People who are far from legislation and politics do not know who the ombudsman is and what his functions are.
Most citizens, due to their ignorance, do not even suspect that by contacting this official, you can solve a number of issues that are difficult to resolve with other bodies (the prosecutor's office, the court, etc.).
Who is the Ombudsman
Ombudsman is an official or official appointed to this position to exercise control over the activities of ministries, departments and other government bodies. It acts both on complaints from citizens and on its own initiative and is guided not only by the law, but also by justice.
For example, the Ombudsman in Russia is the Commissioner for Human Rights. In principle, in any country where such a position is provided, the ombudsman can resolve issues relating to the failure of his duties or the abuse of his powers by officials, resulting in disputes between the citizen and the authorities.
History of the Ombudsman position
According to history, for the first time the meaning of "ombudsman" (word) was deciphered back in the 16th century in Sweden. The official holding this position supervised the work of the court:
transparency of court hearings, fairness of sentencing. After the defeat of the Swedes near Poltava, the competence of the Ombudsman was significantly expanded. Due to the fact that the King of Sweden, Charles Xll, had been in Turkey for a long time, the management system fell into decay and required a major restoration of order. An official (Royal Ombudsman for Justice) was appointed to the post of Ombudsman, who supervised the activities of government officials. The second Ombudsman, whose role was to control the royal administration and the organs of justice, was given the title of Chancellor of Justice. In 1809, the institution of the Ombudsman of Justice appeared in Sweden, which was separate from that which was subordinate to the king.
Thus, the chancellor was on the protection of the king, and the parliamentary ombudsman - on the protection of the interests of peasants and workers. Today, the meaning of the word "ombudsman" is known firsthand by the population of such countries as Denmark, Russia, Ukraine, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Great Britain, France, South Africa, etc.
Who can contact the Ombudsman?
The Human Rights Ombudsman considers complaints from individuals who are citizens of the country, foreign citizens, stateless persons who have a residence permit or are simply located on the territory of the state. We accept complaints from people whothis was addressed by the court or administrative authorities, but do not agree with the decision
or noticed any violations, were discriminated against, dissatisfied with complete inaction.
The main tasks of the Commissioner for Human Rights
The main tasks of the Ombudsman, regardless of the country in which he holds his office:
- Restoring justice and rights that have been violated.
- Carrying out activities aimed at developing international relations in the field of human rights.
- Educate citizens about their rights.
- Improvement of the country's legal legislation regarding citizens.
- Control over the work of state structures.
Ombudsman Institute in Russia
For the first time, the position of Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia appeared in 1994. The first Ombudsman of the Russian Federation - Sergey Kovalev - was appointed by the State Duma. In 1998-2004 this position was held by O. Mironov, and since 2004 by V. Lukin. In Russia, there is a law "On the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation", on the basis of which these specialists perform their duties.
What does an ombudsman mean for Russians? In short, this is an intermediary between the victim
party (citizen) and officials, which protects the rights and interests of citizens. But its activities are not limited to consideration of complaints or applications. The Ombudsman, on his own initiative, conducts an investigation,collecting information about gross violations or complete inaction of any bodies.
Powers of the Ombudsman for Human Rights in Russia
The Ombudsman in Russia, who is engaged in protecting the rights of citizens, has a number of powers:
- Protects the rights of citizens, and also monitors their observance by state bodies and officials.
- Makes a report to the State Duma with a request to organize a parliamentary commission to investigate the facts of mass violation of the rights of citizens.
- When facts of a violation are revealed, file a petition to initiate a criminal case or administrative proceedings against the official(s).
- Applies with a petition to verify the correctness of the decision (decree or sentence) adopted by the court, which has entered into force.
- Applies to the court with a request to protect the rights and freedoms of citizens who have been violated by illegal actions or inaction of state bodies or an official.
- Appeals to the Constitutional Court regarding violations of the constitutional rights of citizens.
Financial Ombudsman
Who is the Financial Ombudsman? This is an official who helps to resolve a number of contentious issues that have arisen between a citizen and a bank. This may be a question about the return of money to credit cards, unreasonably high pen alties and fines on long-term loans, reissuing a loan from a foreign currency into a national one. Financial ombudsmen also resolve issues regarding illegal actions.collection agencies and their employees.
