Article 37 Preliminary Assessment 1. The Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice shall, within ten (10) days of a complaint being lodged with his or her Office, notify the complainant, in writing, of the receipt of the complaint. 2. The Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice shall, within thirty (30) days of the complaint being lodged with his or her Office, make a preliminary assessment of the complaint with a view to deciding whether to take action or not on the complaint. 3. The Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice may decide to dismiss the complaint or not to take further action where: (a) the complaint is anonymous; (b) the complaint is made in bad faith, unfounded or patently frivolous or vexatious; (c) under the law or existing administrative practice, there is adequate remedy for the complaint, whether or not the complainant has availed himself or herself of it; (d) the complaint is not within the mandate of the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice; (e) the complaint is in connection with acts or omissions that were committed before the present law came into force; (f) the complaint was lodged after the period provided in the present law; (g) the complaint has been manifestly delayed too long to justify an investigation; (h) the alleged damage has been effectively and adequately redressed; (i) the matter or substantially the same matter has already been addressed, or is currently being addressed by the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice or another competent organ; (j) having regard to all the circumstances of the case, any further investigation is unnecessary. 4. The Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice shall, within forty-five (45) days of a complaint being lodged with his or her Office, notify the complainant, in writing, of his or her decision to investigate or not to take further action on the complaint or to dismiss the complaint. 5. The decision not to take further action on, or to dismiss, the complaint or to proceed with investigations shall be substantiated. 6. Without prejudice to subarticle 3 above, the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice may, on his or her own initiative, decide to investigate the matter that is the object of a complaint. 7. The Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice may re-open the case if, within one (1) year after he or she has dismissed the complaint or decided not to take further action on it, fresh evidence in favour of the complainant becomes available. Article 38 Mediation and Conciliation 1. The Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice may act as a mediator and a conciliator in a dispute between the complainant and the entity or agency the subject of a complaint, where both parties agree to submit to such a process. 2. Where one of the parties rejects mediation or conciliation, the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice shall conduct a full investigation and make recommendations on the case. 18