Parliamentary Ombudsman

Nor do newspapers, radio and television broadcasts, trade unions, banks, insurance companies, doctors in private practice, lawyers et al. come within the ambit of the ombudsmen.

The Annual Report—which is one of the official publications of the Swedish Riksdag—is submitted to the Standing Committee on the Constitution, which then draws up its own written report and notifies the Riksdag.

With the autocratic rule of King Gustav III fresh in mind, the legislators introduced into the new constitution a system that would allow the Riksdag some control over the exercise of executive power.

The Standing Committee on the Constitution was therefore charged with the task of supervising the actions of ministers and with ensuring the election of a special parliamentary ombudsman to monitor the compliance of public authorities with the law.

The task entrusted to him was to ensure that judges and public official in general acted in accordance with the laws in force and discharged their duties satisfactorily in other respects.

Like the chancellor of justice, therefore, the ombudsman was to be a prosecutor whose task was to supervise the application of the laws by judges and civil servants.

In the words of the 1809 Instrument of Government, the Riksdag was to appoint a man "known for his knowledge of the law and exemplary probity" as parliamentary ombudsman.

This development was acknowledged by the Riksdag in 1915 by its inclusion of a specific right to waive prosecution in the instructions for the parliamentary ombudsman.

Until the adoption of the 1975 instructions, these provisions on an ombudsman's right to waive prosecution in cases involving transgressions that were not of major consequence provided the only formal basis for the expression of criticism.

In the cases where an official could not be charged with any punishable error and therefore there were no grounds for a decision to waive prosecution, the expression of criticism or advice on the part of the ombudsman was based only the usages that had evolved over the years.

The development of the role of the ombudsman institution has resulted in a gradual shift in the thrust of these activities from a punitive to an advisory and consultative function.

The task of forestalling error and general endeavours to ensure the correct application of the law have taken precedence over the role of prosecutor.

The starting point of the work of the parliamentary ombudsmen today is based – as it was nearly two centuries ago – on the desire of individuals that any treatment they receive from the authorities should be lawful and correct in every other respect.

The institution of the parliamentary ombudsmen today is a vital element in the constitutional protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of each individual.

This presupposes, however, an ungrudging attitude on the part of the ombudsmen to the complaints they receive so that all those that give grounds for suspecting that some error has been committed will be investigated.

It can also happen that even though an ombudsman finds no reason to inquire into a complaint itself, other aspects of the actions of a public authority will be appraised instead.

As was the case in 1810 – when Lars Augustin Mannerheim was appointed as the first ombudsman – the four parliamentary ombudsmen are today completely independent of the government and the civil service which they monitor.

This means, for instance, that the activities of the ombudsmen are not intended to replace the supervision and application of the law that devolves on other organisations in the community.

Even though from a constitutional point of view monitoring the application of law by public authorities is the prerogative of the Riksdag, for reasons of principle it has been considered unacceptable to incorporate any political considerations into this supervision.

The jurisdiction of the two offices overlaps, but the parliamentary ombudsman is the authority specially charged with the handling of complaints by military servicemen, conscripts, prisoners and other persons in closed institutions.