Ombudsman

“ The Ombudsman shall be an independent organ in charge to examine and seek to satisfy citizens complaints against public bodies, certify the conformity of the acts with the law, prevent and initiate whole process to remedy injustice. ”

“ No complainant may be required to pay any fee in respect of his complaint or request or for any investigation to be made by the Ombudsman.
5. No proceedings, civil or criminal, may lie against the Ombudsman, or against any person holding an office or appointment under him for anything he may do or report or say in the course of the exercise or intended exercise of the functions of the Ombudsman under this Constitution, unless it is shown that he acted in bad faith. ”

“ The Ombudsman shall be independent and subject only to this Constitution and the law. (3) No member of the Cabinet or the Legislature or any other person shall interfere with the Ombudsman in the exercise of his or her functions and all organs of the State shall accord such assistance as may be needed for the protection of the independence, dignity and effectiveness of the Ombudsman. (4) The Ombudsman shall either be a Judge of Namibia, or a person possessing the legal qualifications which would entitle him or her to practice in all the Courts of Namibia. ”

“ The Ombudsman may appoint one or more Deputy Ombudsmen and Assistant
Ombudsmen. Deputy or Assistant Ombudsmen shall exercise such authority and
perform such duties as the Ombudsman delegates, without limitation.
2) The Ombudsman may employ such assistance as he or she deems proper for the
carrying out of any inquiry or investigation, and may, in writing, authorize any person
so employed to inspect and report upon documents or other items, or (without
affecting the generality of the foregoing) accounts, he/she considers relevant to the
subject matter of the inquiry. ”

“ There will be no diminution in police accountability. The role and responsibilities of the Policing Board and the Police Ombudsman vis a vis the Police will not change. Police officers working with the Security Service in whatever capacity will remain accountable to the Chief Constable and under the oversight of the Police Ombudsman. The Security Service and the Ombudsman’s office have been working together to agree arrangements for the Ombudsman’s access to sensitive information held by the Service, where this becomes necessary for the discharge of the Ombudsman’s statutory duties. ”

“ Upon the completion of an investigation the Ombudsman shall inform the department of government or the authority concerned of the results of the investigation and if he is of the opinion that any person has sustained an injustice in consequence of a fault in administration, he shall inform the department of government or the auhtority of the reasons for his opinions and make such recommendations as he thinks fit, the Ombudsman may in his original recommendations, or at any later stage if he thinks fit, specify the time within which the injustice should be remedied. ”

“ ARTICLE 107d 1. The European Parliament shall appoint an Ombudsman empowered to receive complaints from any citizen of the Union or any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State concerning instances of maladministration in the activities of the Community institutions or bodies, with the exception of the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance acting in their judicial role. ”

“ In order to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in relation to state authorities, local self-government authorities and bearers of public authority, the office of the ombudsman for the rights of citizens shall be established by law. ”

“ The Ombudsman may ask the department or prescribed authority to which the report is given to give to the Ombudsman, within a specified time, particulars of action that it proposes to take with respect to the matters, including any recommendations, in the report. (5) The department or authority may give the Ombudsman such comments on the report as it wishes to make. ”

“ If an officer existing the authority of the President of the State Audit Commission and the State Audit Commission finds a conflict of authority between the State Audit Commission and an Ombudsman, both being the constitutional organs other than the courts, he or she may then present the matter and his or her opinion to the Court for further decision in pursuance of the Constitution, section 214. ”

“ They shall not be qualified to run for any office in the election immediately succeeding their cessation from office. Section 12. The Ombudsman and his Deputies, as protectors of the people, shall act promptly on complaints filed in any form or manner against public officials or employees of the Government, or any subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations, and shall, in appropriate cases, notify the complainants of the action taken and the result thereof. ”

“ The Ombudsman Commission shall, at least once in each period of 12 months, at such time as is fixed by or under an Act of the Parliament or, subject to any such Act, by the Head of State, acting with, and in accordance with, the advice of the National Executive Council, give to the Head of State, for presentation to the Parliament, a report on the functions and workings of the Commission, with such recommendations as to improvement as the Commission thinks proper. ”

“ The Ombudsman may not be empowered to summon a Minister or a Parliamentary Secretary to appear before him or to compel a Minister or a Parliamentary Secretary to answer any questions relating to any matter under investigation by the Ombudsman. ”

“ From its dismal past record, the Ombudsman’s conviction rate has increased 500%. Lifestyle checks, never seriously implemented before our time, have led to the dismissal and/or criminal prosecution of dozens of corrupt officials. ”

“ Over the years, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has compiled an exemplary record of effective law enforcement while advising any suspect or arrested person, at the outset of an interview, that he is not required to make a statement, that any statement may be used against him in court, that the individual may obtain the services of an attorney of his own choice, and, more recently, that he has a right to free counsel if he is unable to pay. ”

