Article 60 states that "The People's Advocate defends the rights, freedoms and lawful interests of individuals from unlawful or improper actions or failures to act of the organs of public administration".
[12] The three-member Ombudsman Board (German: Volksanwaltschaft, literally People's Representative) was created in 1977 as an independent authority monitoring Austria's entire public administration.
Belgium has one federal and four regional statutory ombudsman agencies, all covering the normal range of complaint-handling, investigation and mediation within the respective jurisdictions of their founding legislature.
The Ombudsman investigates complaints about the administrative actions of Public Authorities, including Government Departments, Boards and Bodies established or funded by the Legislature.
Partly because of the prosecutorial powers, the office enjoys considerable respect and the Ombudsman's legal opinions are usually strictly followed, carrying a lot of weight in the absence of a court precedent.
In July 2011 Dominique Baudis was appointed to the office by the Council of State on the nomination of the Prime Minister, for a single six-year term but died in April 2014.
[66] The nearest equivalent to a federal ombudsman service in Germany is the Parliamentary Petitions Committee (German: Petitionsausschuss Deutscher Bundestag), which receives and investigates complaints of maladministration.
[67] There are a number of sectoral ombudsmen, including the Parliamentary Military-Ombudsman (Wehrbeauftragter des Deutschen Bundestages) and the Ombudsman Institution for Public Transport (Schlichtungsstelle für den öffentlichen Personenverkehr e.V., SÖP).
Following the resignation of Professor Georgios Kaminis in September 2010, the duties of the Citizen's Advocate passed to Deputy Ombudsman Kalliopi Spanou.
The Ombudsman aims to safeguard the rights of the citizens vis-à-vis the State and local authorities, and to promote equality and good administrative practice.
[71] The Government of India has designated several ombudsmen (sometimes called Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO)) for the redress of grievances and complaints from individuals in the banking, insurance and other sectors being serviced by both private and public bodies and corporations.
[75] This scheme is applicable to only those NBFCs which: The complainant can file the complaint with the NBFC Ombudsman under whose jurisdiction the branch or registered office of the NBFC falls in the following cases: The 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement led by social activist Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal includes in its demands the creation of a stronger ombudsman agency (with jurisdiction over all state institutions) through the enactment of a Jan Lokpal Bill, as an alternative to the Lokpal Bill proposed by the government in 2010.
This institution was formed based on Law Number 37 of 2008 concerning the Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia which was ratified at the DPR RI Plenary Meeting on 9 September 2008.
[77] In Iran, an organization called دیوان عدالت اداری or 'the Administration Justice Court' is set to investigate the complaints of any government employee or staff member who has been discriminated against.
[84] The Commissioner for Human Rights (Kazakh: Адам құқықтары жөніндегі Уәкіл), or National Ombudsman of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is Askar Shakirov, appointed in 2007.
The (in 2022) current president (ombudsman) is María del Rosario Piedra Ibarra[94] There have been officials with ombudsperson functions in the Republic of Moldova at least since 1998, but with some differences in the names of the offices and contexts.
The Ombudsman performs duties assisting individuals and groups such as disclosures about serious wrongdoing in workplaces, upholding fair treatment for disabled people, and monitoring places of detention.
[107] The Ombudsman has headquarters in Islamabad and Regional Offices in Lahore, Sukkur, Quetta, Faisalabad, Multan, Dera Ismail Khan, Peshawar and Karachi, Abbottabad.
The Office of the Ombudsman of the Philippines is empowered by the 1987 Constitution to safeguard both the government and government-owned corporations from corruption and dispense justice in the case of such offenses.
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 to prevent or make good any injustices.
The bodies and agents of the Public Administration shall cooperate with the Ombudsman in the fulfilment of his mission.Besides the traditional routes, complaints can be filed online[118] and there are toll-free lines for children and one for senior citizens.
[citation needed] In June 2012, Vladimir Putin signed the Executive Order on the Presidential Commissioner for Entrepreneurs' Rights, appointing Boris Titov to the position.
[124] The Protector of Citizens (Serbian: Заштитник грађана, romanized: Zaštitnik građana) is an independent state authority, mandated to protect human rights and freedoms.
The Ombudsman can also act preemptively, by offering advice and opinion on issues within his competence, to enhance the operation of the administration authorities and strengthen the protection of human liberties and rights.
In case of a severe violation of fundamental rights, or a large number of people affected, the ombudsman can release a special or extraordinary report at any time.
The national ombudsman of Spain is the Defensor del Pueblo (Defender of the People), dealing with complaints of maladministration and having the capacity to bring cases at the Constitutional Court.
The office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman (Swedish: Riksdagens ombudsmän, or Justitieombudsmannen) was established with the Instrument of Government in 1809, originally under the title of Ombudsmannen för Riksens ständer.
[140] With growing attention to discrimination issues in the latter part of the 20th century a number of new anti-discriminatory Ombudsmen was appointed, to later be gathered under one roof, with the establishment of the Equality Ombudsman (Swedish: Diskrimineringsombudsmannen) in 2009.
The Ombudsman's Office is responsible for examining and investigating all manner of administrative acts, actions, attitudes and behavior in terms of respect for human rights and freedoms, conformity with the law and fairness and appropriateness within the framework of the character of the Republic of Turkey as enshrined in its Constitution.
Major schemes include: Members of the United States Congress serve as federal-level ombudsmen in their oversight capacity over federal agencies, and employ staff specifically dedicated to legal compliance enforcement and investigations of maladministration on behalf of constituents.