Projects / Programmes
An effective appeal mechanism over the work of municipal wardens, security guards and private detectives
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.06.00 |
Social sciences |
Political science |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.06 |
Social Sciences |
Political science |
Control, complaint, appeal mechanism/procedure, municipal wardens, security guards, private detectives, police officers, the public
Researchers (4)
| no. |
Code |
Name and surname |
Research area |
Role |
Period |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
38301 |
PhD Miha Dvojmoč |
Law |
Researcher |
2021 - 2023 |
723 |
| 2. |
33280 |
PhD Maja Modic |
Criminology and social work |
Researcher |
2021 - 2023 |
257 |
| 3. |
17049 |
PhD Andrej Sotlar |
Political science |
Head |
2021 - 2023 |
596 |
| 4. |
26240 |
Bernardka Tominc |
Political science |
Researcher |
2021 - 2023 |
162 |
Organisations (1)
Abstract
Institutions with a police/security/control role have powers to interfere with fundamental human rights and freedoms. To prevent abuses, they must be adequately controlled, not only by the state, but also by an appropriate mechanism through which individuals, who believe to be subjected to (repressive) powers and have their rights and dignity violated, can lodge an effective and impartial complaint. A condition for this is the existence of an independent and transparent appeal procedure, in which both the complainant and the public representative can participate. Repressive powers are typical for organizations engaged in policing. Today, these are no longer just state/public (eg. police), but also local/public (eg. municipal warden services) and private organizations (eg. private security companies and private detective agencies). Wardens, security guards and private detectives have considerable powers/measures/entitlements and use them to restrict the rights of the individuals they encounter daily. Although these powers are quite like those of police officers, their control is not as comprehensive. This reflects in the lack of comparable appeal procedures through which individuals could complain against the conduct of municipal wardens, security guards or private detectives, when they feel their rights and dignity had been violated. An analysis shows that the existing appeal procedures against wardens, security guards and private detectives in RS have deficiency mainly related to the independence of the body conducting the procedure, the possibility of the complainant's participation in the procedure and the presence of the public. This is surprising, given the extend and comparability of the powers of police officers with the powers of wardens, measures and means of security guards and the entitlements of private detectives, regardless the place (public, private) the powers are exercised. Similar encroachments on human rights and freedoms require the same or similar mechanisms for their treatment. In fact, it does not matter who has infringed on an individual's rights, it is only important that he/she deserves equal treatment of those interventions that he/she considers to be a violation of his/her rights and dignity. The project will pursue the announced objectives and answer the following questions: what is the significance of the introduction of a complaint procedure against municipal wardens, security guards and private detectives from the point of view of the protection on human rights and fundamental freedoms; what control over those repressive entities would be most effective in protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms; and what are the possibilities for unifying the standards of appeal mechanisms in unjustified and excessive encroachments on human rights and dignity by other repressive entities, following the example of the appeal mechanism against the police. The answers to the questions will be obtained through research in several phases or. work packages. The theoretical conceptualization of supervisory and appeal mechanisms over repressive institutions will be followed by a legal and substantive analysis of existing appeal mechanisms against municipal wardens, security guards and private detectives, as well as police officers in RS, followed by an international comparative analysis. Empirical research will show the shortcomings of the existing regulation and indicate possible improvements or the creation of a new model of the appeal mechanism. The proposal of the new model will also be tested through a focus group of experts, followed by a wide dissemination of findings. The result of the project will be a proposal for an appeal mechanism model based on the principles of institutional and hierarchical separation of the supervisory institution from the entities it supervises, the principles of independence, transparency and impartiality and the principles of involvement of the complainant and the public.