“ The request of a person in authority, or a desire to serve the public, are, to all moral intents, as sufficient a motive as a legal commission. Thus, we know that when complaint is made to the head of a department, of official misconduct or abuse, existing in some remote quarter, nothing is more common than to send some confidential person to the spot, to ascertain the facts and report them to the department ”

“ Eventually, if a particular case, or any class of cases, becomes of such deep interest as to require the attention of Government—or if the Government has called for a report—it is the commissioner who has to represent the whole of the facts to Government, and it is then open to him to express his opinion unreservedly on the good or bad conduct of the police, and this is also his opportunity for pointing out to Government any defects that may have occurred in the judicial proceedings. ”

“ But more, in such instances, the standards were not to be applied in the uncontrolled judgment of the administrative body. On the contrary, the statutes require a complaint specifying the conduct thought to violate the statute and opportunity for answer, for hearing, for production of evidence, and for findings which are subject to judicial review. With such a background for administrative procedure what seems a loose and vague standard becomes in fact a reasonably ascertainable one that can fairly, equitably, and justly be applied. ”

“ For the disqualifications produced by investigation or advocacy are personal psychological ones which result from engaging in those types of activity; and the problem is simply one of isolating those who engage in the activity. Creation of independent hearing commissioners insulated from all phases of a case other than hearing and deciding will, the Committee believes, go far toward solving this problem at the level of the initial hearing provided the proper safeguards are established to assure the insulation. ”

“ Where an act of an official plainly falls outside of the scope of his authority, he does not make that act legal by doing it and then invoking the doctrine of administrative construction to cover it.
It remains, therefore, for us to decide whether, on the face of these complaints, the Attorney General is acting within his authority in furnishing the Loyalty Review Board with a designation of the complaining organizations either as 'Communist' or as within any other classification of Part III, § 3, of the order. ”

“ The interests of the people require that due protection be accorded to them in respect of their official acts. As in the case of a judicial officer, we recognize a distinction between action taken by the head of a department in reference to matters which are manifestly or palpably beyond his authority, and action having more or less connection with the general matters committed by law to his control or supervision. ”

“ Possibly some clerk in your Department can prepare a better list of questions than Judge O’Connell has submitted. If so I have no objection. In fact I have no objection to any course you may be pleased to pursue and I have no further suggestions to make. I only ask that some time within a year or so the Civil Service Commission get a few lawyers within reach for the special service where lawyers are necessary. The government loses millions every year for the want of men in the Special Agent force, competent to prepare cases for submission to the Board of General Appraisers. ”

“ In France and other countries of continental Europe questions of the existence [Pg 118] and extent of the authority of an official in his action against individuals are triable, at least at the pleasure of the executive, only in administrative tribunals, that is, courts pertaining to the executive department and instituted to assist that department in the performance of its functions. The aggrieved individual can only apply to the superiors of the official complained of. ”

“ A threshold injunction is entirely unsuitable in these circumstances. It places the administration of a public-safety statute at the mercy of counsel's ability to marshall and deploy horrible examples which logic may accommodate, but the reality of administration would repel. Our training as lawyers and judges, our respect for the administrative process, and our awareness of the complexities of life should warn us not to fall into the trap of abstract, generalized, gross review. ”

“ C. P. Villiers, had reported in favour of the maintenance of the Poor Law Board—not Local Government Board—such a disastrous thing would have happened. Let it here be fully understood that although I have taken a most determined antagonism to many of the acts of the Board, whether as Commissioners or as the Poor Law Board, yet that antagonism has been due to the fact that the administration has often been seriously faulty in detail. The office of a Poor Law Inspector is one which needs much judgment and tact. ”

“ In exercising the functions of his office, the head of an executive department, keeping within the limits of his authority, should not be under an apprehension that the motives that control his official conduct may at any time become the subject of inquiry in a civil suit for damages. ”

“ It informs the police of the time and place one intends to speak, which allows necessary steps to insure him a place to speak where overzealous police officers will not order everyone who stops to listen to move on, and to have officers present to insure an orderly meeting. Moreover, disorder is less likely, for the speaker knows that if he provokes disorder his permit may be revoked, and the objector may be told that he has a remedy by filing a complaint and does not need to take the law in his own hands. ”

“ Inasmuch as they touch the integrity of a great Executive department in an important official act, they may be considered entitled to attention, not as a mere matter of personal concern, but as a matter of public interest. The people ought to know whether their affairs have been honestly administered or not. It is, therefore, of importance that it be generally known, not only whether the ruling made in the case referred to, is correct, in point of law, but whether the allegations made concerning the circumstances under which it was made, have any foundation. ”