recently released an issue of its newsletter giving information on new members and the new partnership with the Republic of Korea’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission that is also an IOI member.

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published two new reports on the rights of people with disabilities. The reports highlight the need to move from institutional to community-based living arrangements and to reformulate laws and policies to make them more inclusive.

During its mid-term meeting that took place from 7 to 8 May 2012 in Hong Kong, the IOI Board of Directors took decisions on several applications for individual, associate and institutional membership. Welcoming the new members to the IOI family the General Secretariat presents the main facts and figures of each new member continuing with the Correctional Investigator of Canada.

On 5 June 2012 Ombudswoman Terezija Stoisits, Ombudsman Peter Kostelka and Human Rights Advisory Council Deputy Chairwoman Prof. Gabriele Kucsko-Stadlmayer met with the recently appointed Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Nils Muižnieks who currently is performing a three-day visit to Austria.

The European NPM Newsletter is a bi-monthly review of information deemed relevant for National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) in the Council of Europe region. It is prepared under the aegis of the National Human Rights Structures (NHRS) Unit of the Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs of the Council of Europe