The European
Ombudsman
A model for national Ombudsman
institutions?
European Ombudsman
Who is the European Ombudsman?
The European Ombudsman
institution was created by
the Maastricht Treaty in 1992
 1995
and 1999
The European Parliament
elected/re-elected the first
European Ombudsman,
Jacob Söderman
 2003,
2005 and 2010
The European Parliament
elected/re-elected
P. Nikiforos Diamandouros
as his successor
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
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The mandate of the
European Ombudsman
- what he does

Maladministration

Institutions, bodies, offices and
agencies of the European Union

Complaints from EU citizens
and residents (also legal
persons with registered office)

Own initiative inquiries
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
3
The mandate of the
European Ombudsman
- what he does not

The Ombudsman cannot deal with
complaints concerning the
national, regional or local
administrations of the Member
States.

Gives advice on where to turn
instead.
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
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Challenges to a new
Ombudsman institution

Scepticism , anxiety

Change a culture, traditions – how?
Build confidence:
- Convincing decisions
- Choose battles
- Step by step
- Time
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
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Challenges to a new
Ombudsman institution
Become a natural part of the institutional structure.
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
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Maladministration
Maladministration occurs if an institution fails to act
in accordance with the law, fails to respect the
principles of good administration, or if it violates
human rights.
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
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Right to good administration
Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU
Right to good administration
1. Every person has the right to have his or her affairs handled impartially, fairly and
within a reasonable time by the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union.
This right includes:
(a) the right of every person to be heard, before any individual measure which would
affect him or her adversely is taken;
(b) the right of every person to have access to his or her file, while respecting the
legitimate interests of confidentiality and of professional and business secrecy;
(c) the obligation of the administration to give reasons for its decisions.
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
8
The European Code of
Good Administrative
Behaviour
The European Code of Good
Administrative Behaviour was
proposed by the Ombudsman and
approved by the Parliament in
2001

The Ombudsman makes use of
the Code in the context of his
inquiries.

The Code includes principles
such as lawfulness, absence of
discrimination, proportionality,
absence of abuse of power,
impartiality and independence,
objectivity, fairness and
courtesy.

European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
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The European Code of
Good Administrative
Behaviour
Article 22 - Requests for information
1. The official shall, when he has responsibility for the matter concerned,
provide members of the public with the information that they request. When
appropriate, the official shall give advice on how to initiate an administrative
procedure within his field of competence. The official shall take care that the
information communicated is clear and understandable.
2. If an oral request for information is too complicated or too
comprehensive to be dealt with, the official shall advise the person concerned
to formulate his demand in writing.
3. If, because of its confidentiality, an official may not disclose the
information requested, he or she shall, in accordance with Article 18 of this
Code, indicate to the person concerned the reasons why he cannot
communicate the information.
4. Further to requests for information on matters for which he has no
responsibility, the official shall direct the requester to the competent person
and indicate his name and telephone number. Further to requests for
information concerning another Community institution or body, the official
shall direct the requester to that institution or body.
5. Where appropriate, the official shall, depending on the subject of the
request, direct the person seeking information to the service of the Institution
responsible for providing information to the public.
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
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Right to access to documents
Article 15 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
1. In order to promote good governance and ensure the participation of civil society, the Union’s
institutions, bodies, offices and agencies shall conduct their work as openly as possible.
2. The European Parliament shall meet in public, as shall the Council when considering and voting on a
draft legislative act.
3. Any citizen of the Union, and any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a
Member State, shall have a right of access to documents of the Union’s institutions, bodies, offices and
agencies, whatever their medium, subject to the principles and the conditions to be defined in
accordance with this paragraph.
General principles and limits on grounds of public or private interest governing this right of access to
documents shall be determined by the European Parliament and the Council, by means of regulations,
acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure.
Each institution, body, office or agency shall ensure that its proceedings are transparent and shall
elaborate in its own Rules of Procedure specific provisions regarding access to its documents, in
accordance with the regulations referred to in the second subparagraph.
The Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the European Investment
Bank shall be subject to this paragraph only when exercising their administrative tasks.
The European Parliament and the Council shall ensure publication of the documents relating to the
legislative procedures under the terms laid down by the regulations referred to in the second
subparagraph.
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
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Right to access to documents
Article 42 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU
Any citizen of the Union, and any natural or legal person residing or having its
registered office in a Member State, has a right of access to documents of the
institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union, whatever their medium.
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
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Right to access to documents
Article 23 of the European Code of Good Administrative Behaviour
Requests for public access to documents
1. The official shall deal with requests for access to documents in accordance with
the rules adopted by the Institution and in accordance with the general principles
and limits laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
2. If the official cannot comply with an oral request for access to documents, the
citizen shall be advised to formulate it in writing.
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
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Right to access to documents
Regulation 1049/2001 regarding public access to European
Parliament, Council and Commission documents
Openness - Leads to greater legitimacy, effectiveness and accountability; strengthens
democracy and the respect for fundamental rights.
Purpose of the Regulation - To give the fullest possible effect to the right of public
access to documents. In principle, all documents should be accessible to the public.
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
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Right to access to documents
Regulation 1049/2001 regarding public access to European
Parliament, Council and Commission documents
Exceptions - Article 4
To protect, for example:
International relations, privacy, commercial interests, legal advice, the purpose of
inspections and investigations, and the institution’s decision-making process.
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
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Right to access to documents
Regulation 1049/2001 regarding public access
to European Parliament, Council and
Commission documents
-
Refused access – certain areas of concern:
Does the document in question fall within the category covered by the invoked
exception?
Is the risk of harm reasonably foreseeable and not purely hypothetical?
Is there an overriding public interest in disclosure? For the institution to
consider ex officio.
”Irrelevant” parts of documents not disclosed.
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
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Inquiry procedure
- Written procedure.
- Complaint – instituion’s opinion – complainant’s observations –
(further inquiries).
- Maladministration?
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
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Inquiry procedure
Opening of the inquiry
No maladministration found
Closure of the inquiry
Maladministration found
Search for an immediate solution
If too late to resolve, closure of the
inquiry with a critical remark
If accepted, closure of the inquiry
If not accepted, search for a friendly
solution
If not accepted, draft
recommendation
If accepted, closure of the inquiry
If not accepted, closure of the inquiry with a
critical remark or Special Report
If accepted, closure of the inquiry
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
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Inquiry procedure
Active role
Dealing with complaints
Proactive role
Further remarks
Own-initiative inquiries
“Guidelines”
etc
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
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Cooperation with national Ombudsmen
The European Network of Ombudsmen
Advice in outside mandate complaints
Queries about EU law
European Ombudsman
Tina Nilsson
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European Ombudsman