Ombudsman

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An ombudsman is an official, usually (but not always) appointed by the government, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individual citizens. The term arose from its use in Sweden, with the Parliamentary ombudsman instituted in 1809, to safeguard the rights of citizens by establishing a supervisory agency independent of the executive branch. The word ombudsman and its specific meaning has since been adopted in to English as well as other languages, and ombudsmen have been instituted by other governments and organizations such as the European Union.

Recently, since the 1960s, the profession has grown in the US particularly in corporations, universities and government agencies. This current model, sometimes referred to as an organizational ombudsman, works as a designated neutral who has high rank in an organization but is not considered management. Using an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) sensibility, an organizational ombudsman can provide options to whistleblowers or employees with ethics concerns, provide mediation for conflicts, track problem areas, and make recommendations for changes to policies or procedures, in support of orderly systems change. One particularly important function is to pick up "new things" --- that is, issues new to the organization. This is particularly important if the "new thing" is "disruptive" in the sense of requiring the organization to review and possibly improve its policies and procedures and structures.

An organizational ombudsman who is practicing to "standards of practice" in the US is neutral,and is visibly outside ordinary line and staff structures. The Organizational Ombudsman will practice informally (with no management decisionmaking power, and not accepting "notice" for the organization.) The Organizational Ombudsman typically keeps no case records for the employer and keeps near absolute confidentiality. The only exception is where there appears to be an imminent risk of serious harm and the Ombudsman can see no responsible option other than breaking confidence --- but Organizational Ombudsprograms report that they can almost always find "other responsble options," such as helping a visitor to make an anonymous report about whatever appears to be the problem.

The origin of the word is found in Old Norse and the word umbuds man, meaning representative. The first preserved use in Swedish is from 1552. It is also used in the other Scandinavian languages such as the Icelandic "umboðsmaður", the Norwegian "ombudsmann" and the Danish "ombudsmand".

Organizational ombudsmen are sometimes called "ombuds" or "ombuds officers" or ombudsperson" or "ombud." They are beginning to appear around the world within organizations, sometimes as an alternative to anonymous hot lines, in countries where the latter are illegal or considered inappropriate.

The first ombudsmen flourished in China during Qin Dynasty (221 BC) and in Korea during the Choseon Dynasty. The Romans also grappled with the problem, but it was the example of the second Muslim Caliph, Umar (634-644) and the concept of Qadi al-Qadat (developed in the Muslim world), which influenced the Swedish King, Charles XII. In 1713, fresh from self exile in Turkey, Charles XII created the Office of Highest Ombudsman. The Scandinavians subsequently moulded the Office into its contemporary form.

An ombudsman need not be appointed by government; they may work for a corporation, a newspaper, an NGO, or even for the general public. Such an ombudsman obviously does not carry any governmental powers or sanction abilities.

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Legislative/Classical ombudsmen

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Sweden

  • Swedish Ombudsman for Equal Opportunities, or Jämställdhetsombudsmannen (JämO)
  • Swedish Ombudsman for Children, or Barnombudsmannen. Observes matters affecting the rights and interests of children and young people.
  • Swedish Disability Ombudsman, or Handikappombudsmannen. Monitors issues relating to the rights and interests of persons with disabilities.
  • Swedish Ombudsman against Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation, or Ombudsmannen mot diskriminering på grund av sexuell läggning (HomO)
  • Swedish Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination, or Ombudsmannen mot etnisk diskriminering

The Director-General of the Swedish Consumer Agency is also designated as a Consumer Ombudsman.

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Czech Republic

The Czech Ombusdman is known as Veřejný ochránce práv (Public Defender of Rights)..

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Estonia

The Estonian ombudsman is known as Õiguskantsler (Chancellor of Justice [1]).

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European Union

The European Ombudsman was established by the Maastricht treaty, the treaty establishing the European Union. The current European Ombudsman, holding office since 1 April 2003, is P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, former national ombudsman of Greece.

