BackFor half a century, the ombudsman's office has been offering free advice and mediation to the citizens of Zurich. Today, it handles around 1600 cases a year.
The Ombudsman's Office of the City of Zurich opened 50 years ago today, on November 1, 1971. It is the oldest parliamentary ombudsman office in Switzerland and the oldest municipal ombudsman office in Europe. Over the years, several other municipal and cantonal ombudsman offices have been added. Unfortunately, however, there are still many cantons and municipalities without their own ombudsman office. A particularly large gap is the absence of a federal ombudsman office, although there have been repeated attempts to create it.
Over the past 50 years, countless Zurich residents have been able to avail themselves of the free advice and mediation of the city's ombudsman's office when they had problems with the city administration. The ombudsman's office is also available to employees of the city of Zurich who have difficulties at work, offering advice and mediation. Ombudsman Pierre Heusser and his team handle around 1,600 cases a year, providing advice, investigating complaints and seeking solutions.
To mark the anniversary, a new publication "In the Service of the Law" is being published, which can be ordered free of charge on the website. All annual reports from the last 50 years have also been digitized and made accessible online.
Source: Ombudsman's Office of the City of Zurich, Switzerland
