Over the course of just over half a century, the ombudsman has become
one of the most important justice institutions in Europe and around the
world. The institution has a deeply embedded role in promoting
administrative justice, and more recently has operated at the forefront
of consumer law. Yet there remains a deficit in empirical and
socio-legal research on the ombudsman, which stands in contrast to the
proliferation of academic literature on other institutions charged with
promoting the rule of law. In particular, there is a comparative
shortfall of academic literature available on the impact and detail of
the ombudsman’s work when compared with the extensive analysis that
exists of human rights law, administrative law or consumer law, all
legal areas that come within the remit of one or more ombudsman schemes
in operation. There are no doubt good reasons for the disparity in
coverage, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to explain away the
shortfall in ombudsman research given its influence on modern systems of
justice. According to the International Ombudsman Institute, a public
sector ombudsman now operates in over 90 countries. As a result, in the
public sector redress is now made available by ombudsman schemes on a
scale that places it at the core of the administrative justice system.
Not only do ombudsman schemes resolve complaints, they are also employed
in some countries as a key cog in networks of accountability
undertaking administrative audits, reviews of the implementation of
legislation, and are sometimes even involved in the process of testing
the constitutionality of legislation. Some ombudsman schemes have an
extensive remit in human rights and operate as a country’s National
Preventative Mechanism under the Optional Protocol of the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment Convention. The workshop will focus on the public sector
ombudsman. This is the traditional heartland of the ombudsman idea. But
one of the aspirations behind the workshop is to bring together
previously dissipated research expertise. Thus the workshop will also
reflect upon the spread of the ombudsman idea to the private sector. In
the EU, for instance, the Directive on Consumer ADR (2013/11/EU) and the
ODR Regulation will lead to a further increase in the influence of the
ombudsman model. Meanwhile, an alternative use of the ombudsman brand
has been deployed in some countries, especially the United States, to
describe ‘organizational ombudsman’ schemes which have a remit to
operate within various forms of organization to offer a
quasi-independent route to redress. As well as expanding the profile of
the ombudsman method of dispute resolution, the widening spread of
ombudsman activity across countries and economic activity has begun to
encourage the quality and diversity of scholarship. But this range of
scholarship has yet to be brought together, which is a main goal of this
workshop. The workshop also seeks to foster this new growth in interest
on the ombudsman model, and build the foundations for the regular
exchange of ideas between scholars and practitioners, and across the
globe. Currently, a few sector specific studies on the ombudsman have
been published, but more wide-ranging analyses of the field are mostly
dated. The workshop aims to fill a void in ombudsman studies, by mapping
the terrain and offering an overview of state-of-the-art ombudsman
research. It will bring together some of the best international
academics currently working in the field to provide an analysis of the
key areas of ombudsman research, points of contention and best practice
in research methodology. The workshop will be organized around three
main clusters: I. Fundamentals of the Ombudsman Model Papers in the
first cluster will revisit the underlying theories which support the
ombudsman model, re-evaluate their continued fitness for purpose in the
21st century and consider what they mean for best practice in
institutional design. Areas that will be explored include: the history
and the evolution of the ombudsman model; the importance of
independence; the ombudsman in developing countries; the ombudsman and
human rights; and important similarities and differences between the
public sector and the private sector ombudsman. II. Evidencing the
Claims of the Ombudsman Model In the second cluster, papers will analyze
the empirical evidence available to back up the claims made in favour
of the ombudsman model in terms of its capacity to deliver, support and
shape justice. Areas that will be explored include: the use of
own-initiative powers by the ombudsman, standards in the practice of
ombudsman schemes; the relationship between the ombudsman and the
courts; the profile and experience of complainants; the impact of the
ombudsman on prisons and the police; human rights and the ombudsman; and
the evaluation of ombudsman systems. III. Future Challenges for the
Ombudsman Papers in the third cluster will suggest an agenda for future
socio-legal research on the ombudsman. Which general lessons may be
drawn from the contributions in this workshop? Which theoretical and
normative claims of the ombudsman model (laid out in Cluster I) are
supported by empirical evidence (discussed in Cluster II)? And which of
these claims cannot be supported? Looking back at the different papers
what will be the most important issues for future ombudsman research?
What are important blind spots in our knowledge about the ombudsman? And
which existing theoretical and empirical approaches still need to be
developed further in the future?
