IOI welcomes the Ombudsman of the Canary Islands as new member

During its mid-term meeting that took place from 7 to 8 May 2012 in Hong Kong, the IOI Board of Directors took decisions on several applications for individual, associate and institutional membership. Welcoming the new members to the IOI family the General Secretariat presents the main facts and figures of each new member ending today with the Ombudsman the Canary Islands.

The Statute of Autonomy of the Community of the Canary Islands which was originally enacted in 1982 provides the legal basis for the Ombudsman Office. According to this law, any natural or legal person regardless of nationality, residence, sex, age, legal incapacity, internment in a penitentiary or confinement centre may file a complaint with the Ombudsman. The so called “Diputado del Común” is elected by a majority of three-fifths of the votes of the Members of Parliament of the Canary Islands, is appointed for a term of five years and can be re-elected to the office several times. The current office holder is Mr Jerónimo Saavedra Acevedo.

The Ombudsman of the Canary Islands will not receive instructions from any authority and will carry out its function with full independence and entirely autonomous. The budgetary provisions which ensure the proper functioning of the institution of the Ombudsman are to be foreseen in the parliamentary budget. The Ombudsman supervises all actions of the public administration of the Canary Islands, defends the rights of the citizens against any form of violation due to actions or omissions by the public administration and protects the most vulnerable sectors of the population. He can recommend modifications of said law or rule to the respective legislative body and make suggestions and recommendations to the authority in question. In such case, the respective authority is obliged to respond in writing within a period of one moth to the Ombudsman’s recommendation.

The Ombudsman has to submit an annual report of his actions to the plenary of the Parliament of the Canary Islands. This report includes – among other things – the number and type of complaints received, rejected and still pending, the recommendations made and the warnings issued, the number of ex officio investigations, general observations etc. The Ombudsman may also present special reports if deemed necessary.

Following recommendations by the Secretary General and the competent Regional Vice-President the Board acknowledged that the Ombudsman of the Canary Islands fulfilled the IOI criteria for institutional membership set out in Article 6 (1) of the I.O.I. by-laws and decided to accept the “Diputado del Común” as institutional member of the IOI.