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Finland

In Finland the office of Parliamentary Ombudsman, modelled after the Swedish Ombudsman, was established by the Constitution of 1919. The Ombudsman is appointed by the Parliament, and has the task of ensuring that all government departments and officials follow the law. The Parliamentary Ombudsman shares many duties with the Chancellor of Justice. The Ombudsman has wide ranging oversight and investigative powers. She or he has access to all government facilities, documents and information systems and can order a police investigation if necessary. If the Ombudsman determines that a government official has not acted in accordance with the law she or he can advice on the proper application of the law, reprimand the official or in the extreme case order the criminal prosecution of the official. Partly because of the prosecutorial powers the Ombudsman enjoys considerable respect and her or his legal opinions are usually strictly followed. Her or his legal interpretations carry a lot of weight in the absence of a court precedent.

There are also special ombudsmen for gender equality, children's welfare, rights of ethnic minorities, and consumer protection, operating under the auspices of various ministries and other government agencies. Also, every health care provider in Finland is legally obliged to have a patients' rights ombudsman.

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Greece

The Greek Ombudsman is called Citizen's Advocate and is an Independent Authority. Currently, the Citizen's Advocate is Prof. Georgios Kaminis. The Advocate is assisted by five Assistant Advocates, which coordinate the activities of the Advocate's office in the five "theme circles" (areas) in which the office has authority: i) civil rights, ii) social protection, iii) quality of life, iv) state-citizen relationships and v) children's rights.

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Iceland

The post of umboðsmaður Alþingis was set up under the terms of law number 13/1987 in 1987, dealing with complaints against the government. In 1997 law number 85/1997 his authority was expanded to local government levels. The Ombudsman is appointed by Alþingi.

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Ireland

The Office of Ombudsman was set up under the terms of the Ombudsman Act, 1980. The Ombudsman is appointed by the President of Ireland upon the nomination of both Houses of the Oireachtas, and is a civil servant of the State. The Ombudsman deals with complaints against Departments of State, local authorities, health boards and An Post.

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Italy

The Italian Ombusdman is known as Avvocato Generale dello Stato (Attorney General of the Republic).

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New Zealand

The post of Ombudsman was established in New Zealand in 1962, with the aegis of investigation of complaints against government departments. In 1975 the post was expanded, with a Chief Ombudsman and several (number unspecified) of other ombudsmen.

New Zealand also has a Banking Ombudsman however this a non-government industry group.

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Philippines

The Office of the Ombudsman of the Philippines is empowered by the 1987 Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas to safeguard the government and government-related institutions and corporations from corruption and dispense justice in the case of such offenses.

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Poland

Polish Ombudsman is called the Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich.

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Romania

The Romanian Ombusdman is known as Avocatul Poporului' (People's Advocate).

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Spain

The Spanish laws translate "ombudsman" as defensor del pueblo ("People's defender"). There is a general Defensor del Pueblo for issues with the Spanish administration, and regional ones for the autonomous communities of Spain, for instance:

The Spanish Defensor can start processes at the Constitutional Court.

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Ukraine

In the Ukraine a post of Ombudsman is held Nina Karpachova since 1998. Recently, Ukraine installed staff of ombudsmans dedicated to children's rights, including world's youngest ombudsman, 14-year-old Ivan Cherevko.

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United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom a post of Ombudsman is attached to the Westminster Parliament with additional posts at the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and other government institutions.

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About UK Ombudsman Services

The main UK Ombudsman is known as the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (PCA). The Creation of the post of the UK PCA was spurred on by the 1954 Crichel Down affair. The position was created, and his or her powers are documented in, the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967, the most notable section of which is s4 and Schedule 2, which constrain his (currently her) powers. Amongst other things, the ombudsman cannot investigate Crime, national security, foreign affairs, the armed forces and other civil services. However, the office of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman emphasises that it looks into complaints "that government departments, their agencies and some other public bodies in the UK - and the NHS in England - have not acted properly or fairly or have provided a poor service". The first UK Ombudsman was Sir Alan Marre, a career civil servant who later became chairman of Age Concern and the post is currently held by Ann Abraham (since 2002). She is a former director of the National Association of Citizen's Advice Bureaux.

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The Ombudsman's process

Those seeking the assistance of the PCA generally find the process to be difficult. Firstly, all complaints have to go through an MP - this is known as the "MP filter", which checks they are legitimate. In many cases, the MP attempts to solve the problem themselves, though the effectiveness of this can be called into question. Secondly, the Ombudsman rejects nearly 50% of his received applications (once that have passed through the filter) at first instance. Finally, the ombudsman will not investigate complaints where recourse to an alternate remedy (tribunal, internal complaints etc) exists. This can be extremely offputting if you wish to complain - most people do not want to get involved in this process. If you can plough through all this, complaint resolution normally takes about 40 weeks.

