The Iowa Department of Corrections' encouragement of an "open-door policy" between its prison staff and administrative law judges differs from other state agencies and violates inmates' due-process rights in disciplinary hearings, the Office of Ombudsman has concluded.

With the introduction of the Public Interest Disclosure (PID) scheme in 2014/15, the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth- and Defence Forces Ombudsman was broadened.

The Human Rights Defender addressed the Prime Minister with a request to adjust the Polish labour law to the requirements of the European Social Charter.

The Pacific Ombudsman Alliance (POA) issued its latest Newsletter for February 2015. This edition includes reports on the National Investigations Symposium in Sydney, a twinning project with the Office of the Ombudsman of Papua New Guinea and the outcome of recent board nominations.

In December 2014, Jarosław Duda, the Government Plenipotentiary for Disabled People  set out a report about the implementation of resolutions of the Charter on the Fundamental Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Dutch House of Representatives has today appointed Reinier van Zutphen to the post of National Ombudsman of the Netherlands. The news was welcomed by the Acting and Deputy National Ombudsmen and the National Ombudsman Office.

The Ombudsman and the autonomous-regional ombudsmen presented the joint study “Hospital Accident and Emergency services in the National Health System: patients’ rights and guarantees”, which examines the realities of A&E services and the impact on people’s fundamental rights of how they work.

A 62-year-old woman could have survived a severe infection called sepsis had she received proper care at a London-based hospital, an investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has found.