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An ombudsman is an official, usually (but not always) appointed by the government or by parliament, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individual citizens. In some jurisdictions, the Ombudsman is referred to, at least officially, as the 'Parliamentary Commissioner' (e.g., the West Australian state Ombudsman). 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. An ombudsman need not be appointed by government; they may work for a corporation, a newspaper, an NGO, or even for the general public. Origins and etymology The origin of the word is found in Old Norse umboðsmaðr and the word umbuds man, meaning representative and is non-gender specific. The first preserved use in Swedish. From 1552, it is also used in the other Scandinavian languages such as the Icelandic "umboðsmaður", the Norwegian "ombudsmann" and the Danish "ombudsmand". The modern use of the term began in Sweden, with the Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman instituted in 1809, to safeguard the rights of citizens by establishing a supervisory agency independent of the executive branch. A prototype of modern 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. Politically correct denomination Despite the etymology, Gender-neutral language is preferred by those who insist on politically correct parlance. In such cases ombudsman is replaced by ombuds officers, ombudsperson, ombudspeople or just ombuds. In case one is certain the ombuds is a woman, ombudswoman is also used. Ombudsman in politics In most contexts, "ombudsman" refers 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, he publishes a report to that effect. Further redress dependes on the laws of the country concerned, but normally involves financial compensation. Ombudsman do not, however, tend to have the power to initiate legal proceedings or prosecution on the grounds of a complaint. This role is sometimes referred to as a "tribunitian" role, and has been traditionally fuflilled by elected representatives. (The term refers to the ancient Roman "tribunes of the people" (tribuni plebis), whose role was in theory similar to that of a modern ombudsman.) In the UK there is little use of the recently introduced ombudsman system, the function of which is anyway particularly limited in scope and tends to be designed so as to appear independent while actually being recuited from the ranks of officials and rubber stamping official decisions. Citizens will normally pursue grievances against government through their local MP, or else through another MP or the courts. In the USA, there is no ombudsman system at the federal level, although there is some limited use of the system in some states. The major advantage of an ombudsman is that she or he examines complaints from the outside of the state institutions that are being complained about. However, the system relies heavily on the selection of an appropriate individual for the office, and on the cooperation of at least some members of the state itself. Perhaps for this reason, outside Scandinavia, the introduction of ombudsmen has tended to produce somewhat less impressive results than initially hoped. Organizational ombudsman Many private companies, universities 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. 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. Recently, since the 1960s, the profession has grown in the United States, particularly in corporations, universities and government agencies. This current model, sometimes referred to as an organizational ombudsman, works as a designated neutral party, one who is high ranking in an organization, but who 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, procedures and/or structures. An organizational ombudsman who is holding to "standards of practice" in the US is neutral and visibly outside ordinary line and staff structures. An organizational ombudsman will practice informally (with no management decisionmaking power, and without accepting "notice" for the organization). An organizational ombudsman typically keeps no case records for an employer and keeps near absolute confidentiality. The only exception is where there appears to be an imminent risk of serious harm, and an ombudsman can see no responsible option other than breaking confidence -- but organizational ombuds programs report that they can almost always find "other responsible options", such as helping a visitor to make an anonymous report about whatever appears to be the problem. News ombudsman Newspaper and media ombudsman offices are especially valuable for promoting journalistic integrity on behalf of readers, viewers and listeners. 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). Sweden Governmental ombudsmen: The Director-General of the Swedish Consumer Agency is also designated as a Consumer Ombudsman. The word Ombudsman is the same in Swedish. Australia The Commonwealth Ombudsman in Australia was established in 1976. The Ombudsman can investigate complaints about the actions and decisions of Australian Government departments and agencies, the services delivered by most private contractors for the Australian Government, and oversee complaint investigations conducted by the Australian Federal Police. The Ombudsman can also investigate complaints about delays in processing Freedom of Information requests (FOI) and complaints about FOI charges. The Commonwealth Ombudsman is also the Defence Force Ombudsman, Immigration Ombudsman, Postal Industry Ombudsman, Taxation Ombudsman and through an arrangement with the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government, the ACT Ombudsman. Croatia The Croatian Ombudsman is known as Pučki pravobranitelj, and was established by the Croatian Constitution in 1990. The Ombudsman is appointed by the Parliament, and has the task of ensuring that all government departments and officials follow the law. There are also special ombudsmen for gender equality and ombudsmen for children, since 2003. Czech Republic The Czech Ombudsman is known as Veřejný ochránce práv (Public Defender of Rights). Denmark Estonia The Estonian ombudsman is known as Õiguskantsler (Chancellor of Justice *). European Union The European Ombudsman was established by the Maastricht treaty, the treaty establishing the European Union. The current European Ombudsman, holding office since April 1, 2003, is P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, former national ombudsman of Greece. France In France, since 1973, there is an Government appointed Ombudsman, the "Médiateur de la République". Currently Jean-Paul Delevoye is holding the office, for a single term that will elapse in 2010. 