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From the United States Ombudsman Association
For as long as government has existed, guaranteeing
citizens fair and equitable treatment under the law has been an issue and various
protections have been utilized over the years. In modern times the public sector
Ombudsman, where instituted, has been a successful and valuable guarantor of citizens'
rights. By impartial and independent investigation of citizens' complaints, it has
provided an informal and accessible avenue of redress.
The first public sector Ombudsman was appointed by
the Parliament of Sweden in 1809. The Swedish Constitution divided and balanced power
between the King and Parliament with the King having executive powers and Parliament
retaining legislative power. The Ombudsman, who was appointed by and responsible to
Parliament, was to protect individual rights against the excesses of bureaucracy.
Since its creation, this first Ombudsman Office has
been the model for the public sector ombudsman. and set the definition that is still
accepted today: a public official appointed by the legislature to receive and investigate
citizen complaints against administrative acts of government. These acts may or may not
include the administrative acts of the judiciary or the legislature, depending upon the
statute. Ombudsman is a gender-neutral term, used throughout the world by women and men
who hold the office.
The Ombudsman concept spread through Europe, and to
this continent with the first offices being established in the United States in the
1960's. This was a time in the U.S.A. when exposure of government secrecy and scandal, and
when movements such as civil rights and good government created a political atmosphere
more favorable to openness, and to establishing recourse for the aggrieved.
Hawaii established the first office in 1967. Since
then a number of states, counties and municipalities have followed suit by establishing
offices of general jurisdiction. The Ombudsman movement in the U.S.A. has also been
characterized by offices that represent a departure from the Swedish model. These
variations would include offices with general jurisdiction but appointment by a governor
or mayor, legislative offices with special jurisdiction such as corrections, and single
agency Ombudsman with statutory authority.
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Characteristics of the Ombudsman
In 1961, the American Bar Association recognized the value of the
institution and wrote the criteria for creating an Ombudsman Office. These criteria are
still accepted today.
The American Bar Association recommends:
- That state and local governments of the United States should give consideration to the
establishment of an Ombudsman authorized to inquire into administrative action and to make
public criticism.
- That each statute or ordinance establishing an Ombudsman should contain the following
twelve essentials:
(1) authority of the Ombudsman to criticize all agencies,
officials, and public employees except courts and their personnel, legislative bodies and
their personnel, and the chief executive and his personal staff;
(2) independence of the Ombudsman from control by any other
officer, except for responsibility to the legislative body;
(3) appointment by the legislative body or appointment by the
executive with confirmation by a designated proportion of the legislative body, preferably
more than a majority, such as two-thirds;
(4) independence of the Ombudsman through a long term, not less
than five years, with freedom from removal except for cause, determined by more than a
majority of the legislative body, such as two-thirds;
(5) a high salary equivalent to that of a designated top
officer;
(6) freedom of the Ombudsman to employ assistants and to
delegate work to them, without restraints of civil service and classification acts;
(7) freedom of the Ombudsman to investigate any act or failure
to act by any agency, official, or public employee;
(8) access of the Ombudsman to all public records deemed
relevant to an investigation;
(9) authority to inquire into fairness, correctness of
findings, motivation, adequacy of reasons, efficiency, and procedural propriety of any
action or inaction by any agency, official, or public employee;
(10) discretionary power to determine what complaints to
investigate and to determine what criticisms to make or to publicize;
(11) opportunity for any agency, official, or public employee
criticized by the Ombudsman to have advance notice of the criticism and to publish with
the criticism an answering statement;
(12) immunity of the Ombudsman and staff from civil liability
on account of official action.
- That for the purpose of determining the workability of the Ombudsman idea within the
Federal government, the Federal government should experiment with the establishment of an
Ombudsman or Ombudsman for limited geographical area or areas, for a specific agency or
agencies or for a limited phase or limited phases of Federal activity.
- That establishment of a Federal government-wide Ombudsman program should await findings
based on the experimentation recommended.
The United States
Ombudsman Association (USOA), the national organization of public sector Ombudsman, has
incorporated these criteria in its Bylaws. They are also integral to the USOA annotated
Model Statute for Ombudsman Offices which is built on 30 years of experience with the
concept in the U.S.A.
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An Ombudsman's Power and Responsibilities
The essential characteristics of an Ombudsman Office are
independence, the ability to investigate complaints which often includes subpoena
power, the ability to criticize government agencies and to recommend changes that may
be issued in public reports. An Ombudsman, however, has no enforcement or disciplinary
powers.