But the most frequent complaints are about the refusal of banks to restructure the loan. This is due to an increase in the amount of debt, together with fines and pen alties, which as a result is almost impossible to pay. The task of the ombudsman is to negotiate with the bank and convince it to make concessions in the form of a partial lifting of sanctions, subject to the payment of the remaining amount according to the agreed schedule.
Insurance Ombudsman
No less in demand is the intervention of the ombudsman (who is the ombudsman, we discussed above) in the field of insurance. Some insurance companies violate the terms of the contract if the amount of insurance is insignificant, hoping that the client will not start legal red tape. Insurance ombudsmen work in almost all countries where this position is provided. For example, European insurance companies treat them with respect, as the powers of these officials are quite broad, and they have enough rights. Moreover, it is unprofitable for European companies to save on non-payment of insurance, since they pay for the services of the ombudsman, and not the insurers.
The institution of the Ombudsman in Germany is also well developed. The only disadvantage of the system is that only members of trade unions of insurance organizations can use the services of officials, and when the case is transferred to the prosecutor's office, the ombudsman's influence on the outcome of the case ends.
Ombudsman for Entrepreneurs
The Ombudsman for Entrepreneurs as a separate independent position appeared not so long ago. His list of duties includes:
- Feedlawsuits aimed at protecting the rights of entrepreneurs.
- Performing the functions of a defense counsel in the business court.
- Filing and submitting requests to state and local authorities for business affairs.
- Visit and consultation of suspected or convicted citizens whose cases are related to business activities.
Features of the institution of ombudsmen for the protection of the rights of the population
Based on the experience of European countries, it becomes clear that with the help of an ombudsman, a number of minor conflicts can be resolved. But there are downsides to this system. For example, the decision taken by the Ombudsman of Ukraine is voluntary for insurance and credit organizations for two years. And only after this time it becomes mandatory for execution. Also, the Ombudsman cannot consider controversial issues that have been submitted to the court or on which an arbitration decision has already been made. The upside of the system is that consumers will no longer need to go to the courts and waste their time (and money on lawyers).
Children's Ombudsman
Children's ombudsmen stand up for the protection of the rights of underage citizens of the country. Their duties include:
- Protection and restoration of the rights of the child.
- Consultation, education, education of children about their rights.
- Work with federal, local and state authorities on requests and obtaining the necessary information or documents.
- Visitorganizations and authorities to obtain clarifications, check their activities related to the rights and freedoms of children.
- Preparation and submission of recommendations to the relevant authorities to improve their work regarding the observance of the rights of the child.
- Engaging specialists to conduct analytical work related to the protection of children's rights.
Some countries have a school ombudsman. It provides assistance to all participants in the educational process: children, teachers and parents. Anyone who believes that there are violations of the rights of students in the learning process can contact him. This may be a misunderstanding between the teacher (school administration, class teacher) and the student, as well as the need for consultation regarding the rights of the child within the school, clarification of organizational issues, hygiene standards, regulations, etc. Also, by contacting the Ombudsman, you can make suggestions regarding the improvement of the educational process and the institution. The School Ombudsman works in the following areas:
- Active participation in the School Council, the purpose of which is to improve the work of government.
- Work aimed at preventing bad habits of schoolchildren.
- Monitoring the observance of all rights and freedoms of students.
- Working with parents and parent committee to improve family relationships.
- Psychological and legal support for school staff aimed at preventing burnout.
Howthis system works
Regardless of the direction in which the Ombudsman works, the scheme of his actions is almost standard. As mentioned above, he works on the basis of a complaint received from a private person or on his own initiative. The Commissioner cannot examine a case that has been submitted to the court. For the period of consideration of the disputed issue by the Ombudsman, the applicant undertakes not to refer the case to court.
Before contacting this specialist, a citizen must send a complaint in writing to a bank or insurance company and wait for a response within 30 days. A complaint sent to the Ombudsman must be made in the form of an application with copies of documents attached to it (contracts, correspondence, receipts, etc.). The specialist considers disputes regarding financial institutions that have joined the institution. At the same time, the decision made by him is not appealed.
But to credit institutions, the ombudsman can send proposals for the settlement of disputes or send an appeal to the court. The result of the consideration of disputes is a conciliation agreement signed by the parties, or a resolution resolving them.
