Ombudsman sign

An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a significant degree of independence).

Ombudsmen also aim to identify systemic issues leading to poor service or breaches of people's rights. At the national level, most ombudsmen have a wide mandate to deal with the entire public sector, and sometimes also elements of the private sector (for example, contracted service providers). In some cases, there is a more restricted mandate to a certain sector of society. More recent developments have included the creation of specialized children's ombudsmen.

In some countries, an inspector general, citizen advocate or other official may have duties similar to those of a national ombudsman and may also be appointed by a legislature. Below the national level, an ombudsman may be appointed by a state, local, or municipal government. Unofficial ombudsmen may be appointed by, or even work for, a corporation such as a utility supplier, newspaper, NGO, or professional regulatory body.

In some jurisdictions, an ombudsman charged with handling concerns about national government is more formally referred to as the "parliamentary commissioner" (e.g. the United Kingdom Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, and the Western Australian state Ombudsman). In many countries where the ombudsman's responsibility includes protecting human rights, the ombudsman is recognized as the national human rights institution. The post of ombudsman had by the end of the 20th century been instituted by most governments and by some intergovernmental organizations such as the European Union. As of 2005, including national and sub-national levels, a total of 129 offices of ombudsman have been established around the world.

Origins and etymology

A prototype of an ombudsman may have flourished in China during the Qin dynasty (221 BC), and later in Korea during the Joseon dynasty. The position of secret royal inspector, or (, ) was unique to the Joseon dynasty, where an undercover official directly appointed by the king was sent to local provinces to monitor government officials and look after the populace while travelling incognito. The Roman tribune had some similar roles, with the power to veto acts that infringed upon the Plebeians. Another precursor to the ombudsman was the () which appears to go back to the second caliph, Umar (634–644), and the concept of (). They were also attested in Siam, India, the Liao dynasty, Japan, and China.

An indigenous Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish term, ''ombudsman'', ''ombodsmann'', ''ombudsmann'' or is etymologically rooted in the Old Norse word , essentially meaning 'representative' (with the word ''/ombod/'' meaning 'proxy', 'attorney'; that is, someone who is authorized to act for someone else, a meaning it still has in the Scandinavian languages). In the Danish Law of Jutland from 1241, the term is and concretely means a royal civil servant in a hundred. From 1552, it is also used in other Nordic languages such as the Icelandic and Faroese , the Norwegian /, and the Swedish (). The general meaning was and is approximately 'a man representing (someone)' (i.e., a representative) or 'a man with a commission (from someone)' (a commissioner). The Swedish-speaking minority in Finland uses the Swedish terminology. The various forms of the suffix , , et cetera, are just the forms the common Germanic word represented by the English word ''man'' have in the various languages. Thus, the modern plural form ''ombudsmen'' of the English borrowed word ''ombudsman'' is likely.

Use of the term in its modern sense began in Sweden with the Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman instituted by the Instrument of Government of 1809, to safeguard the rights of citizens by establishing a supervisory agency independent of the executive branch. The predecessor of the Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman was the Office of Supreme Ombudsman (), which was established by the Swedish King, Charles XII, in 1713. Charles XII was in exile in Turkey and needed a representative in Sweden to ensure that judges and civil servants acted in accordance with the laws and with their duties. If they did not do so, the Supreme Ombudsman had the right to prosecute them for negligence. In 1719 the Swedish Office of Supreme Ombudsman became the Chancellor of Justice. The Parliamentary Ombudsman was established in 1809 by the Swedish Riksdag, as a parallel institution to the still-present Chancellor of Justice, reflecting the concept of separation of powers as developed by Montesquieu.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman is the institution that the Scandinavian countries subsequently developed into its contemporary form, and which subsequently has been adopted in many other parts of the world. The word ombudsman and its specific meaning have since been adopted in various languages, such as Dutch. The German language uses , and . Notable exceptions are French, Italian, Spanish, and Finnish, which use translations instead. Modern variations of this term include ''ombud'', ''ombuds'', ''ombudsperson'', or ''ombudswoman'', and the conventional English plural is ''ombudsmen''. In Nigeria, the ombudsman is known as the ''Public Complaints Commission'' or the ''ombudsman''.

