This morning IOI Secretary General, Dr Peter Kostelka officially opened this year's IOI Ombudsman Practice Training which is held in cooperation with Queen Margaret University.

On 10 September 2012 the Chairwoman of the Austrian Ombudsman Board (AOB), Terezija Stoisits, and Ombudsman Peter Kostelka met with the Director of Operations of the Association for the Prevention of Torture, Barbara Bernath.

Dr. Sándor Fülöp, Deputy Commissioner responsible for the protection of the interests of future generations, handed in his resignation on 29 August 2012. Dr. Sándor Fülöp indicated that his resignation will be effective as of 1 September 2012.

Within his personal message Ombudsman Alfredo José de Sousa highlights the legal amendments to the Statute of the Ombudsman in 2011 as well as changes regarding the communication between citizens and the Office of the Ombudsman.

The 2011 overview of the Chancellor of Justice Activities outlines the work of the office as Preventive Mechanism as well as the work as Ombudsman for children. The report also contains last years statistics of proceedings.

It is adequately ensured that the Hungarian Bar Association takes effective action against lawyers who infringe their obligations, but the Ombudsman is concerned that time limits for proceedings are lacking. Máté Szabó Ombudsman considers that a new regulation ordering the fining of lawyers also constitutes a danger for legal certainty.

Ontario Ombudsman André Marin announced that registration was now open for the latest edition of “Sharpening Your Teeth”, his office's training course for administrative investigators, taking place from 21^st to 23^rd January 2013 in Toronto.

In response to the needs and concerns identified during this regional consultation in spring 2012 , the Board achieved a revised draft document which was sent to all members via Email in August 2012. All members are once again requested to thoroughly consider the revised draft and send final comments as soon as possible but no later than 15 September 2012.