CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL STATUS OF THE PARLIAMENTARY OMBUDSMAN FOR ADMINISTRATION IN NORWAY

Abstract

The purpose of the research. A parliamentary ombudsman which exists in the constitutional mechanism of many modern states performs two main functions: to exercise control over the legality of the activities of the public administration and to consider individual complaints related to the violation of human rights and freedoms. The office of parliamentary ombudsman for administration (civil ombudsman) was founded in Norway in 1962, ten years after the foundation of the position of the military ombudsman. The present article is devoted to the analysis of the legal status of the Norwegian parliamentary civil ombudsman, the procedure for appointing, the functions and powers of the civil ombudsman, the procedure for considering of the incoming complaints. The authors pay special attention to such element of the status of the parliamentary civil ombudsman as a national preventive mechanism. The article was written on the basis of an analysis of the new Act on the Parliamentary Ombudsman for Control of Administration dd. June 18, 2021, which introduced a number of changes to the status and procedure for exercising powers by the civil ombudsman. The results: The new Act changes the title of the position. Now it is officially referred to as the parliamentary ombudsman for control of the administration. The word "control" which appeared in the title of the position emphasizes the strengthening of the protective function of the Norwegian civil ombudsman, as well as the expansion of his/her powers to supervise the activities of public bodies and officials. The current legislation simultaneously considers the parliamentary civil ombudsman as a national preventive mechanism, which is entitled to issue recommendations in order to improve the treatment and conditions of detention of persons deprived of their liberty, as well as to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Despite the rather broad powers of the Norwegian parliamentary civil ombudsman, unlike the parliamentary ombudsmen of some other countries, he/she does not have the legally enshrined right to initiate changes to the current legislation to fill in the gaps or improve it in order to more fully regulate the mechanisms for protecting the human rights and freedoms. The analysis of statistical data indicates a trend towards an increase in the number of applications to the parliamentary civil ombudsman in recent years. This fact shows not only an increase in cases of violations of human rights by the authorities and officials during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also, in general, an increase citizens’ confidence in this national mechanism for protecting fundamental human rights an freedoms. The adoption of the new Act also reflects the desire of the Norwegian members of parliament to improve the model of the civil ombudsman in order to ensure its efficiency.