1 - National Ombudsman Office
The Alexandrian Ombudsman Office has two core functions –
resolving injustices suffered by individuals and improving public services through learning from the investigations it undertakes. In order to ensure that this happens, it is essential that each Ombudsman reassures itself that the changes it has recommended to public service providers have been implemented, and once they have been implemented, that they have secured the desired outcome – that the injustice suffered by the person who brought the complaint to the Ombudsman is not being suffered by subsequent users of the service.
1.1 - Introduction
All users of public services should have the right to access a fully independent redress mechanism when things go wrong. Ombudsman institutions offer free, independent and objective consideration of complaints with the aim of facilitating this redress. They also strive to improve services through learning from complaints.
The Principles on the Protection and Promotion of the Ombudsman Institution "The Venice Principles" were prepared by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe with input from the IOI. They set out the internationally recognized best practice for Ombudsman Institutions and are the basis of this document.
1.1.1 - Access
Ombudsman offices should be free to use, and readily available to all service users. The Venice Principles state that any individual or legal person, including NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations), shall have the right of free, unhindered and free of charge access to the Ombudsman, and to file a complaint.
The Ombudsman will generally expect complainants to have given the body complained about an opportunity to resolve the matter first, but should have discretion to accept complaints where this has not happened if circumstances warrant it.
Ombudsman services are often seen as an alternative to the courts, and will often not take on a case where court action is being pursued. Again, they should retain the discretion to take on cases in such circumstances where it is appropriate to do so e.g. where the complaint may point to a systemic failure.
Complaints should be accepted in any appropriate format, written, verbal or electronic. Representatives including family members, elected officials or advocates, should be able to complain on behalf of an individual provided there is evidence of consent to an Ombudsman, State Ombudsman, or Internal Secretary of The Ombudsman Office. There should be no requirement, however, that a complaint must be channeled through a representative of the complainant.
It is important that complaints reflect the broad spectrum of users of public services so access should be available in English and special arrangements should be made to ensure that the communication requirements of people with disabilities and/or language barriers are catered for. Other groups may also need special arrangements, for example, prisoners will want to be reassured that they can communicate privately with the Ombudsman.
1.1.2 - Powers
The Ombudsman should have the power to consider all complaints within its jurisdiction, and determine which require more detailed consideration. Equally, the Ombudsman should be able to discontinue an investigation at any time. Each Ombudsman should be able to take any steps necessary to resolve a case. These may include reaching agreed settlements, mediation or reporting actions that break rules to staff.
The Ombudsman shall be entitled to request the co-operation of any individuals or organizations who may be able to assist in their investigations. He or she should have a legally enforceable right to unrestricted access to all relevant documents, databases or materials, including those, which might otherwise be legally privileged, confidential, or classified. This includes the right to unhindered access to buildings, institutions and persons including those deprived of their liberty. The Ombudsman should have the power to interview or demand written explanations from officials and authorities if denied and should give particular attention and protection to whistleblowers in the public sector.
Investigations should be held in private, but the Ombudsman Office has the power to publish public reports. Any Public reports should enjoy privilege from claims of defamation.
Ombudsman should be able to undertake investigations on their own initiative with approval from the Secretary of the Ombudsman Office. On occasions, an Ombudsman will be made or become aware of possible maladministration where no complaint has been made.
The reasons for this can include a reluctance on the part of complainants to come forward for fear of negative consequences or because the people concerned do not have ready access to the Ombudsman. Such investigations often consider systemic issues and ensure that the Ombudsman can be effective in tackling poor administration and improving public services.
The Secretary to The Ombudsman Office should be able to delegate their functions to members of their staff. One or more State Ombudsman (Senior) or Ombudsman (junior) positions may be created who can accept responsibility in lieu of the Secretary.
The Venice Principles state that the Ombudsman Office and the decision-making staff shall be immune from legal process in respect of activities and words, spoken or written, carried out in their official capacity for the Institution. Such functional immunity should apply also after the individuals concerned leave the institution.
Ombudsman institutions have the power to cooperate with others and to share information where it is appropriate and necessary to do so while taking account of confidentiality requirements. This is particularly important where the Ombudsman is working alongside other monitoring or regulatory bodies who deal with the same public service providers. Their inspections can provide valuable context for the Ombudsman while Ombudsman investigations can help to inform their work.
1.2 - Ombudsman Activities
This policy establishes the standard procedures and job responsibilities of an Ombudsman when conducting reviews to ensure compliance and operational effectiveness within the Kingdom of Alexandria while promoting continuous improvement and transparency across all government organizations. Your job responsibilities include: Investigating complaints, identifying and performing own-initiative investigations, conducting reviews, compiling data, creating final reports.
1.2.1 - Investigation Protocol
Getting Started
Investigation assignments are normally handed out at the beginning of the month when available. You will normally work alone, though you may work as part of a team, especially for larger investigations. The Secretary of the Ombudsman, or when necessary Minister of Internal Affairs, will outline the scope and mission of the assignment. Investigation objectives may include, but are not limited to:
- Monthly Investigation (ongoing cases that require compliance monitoring)
- Ethics/Fraud Investigation (Identifying the actual or appearance of unethical behavior or fraud)
- Operations Investigation (Identifying misappropriation of government resources)
- Complaint Investigation (Thorough investigation of received complaints)
1.3 - Investigation Process
1.3.1 - Assignment
You’ll be matched with investigations based on your workload, avoiding conflicts of interest. You can express interest in specific investigation in
#ombudsman-discussion
1.3.2 - Developing Questions
You will create questions related to your investigation assignment. Make sure to share them in your audit channel and use feedback to further refine them. The questions should be relevant to the complaint as well as the overall activity of the subject. We are here to identify systemic issues, refer to previous audits for more information when available, otherwise reach out to the Secretary of the Ombudsman Office.
1.3.3 - Identifying Key Personnel
You will compile a list of employees and other relevant individuals to interview for the specific complaint.
1.3.4 - Conducting the Investigation
You can choose how to conduct your interviews using the following formats:
- All questions at once
- One question at a time
- A google form
- Observation of a department’s operations may be conducted for information.
1.3.5 - Following Up
Make sure to further investigate when responses to questions are vague or contradict the answers of different interviews.
1.3.6 - Drafting a Report
All audit reports are highly classified. Unauthorized disclosure of classified information is a serious offense and will result in disciplinary action by the Minister of Internal Affairs. Use the template in the
#ombudsman-resources (WIP) channel and refer to previous audits as needed.
1.3.7 - Publishing Public Reports
When a report is finished it will be at the discretion of the Secretary of The Ombudsman on whether or not to publish a report. When this decision is made multiple facets are taken into account ranging from the public’s right to know to the sensitivity of information held within the report. In certain special interest investigations, a separate public report can be created redacting only information necessary to protect the complainant.
1.3.8 - Wrapping Up
Ping the Minister and Deputy Minister when you're done and note your completion in the #payments channel.
1.4 - State of the Kingdom Report (SOTK)
The State of the Kingdom Report (SOTK) is a monthly report prepared by the ombudsman team. Ombudsman will gather approval ratings, ministry expenditures, economic totals, and passed bills from the past month.
The ombudsman team will begin this around a week before the end of the month, and publish it as soon as it’s ready during the following month. Each ombudsman is assigned a specific section to manage, and compile data. The Minister and Secretary of the ombudsman Office will organize all findings into a proper report.
