Growth of the Ombudsman Concept (Article) [1999] JSPL 10; (1999) 3 Journal of South Pacific Law

Article 1 of Volume 3, 1999

Growth of the Ombudsman Concept1

by Judge Anand Satyanand*

 
 Introduction

Two seemingly different notions are involved in this paper. The first is that of constitutions setting out clear parameters and rules, within which states are required to operate. The second is that of Ombudsmen undertaking their work despite, or beyond, the usual legal frameworks, and of being called upon to act, when no legal or administrative recourse is ordinarily available or practicable.

If one looks at this part of the world - and in particular at the Pacific - it can be stated firmly that the Ombudsman concept is one which has grown rapidly in a variety of constitutional settings throughout the region. At the time of writing in 1998, Ombudsman offices are operational in New Zealand (where there are two Parliamentary Ombudsmen), Australia (both federally and in each state), Papua New Guinea (where there is an Ombudsman Commission of three), Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Cook Islands and Samoa. Consideration of installation of such an office is proceeding in Tonga, Niue and Tuvalu. My aim in this paper is to convey a briefing regarding the essential nature of what an Ombudsman office may accomplish. I will also describe the versatility with which problems registered by citizens about government maladministration may be dealt with, by an Ombudsman office, particularly when the formal structures of the legal processes may have failed or be inappropriate. I will do this, in order to suggest that consideration of such an office deserves its place in any contemporary discussion of institutions of governance. In the Pacific it may be observed that the need for versatility on the part of Ombudsmen is particularly necessary. The present Fiji Ombudsman, Justice Sailosi Kepa put the matter in this way in a paper for a 1998 Ombudsman Conference for the Australasian and Pacific region. He said that in the Pacific ‘improvising is a way of life so that if you do not have all the milk you need to make a custard, you water down the milk you have or you make a custard using coconut cream’.