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The Ombudsman's Powers

The Ombudsman's powers are completely non-binding upon any authority. He or she may publish a report, but that is all the coercion he can give. Usually, this does exert enough moral power to make an authority change its decision. The Ombudsman does not exist to complain about the merits of a decision. For example, in 1996 those suffering "planning blight" on their houses due to the creation of the Channel Tunnel were eventually awarded compensation without admission of fault or liability.

Finally, the Ombudsman's decision may be challenged by Judicial Review if he fails to consider whether the complaint is suitable for judicial resolution. This happens rarely, but does occur. For example, in R v PCA, Ex Parte Dyer [1994], a complaint was addressed, but the plaintiff considered the remedy inadequate. The House of Lords however, ruled that the plaintiff should be satisfied with the remedy obtained.

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List of all Ombudsman Services in the United Kingdom

  • Estate Agents Ombudsman
  • Financial Ombudsman Service
  • Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme for the Isle of Man
  • Health Service Ombudsman - England
  • Health Service Ombudsman - Wales
  • Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS)
  • Independent Police Complaints Commission
  • Legal Services Ombudsman
  • Local Government Ombudsman - England
  • Local Government Ombudsman - Wales
  • Northern Ireland Ombudsman
  • Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman
  • Parliamentary Ombudsman
  • Welsh Administration Ombudsman
  • Pensions Ombudsman
  • Removals Industry Ombudsman Scheme
  • Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman
  • Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
  • Telecommunications Ombudsman (OTELO)
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Shortcomings

The impartiality of some UK Ombudsman services has been questioned. In particular the Local Government Ombudsmen - whose senior staff are recruited from the ranks of local government officials and whose appointment process is vetted by the Local Government Association - have been accused of bias and of merely acting as a rubber stamp.

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United States

The US Navy implemented an ombudsman program in 1970 under direction of Admiral Elmo Zumwalt. Through the Navy Ombudsman Program, communication between the spouses of active duty personnel and the command is kept open, thereby improving the quality of life for everyone involved. The Navy command ombudsman is a volunteer position, with no special favors bestowed upon them. The purpose of this program is to ensure the dependents of active duty personnel have a channel of resources for their needs and quality of life. A command ombudsman can guide you to the help you may need, before, during or after a deployment. The Navy Ombudsman undergoes almost constant training, and is bound by confidentiality in most cases, the exception being any hint of child abuse. An ombudsman meets with department heads aboard a naval installation to find out the latest news, and pass it on, including news on ship deployments, cutting down on potentially harmful gossip.

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New York City

The New York Public Advocate has an Ombudsman team that investigates and responds to telephone and written complaints/queries regarding city agency services, providing information and referrals.

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Organizational Ombudsmen

Many private companies, univerisities and government agencies also have an ombudsman (or an ombudsman department) which serve internal employees or other constituencies. These ombudsman roles are structured to function independently, by reporting to the board of directors, and do not serve any other role in the organization.

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Newspaper Ombudsman

Newspaper ombudsman are especially valuable to newspapers by promoting journalistic integrity to their readers. There is an international Organization of News Ombudsmen. The press in Sweden is self-regulated through the Public Press Ombudsman (Allmänhetens Pressombudsman) and the Swedish Press Council (Pressens Opinionsnämnd).

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See also

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External links

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Classical/Legislative ombudsmen

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Australian government ombudsmen

  • COmb.gov.au - 'Commonwealth Ombudsman Australia: Assisting the Australian community by resolving complaints and fostering good government administration'
  • Omb-HCSCC.nt.gov.au - 'Ombudsman for the Northern Territory'
  • OmbO.nsw.gov.au - New South Wales Ombudsman
  • Ombudsman.sa.gov.au - The Ombudsman South Australia Office: providing free, impartial, informal and timely resolution of complaints to promote fairness, openness and good public administration in South Australia'
  • ombudsman/home.html - Tasmanian Ombudsman: investigates complaints and conducts Freedom of Information reviews in respect of government agencies.
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Canadian government ombudsmen

