Demands of proper administrative conduct
A research project into the ombudsprudence of the Dutch National Ombudsman (original) (raw)

We will mix the description of these subjects with our findings on the norms used by the National Ombudsman. 1 2. The Dutch National Ombudsman The National Ombudsman is a complaints instance, but can also conduct an inquiry upon his own initiative. 2 The figure of the National Ombudsman is embedded in the Dutch Constitution: he is a High Office of State, just as the Parliament, the King, the Supreme Court and the Council of State. He is appointed by the Lower House of Parliament. Everybody with a complaint against an office, officeholder or public servant within his jurisdiction, can contact the Ombudsman office in The Hague. The complaint will only be admissible when the complainant has first filed the complaint with the administrative body that caused the distress. A complaint to the National Ombudsman will only be useful after the administrative body has been given the opportunity to deal with the complaint itself. The National Ombudsman is competent in the case of national public bodies, and decentralized public bodies, as far as they have indicated the National Ombudsman as their local Ombudsman. The legal definition of a complaint refers to a written document; however, oral complaints may be delivered at the office and will be written down by Ombudsman staff. The Ombudsman may not conduct an inquiry into complaints that are suitable for legal action against decisions of administrative authorities, or for civil law suits against the public body concerned. Furthermore, the result of an inquiry by the Ombudsman is of a restricted nature: the Ombudsman delivers a report in which the judgement 'proper' or 'improper' is given. Normally, a report will contain a detailed description of the events that led to the complaints, a description of the internal complaints procedure, an extensive description of the applicable law, and an elaborate check on the lawfulness or unlawfulness of the behaviour subject to the complaint. He may also deliver some recommendations for the public authority concerned. However, the Ombudsman is not able to conduct any legal act as a response to complaints. The work of the National Ombudsman is closely related to the terms and concepts of the General Administrative Law Act. This act defines legal concepts like: 'administrative body'; 'decision' and 'complaint', and also operates and legally defines most principles of good governance. The competence of the Ombudsman is linked to the definition of these concepts, and, by his reports, he also contributes to the development of administrative law in the Netherlands. Nonetheless, it is a point of departure of the research project described below that there is a fundamental difference between principles of proper governance used in a legal framework and demands of proper governance as operated by Ombudsmen. 3. Original research design The original research design was attuned to the condition that local Ombudsmen should be convinced of the usefulness of the outcomes of this project.