The Ombudsman Office is a paradox, being both powerful and
powerless at the same time. They can investigate complaints, choosing which are the most
important, and initiate investigations without complaints. They set an agenda by what they
choose to investigate. They can determine whether a complaint is justified and seek
remedies for it. They can compel people to talk to them and produce records, subject to
the protections witnesses have in court. They cannot, however, make an agency do anything,
but can make their reports public. Aside from choosing what questions to ask and issuing
subpoenas, their powers are mainly persuasion and publicity.
An Ombudsman generally does not have the power to investigate the
people who appoint the Ombudsman and other elected officials, or have the power to look at
judicial acts of courts. Voters, however, do have remedies such as recall or impeachment
for elected officials. Unfavorable court decisions can be appealed to a higher court.
Complaints about judicial misconduct may result in an administrative sanction of a judge
or rejection of an incumbent at the polls. The Ombudsman is not an alternative to these
traditional remedies.
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Ombudsman Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction varies according to the law which creates an office. For
a general jurisdiction Ombudsman, the administrative acts of most, if not all, agencies in
a local or state government are within an Ombudsman's mandate. A specialty Ombudsman looks
at the acts of a single agency or a group of agencies that work in a single area of
concern such as children's issues.
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Appointment of an Ombudsman
Enabling legislation will determine the appointment process of an
Ombudsman. As the office of an Ombudsman is one that must operate with the trust and
respect of the community, it is recommended that the selection process be one that is not
unilateral but is shared by appropriate legislative and/or administrative committees and
bodies. The efficacy of an office is largely dependent on a widely held view of the
Ombudsman as a person of integrity, who works with non-partisan fairness and ethical
behavior.
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Confidentiality
Enabling legislation for many Ombudsman Offices requires the
complainant's identity be kept confidential. People need to be able to talk to the
Ombudsman and staff in confidence. After discussion, some choose not to file complaints
and others want their complaints recorded but not pursued. Confidentiality is critical to
creating confidence that complainants can talk to the Ombudsman without their identity
being disclosed against their will.
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Complaint Handling
Complaints that come to an Ombudsman Office are screened to determine
if the complaint is in the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman, whether the complainant has
utilized the government agency's established complaint process, and whether there is
validity under the law to the complaint. The Ombudsman helps citizens understand how
government agencies operate, what are the appropriate laws, rules, policies, or how
citizens may handle complaints themselves. Complaints that are accepted are objectively
investigated by the Ombudsman. Informal resolution is often attempted with the agency.
When this is not possible, the full power of the office may be utilized, which could
result in a public report containing recommendations to the agency or to the legislature.
Many jurisdictions provide whistleblower protection for both complainants and witnesses
who may contact or be interviewed by the office. This is done to ensure the Ombudsman has
access to all the facts in a matter and to prevent retaliation against those who seek help
from the office.
In resolving complaints, it is also the responsibility of the
Ombudsman to identify patterns of abuse of power or negligence by government that would
require legislative attention.
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Reporting
Most public sector Ombudsman are required to report annually to the
appointing authority. With much of the Ombudsman's work being done quietly and in
confidentiality, the Annual Report is an opportunity for the Ombudsman to speak publicly
on issues of concern. Annual Reports will contain statistical information on the contacts
by citizens during the prior year, an analysis of those statistics, and recommendations
that flow from this analysis.
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Advocacy
The Ombudsman Office performs an unusual role in government. While it
receives complaints from the public, its job is not to become an advocate for the
complainant or the governments that it has jurisdiction over. The Ombudsman is charged
with collecting and evaluating all the facts regarding a matter as a neutral investigator.
It determines if there was an error, unfairness or harm by the agency involved, or if
there is no basis to the complaint. The Ombudsman may make recommendations to correct
wrongs done to individuals and to improve the administration of government. If its
recommendations are not accepted and good reasons not given, the Ombudsman may become an
advocate for their implementation.
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Summary
With an Ombudsman Office, people who have problems with government
have a place to seek solutions, independent explanations, investigations and
recommendations.
An Ombudsman Office, by providing a direct and informal avenue for
the mediation of citizen grievances, is a valuable tool for enhancing the relationship
between a government and its citizens and ultimately for improving the administration of
government itself.
The mission of the USOA is to promote and support fairness,
accountability and equity in government through the public sector Ombudsman.
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