The Norwegian Ombudsmen for Civil and Military Affairs

Abstract

Since 1952, Norway has had an Ombudsman for Military Affairs who, assisted by a council of six members, deals with complaints against military authorities and supervises the treatment of military personnel. In 1963, the Ombudsman for Civil Affairs began to function. The reason for the establishment of these Ombudsmen was the steadily increasing influence of public administration on the citizen's rights and obligations. The judiciary's control of administration is time-consuming and costly, and it was considered desirable to let the "little man" have a control institution to which he could apply and which could simply and inexpensively examine his complaint. The Ombudsman must keep himself informed of conditions in administration, and can thus also take up matters on his own initiative. The Military Ombudsman handles about 350 complaints per year; the Civilian Ombudsman, about 1,000 complaints. Of the complaints which are taken up for examination by the Civilian Ombudsman, about 30 per cent are successful. It is generally agreed that the Ombudsmen come up to expectations concerning them, and there is no doubt that the institutions are now firmly established. Co-operation with administration has proceeded smoothly, and although the Ombudsmen cannot alter administrative decisions, nor order the agencies concerned to do so, administrative officials very rarely fail to comply with the Ombudsman's opinion.