“Land Shall by Law Be Built”. The Ombudsman Institution, its birth and its Role in Promoting the Rule of Law at Grass-Root Level

Abstract

Varnitsa, a small settlement on the western banks of the river Dniester, just north of the city of Bendery in today’s Moldova, can lay claim to be the simultaneous birthplace of two most important public law concepts, namely a constitution, characterized by separation of powers in government between the legislative, executive and judicial branches, i. e. the first Ukrainian constitution, commonly known as The Orlyk’s Constitution, created well before for instance Charles-Louis de Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws, as well as the ombudsman institution, i. e. The King’s Highest Ombudsman, the Swedish predecessor of The Parliamentary Ombudsman of Sweden, which in due time became the forefather of all the world’s ombudsman institutions. These two concepts, both so significant and important for The Rule of Law, came about at the beginning of the XVIІI century when King Charles XII of Sweden and Pylyp Orlyk, hetman of the Zaporizhian Cossacks, at the same time resided in Varnitsa, both for different reasons involved in constructive constitutional deliberations. This article focuses in particular on the role of the Ombudsman institution in promoting The Rule of Law at grass-root level, the meaning of the old Scandinavian Rule of Lawphrase Land Shall By Law Be Built and the importance for ordinary people, i. e. people at grass-root level, that this phrase and The Rule of Law in general are followed. The article also deals with some unfortunate misconceptions, often associated with the functioning of the Ombudsman institution. In addition, it underlines that it is of utmost importance for the institution’s success and impact that it itself always follows the law. Statements outside its jurisdiction or criticism, not well founded on law and clear facts, will not only be unacceptable per se but will also undermine its authority and thereby its possibility to be obeyed not only in the situation at hand but also in general.