  • GNB.ca - 'The New Brunswick Ombudsman's Office: one central mission: to ensure that all New Brunswick citizens are treated with administrative fairness by government and its agencies.
  • HOA.gov.nl.ca - 'Newfoundland and Labrador Citizens' Representative'
  • Gov.ns.ca - 'Nova Scotia Office of the Ombudsman: If you feel you have been treated unfairly by a provincial or municipal government body, or you have a complaint about a Nova Scotia government service...'
  • Ombudsman.bc.ca - 'Ombudsman British Columbia: Promoting Fairness for British Columbians'
  • Ombudsman.mb.ca - 'Ombudsman Manitoba'
  • Ombudsman.on.ca - 'Ombudsman Ontario'
  • ProtecteurduCitoyen.qc.ca - 'Le Protecteur du Citoyen' (English language link)
  • Ombudsman.yk.ca - 'Office of the Yukon Ombudsman and Information & Privacy Commissioner'
  • LegAssembly.sk.ca - 'Ombudsman Saskatchewan'
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Chilean ombudsman

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Czech government ombudsman

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European Parliament Ombudsman

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Hong Kong government Ombudsman

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New Zealand government ombudsmen

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Philippine government ombudsman

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Swedish government ombudsmen

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Ukrainian government ombudsman

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United Kingdom government ombudsmen

  • Financial-Ombudsman.org.uk - 'The Financial Ombudsman Service: provides consumers with a free, independent service for resolving disputes with financial firms'
  • IHOS.org.uk - 'Housing Ombudsman Service: An independent service dealing with complaints against landlords & agents, and other housing disputes'
  • IPCC.gov.uk - 'Independent Police Complaints Commission'
  • LGO.org.uk - 'Commissioner for Local Administration in England: Local Government Ombudsmen's Home Page'
  • NI-Ombudsman.org.uk - Northern Ireland Ombudsman's Office
  • OLSO.org - 'Office of the Legal Services Ombudsman'
  • Ombudsman.org.uk - 'Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman: Making complaints a positive experience
  • Ombudsman.gov.ie - '(Irish) Office of the Ombudsman'
  • Ombudsmanwatch.org 'Local Government Ombudsman complaints body'
  • Ombudsman-Wales.org - 'Public Services Ombudsman for Wales'
  • Pensions-Ombudsman.org.uk - 'The Pensions Ombudsman: investigates and decides complaints and disputes about the way that pension schemes are run'
  • OTelO.org.uk - 'Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsman: We are an Ombudsman Service for public communication providers and their customers'
  • ScottishOmbudsman.org.uk - 'Scottish Public Services Ombudsman'
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United States government ombudsmen

  • Ombudmhmr.state.mn.us - 'State of Minnesota Office of the Ombudsman for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities'
  • Ombudsman.state.hi.us - 'State of Hawaii Office of the Ombudsman: independently and impartially investigates complaints against state and county agencies and employees'
  • StaffWeb.legis.state.ia.us - 'Office of Citizens' Aide Ombudsman, Des Moines, Iowa'
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Non-governmental ombudsmen

  • OEA.co.uk - 'Ombudsman for Estate Agents Scheme: A free, fair and independent service for buyers and sellers of residential property in the UK'
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Ombudsman associations

  • BIOA.org.uk - 'British and Irish Ombudsman Association' (BIOA)
  • NewsOmbudsman.org - 'Organization of News Ombudsmen' (ONO)
  • UAlberta.ca - 'International Ombudsman Institute: Ombudsman Web Resources'
  • USOmbudsman.org - 'The United States Ombudsman Association: Promoting and supporting fairness, accountability, and equity in government through the public sector ombudsman'
  • UVA.nl - 'The European Network of Ombudsmen in Higher Education' (ENOHE), Universiteit van Amsterdam
  • Ombuds-TOA.org - 'The Ombudsman Association (TOA), the largest non-profit, international association of professional organizational ombudspeople in the world'
  • UCOA.org - 'University and College Ombuds Association' (UCOA) 
* IOA The International Ombudsman Association ---formed when UCOA and TOA merged.
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Ombudsman directories

  • UAlberta.ca - International Ombudsman Institute (international directory of ombudsmen)