In politics

In general, an ombudsman is a state official appointed to provide a check on government activity in the interests of the citizen and to oversee the investigation of complaints of improper government activity against the citizen. If the ombudsman finds a complaint to be substantiated, the problem may get rectified, or an ombudsman report is published making recommendations for change. Further redress depends on the laws of the country concerned, but this typically involves financial compensation. Ombudsmen in most countries do not have the power to initiate legal proceedings or prosecution on the grounds of a complaint. This role is sometimes referred to as a "tribunician" role, and has been traditionally fulfilled by elected representatives – the term refers to the ancient Roman " tribunes of the plebeians" (), whose role was to intercede in the political process on behalf of common citizens.

The significant advantage of an ombudsman is that they examine complaints from outside the offending state institution, thus avoiding the conflicts of interest inherent in self-policing. However, the ombudsman system relies heavily on the selection of an appropriate individual for the office, and on the cooperation of at least some effective official from within the apparatus of the state. However, sociologist Jürgen Beyer has criticised the institution, stating: "Ombudsmen are relics of absolutism, designed to iron out the worst excesses of administrative arbitrariness while keeping the power structures intact."

In organizations

Many private companies, universities, non-profit organisations, and government agencies also have an ombudsman (or an ombuds office) to serve internal employees, managers and/or other constituencies. These ombudsman roles are structured to function independently, by reporting to the CEO or board of directors, and according to the International Ombudsman Association (IOA) Standards of Practice, they do not have any other role in the organisation. Organisational ombudsmen often receive more complaints than alternative procedures such as anonymous hot-lines.Charles L. Howard, ''The Organizational Ombudsman: Origins, Roles and Operations, a Legal Guide'', ABA, 2010.

Since the 1960s, the profession has grown in the United States, and Canada, particularly in corporations, universities, and government agencies. The organizational ombudsman works as a designated neutral party, one who is high-ranking in an organization, but who is not part of executive management. Using an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) or ''appropriate'' dispute resolution approach, an organisational ombudsman can provide options to whistleblowers or employees and managers with ethical concerns; provide coaching, shuttle diplomacy, generic solutions (meaning a solution which protects the identity of one individual by applying to a class of people, rather than just for the one individual) and mediation for conflicts; track problem areas; and make recommendations for changes to policies or procedures in support of orderly systems change.

Ombudsman services by country

For specific ombudspersons or commissioners for children or young people, also see Children's ombudsman.

See also

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* Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI)—Coordinates the relationship between national human right institutions and the United Nations human rights system
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* International Ombudsman Institute (IOI)—Representing 150 public sector independent ombudsman institutions on the national, state, regional and local level around the globe
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* Ombudsman services by country

References

External links

JPGMOnline.com
nbsp;– 'The role of the ombudsman in biomedical journals', '' Journal of Postgraduate Medicine'', Vol 48, No 4, pp 292–296, 2002

POGO.org
nbsp;– 'EPA Ombudsman Resigns: Accountability in Handling of Superfund Sites Threatened', Project on Government Oversight (22 April 2002)

Transparency.org
nbsp;– 'What is an Ombudsman'

Ombudsman Institutions for the Armed Forces Handbook
nbsp;– 'A practical guide to the role of military ombudsman', Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF)

Ombudsman Institutions and Minority Issues
Study by the European Centre for Minority Issues

SÖP Schlichtungsstelle für den öffentlichen Personenverkehr e.V.
Ombudsman Institution of Public Transport in Germany


The Independent Voice, IOA newsletter, May 2017.

International and regional ombudsman associations

* Africa
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African Ombudsman Research Centre
(AORC),
* North America
*
Association of Canadian College and University Ombudspersons
(ACCUO)
* Asia
*
Asian Ombudsman Association
(AOA) – "To promote the concepts of Ombudsmanship and to encourage its development in Asia"
* Australasia
*
Australian and New Zealand Ombudsman Association
(ANZOA)
* Europe/N.Africa
*
Association of Mediterranean Ombudsmen
(AMO)
*
Ombudsman Association
(formerly the British and Irish Ombudsman Association, BIOA)
*
European Network of Ombudspersons for Children
(ENOC)
*
European Network of Ombudsmen in Higher Education
(ENOHE), – webpage at Universiteit van Amsterdam
*
European Ombudsman Institute
(EOI)
* global
*
International Ombudsman Association
(IOA)
*
Organization of News Ombudsmen
(ONO)

Ombudsman directories

IOI
nbsp;– International Ombudsman Institute (international directory of ombudsmen)

Ombuds Blog
includes lists of organizational ombuds offices in corporations, academic, governmental, and other organizations

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Legal professions
Government occupations
Ethics organizations
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