Chat Control and complaints or correspondence concerning potential international criminal liability (Rome Statute, ICC)
Dear European Ombudsman,
Under Regulation 1049/2001, I hereby request access to any documents, including complaints, correspondence, notes, or memoranda held by the Ombudsman’s office, which:
1) Refer to or assess the possibility that the adoption, implementation, or foreseeable consequences of the proposed Regulation on child sexual abuse material (“Chat Control”) could give rise to international criminal liability under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,
2) Discuss concepts such as planning, instigating, ordering, or conspiracy (as defined under the Rome Statute) in connection with foreseeable or systemic fundamental rights infringements resulting from this or similar legislative initiatives, and
3) Were received or prepared between 2021 and the present.
If no such documents exist, I kindly request confirmation of that fact.
Given the subject matter, I invoke the overriding public interest in disclosure: this request concerns the protection of fundamental human rights and the possibility that systemic rights violations may entail international liability under the Rome Statute.
Yours faithfully,
Andrej Magyar
Dear Mr Magyar,
I am writing in relation to your request for public access to documents to
the European Ombudsman's Office.
On 12 September 2025, you requested public access to documents, which:
"1) Refer to or assess the possibility that the adoption, implementation,
or foreseeable consequences of the proposed Regulation on child sexual
abuse material (“Chat Control”) could give rise to international criminal
liability under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,
2) Discuss concepts such as planning, instigating, ordering, or conspiracy
(as defined under the Rome Statute) in connection with foreseeable or
systemic fundamental rights infringements resulting from this or similar
legislative initiatives, and
3) Were received or prepared between 2021 and the present."
As you may know, the European Ombudsman has the power to inquire into
complaints about maladministration by the European Union's institutions,
bodies, offices and agencies (EU institutions). As such, the Ombudsman
cannot assess the merits and/or substantive aspects of EU (draft)
legislation, which pertains to the political work of the EU legislator.
Therefore, we do not hold any documents concerning a possible assessment
or discussion of the legislative proposal in question.
This said, the Ombudsman has received complaints concerning the handling
by other institutions (e.g. the European Commission, Europol) of requests
for public access to documents cornering the Commission's proposal for
a Regulation on preventing and combatting the sexual abuse and sexual
exploitation of children ('CSAM Regulation'). The decisions in those cases
are available on our website below:
[1]https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/searc...
In light of the above and in accordance with Article 6(2) of Regulation
1049/2001, I would appreciate if you could clarify which specific
documents you would like to obtain.
We would also appreciate to receive your clarification (in reply to this
email) as soon as possible and not later than 18 September 2025.
Kind regards,
Tereza Mandjukova
Tereza Mandjukova
Transparency Officer
European Ombudsman
Directorate of Inquiries
1 avenue du Président Robert Schuman
CS 30403
F - 67001 Strasbourg Cedex
[2]www.ombudsman.europa.eu
Article 6(2) of Regulation 1049/2001 provides "2. If an application is not
sufficiently precise, the institution shall ask the applicant to clarify
the application and shall assist the applicant in doing so, for example,
by providing information on the use of the public registers of documents."
References
Visible links
1. https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/searc...
2. European Ombudsman Home Page
http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/
Dear Mr Magyar,
I am writing to follow up on my email of 15 September 2025, in which we
requested clarifications in line with Article 6(2) of Regulation 1049/2001
concerning your request for public access.
We have explained the Ombudsman's mandate and provided you links to
documents on the Ombudsman's website of possible relevance in order to
allow you to identify documents you would like to obtain.
Based on our records, it appears that you have not replied to the request
for clarifications. Please note that if we do not receive a reply by 26
September 2025 COB we will proceed to the closure of your request for
public access.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Kind regards,
Tereza Mandjukova
Tereza Mandjukova
Transparency Officer
European Ombudsman
Directorate of Inquiries
1 avenue du Président Robert Schuman
CS 30403
F - 67001 Strasbourg Cedex
[1]www.ombudsman.europa.eu
References
Visible links
1. European Ombudsman Home Page
http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/
Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]Edit-Time-Data
Link: [3]themeData
Link: [4]colorSchemeMapping
Sent by ve_ombu.euroombudsman (OMBU) <[European Ombudsman request email]>. All
responses have to be sent to this email address.
Envoyé par ve_ombu.euroombudsman (OMBU) <[European Ombudsman request email]>. Toutes
les réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.
Dear Mr Magyar,
I am writing in relation to your request for public access to documents to
the European Ombudsman's Office (reference Ares(2025)7938273).
On 12 September 2025, you requested public access to documents, which:
"1) Refer to or assess the possibility that the adoption, implementation,
or foreseeable consequences of the proposed Regulation on child sexual
abuse material (“Chat Control”) could give rise to international criminal
liability under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,
2) Discuss concepts such as planning, instigating, ordering, or conspiracy
(as defined under the Rome Statute) in connection with foreseeable or
systemic fundamental rights infringements resulting from this or similar
legislative initiatives, and
3) Were received or prepared between 2021 and the present."
On 15 September 2025, we clarified the Ombudsman’s mandate and powers. We
informed you that, as such, the Ombudsman cannot assess the merits and/or
substantive aspects of EU (draft) legislation, which pertains to the
political work of the EU legislator. We have provided you links to the
Ombudsman’s decisions on complaints related to the Commission's proposal
for a Regulation on preventing and combatting the sexual abuse and sexual
exploitation of children ('CSAM Regulation'). We asked you to clarify your
request based on this information according to Article 6(2) of Regulation
1049/2001.
On 24 September 2025, not having received a reply, we sent a reminder and
we informed you that in the absence of a reply we would close your
request.
To date, we have not received a reply to our request for clarification.
As we have informed you and in the absence of any reply from you, we have
closed your request.
Please note that you can submit a new request for access to documents
identified based on the information we have provided you.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at
[5][European Ombudsman request email].
Sincerely,
Tereza Mandjukova
Transparency Officer
European Ombudsman
Directorate of Inquiries
1 avenue du Président Robert Schuman
CS 30403
F - 67001 Strasbourg Cedex
[6]www.ombudsman.europa.eu
References
Visible links
1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01DC3392.DC7FFF50
2. file:///tmp/cid:editdata.mso
3. file:///tmp/~~themedata~~
4. file:///tmp/~~colorschememapping~~
5. mailto:[European Ombudsman request email]
6. European Ombudsman Home Page
http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/