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, data protection, 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. Greece The Greek Ombudsman is called the Citizen's Advocate and is an Independent Authority. Currently, the Citizen's Advocate is Professor 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. Iceland The post of umboðsmaður Alþingis was set up in 1987 under the terms of law number 13/1987, which deals with complaints against the government. His authority was expanded to local government levels in the 1997 law number 85/1997. The Ombudsman is appointed by Alþingi. 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. Israel The State Comptroller of Israel also serves, by law, as Ombudsman. She or he discharges this function by way of a special unit in the Office of the State Comptroller, known as the Office of the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman investigates complaints against bodies that are statutorily subject to audit by the State Comptroller, including government ministries, local authorities, state enterprises and institutions and government companies, as well as their employees. Italy The Italian Ombudsman is known as Avvocato Generale dello Stato (Attorney General of the Republic). 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. Norway 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. Poland The Polish Ombudsman is called the Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich. Portugal The Portuguese Ombudsman is called the Provedor de Justiça (Justice Provider), and its role is defined in article 23 of the Constitution of Portugal: 1. Citizens may submit complaints against actions or omissions by the public authorities to the Ombudsman, who shall assess them without the power to take decisions and shall send the competent bodies such recommendations as may be necessary in order to prevent or make good any injustices. 2. The Ombudsman’s work shall be independent of any acts of grace or legal remedies provided for in this Constitution or the law. 3. The Ombudsman’s office shall be an independent body and the Assembly of the Republic shall appoint the Ombudsman for such time as the law may determine. 4. The bodies and agents of the Public Administration shall cooperate with the Ombudsman in the fulfilment of his mission. Besides the traditional roles, there are two toll-free lines: one for children and one for senior citizens. Romania The Romanian Ombudsman is known as Avocatul Poporului (People's Advocate). Spain The Spanish laws translate "ombudsman" as defensor del pueblo ("People's defender"). The Spanish Defensor can start processes at the Constitutional Court. There is a general Defensor del Pueblo for issues with the Spanish administration, and regional ones for the autonomous communities of Spain, for instance: Ukraine In the Ukraine a post of Ombudsman is held Nina Karpachova since 1998. 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. About UK Ombudsman Services The primary UK Ombudsman is known as the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, also known as the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (PCA), which 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 UK Ombudsman will usually investigate complaints where there has been evidence of "maladministration" having occurred which has resulted in an "unremedied injustice". Complaints to the Ombudsman are subject to a "time bar" - this means that the Ombudsman may determine a complaint to be out of jurisdiction if too much time has passed between the event or course of events being complained about and the complaint being received by the Ombudsman. List of all Ombudsman Services in the United Kingdom Shortcomings The impartiality of some UK Ombudsman services has been questioned. In particular the Local Government Ombudsman - 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. * United States The US Navy implemented an ombudsman program in 1970, under the 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. 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. Fictional ombudsmen In the science fiction television series, Babylon 5, the arbiters aboard space station Babylon 5 who preside over cases stemming from public complaints are referred to as ombuds (this is both the singular and plural designation), the gender-neutral title for an ombudsman. Just as with their modern European counterparts, the ombuds only preside over public cases, including robbery, assault, and murder, and do not interpret law as a regular judiciary does. See also Australian government ombudsmen Established in 1993 by the Australian Federal Government, the TIO is independent of industry, the government and consumer organisations. The TIO is authorised to investigate complaints about the provision or supply of telephone or Internet services. (information was supplied by the official website of the TIO) Canadian government ombudsmen Chilean ombudsman Czech government ombudsman European Parliament Ombudsman Hong Kong government Ombudsman Israeli Ombudsman New Zealand government ombudsmen Philippine government ombudsman Swedish government ombudsmen Ukrainian government ombudsman United Kingdom government ombudsmen United States government ombudsmen Non-governmental (organizational) ombudsmen Ombudsman associations Ombudsman directories | |||||||
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