BackOn 7 March 2014, the Parliamentary Ombudsman and Chief Justice Emeritus, Joseph Said Pullicino, published eleven proposals aimed at strengthening the Ombudsman Institution. These proposals have been prepared following a request by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto.
The Parliamentary Ombudsman believes that the proposals include essential measures to be taken for a correct evolution of the Institution in a modern and democratic society.
These recommendations propose that the Constitution should recognise the right to a good public administration as a fundamental right and should also expressly recognise the principle of the State’s liability for the actions of its officers and the right of the individual to seek redress against the State for damages suffered. It is suggested that the Constitutional recognition and protection of the Ombudsman Institution should be at a par with that of the Auditor General.
The Ombudsman is also proposing that the Government carefully evaluates any request to further the process of specialisation in his Office by the appointment of other Commissioners under the 2010 amendments of the Ombudsman Act, if the service so requires. There has been in recent years a mushrooming of a considerable number of autonomous or semi-autonomous institutions set up by law to oversee specific areas of social, economic or other activities that Parliament considered needed regulation in the interest of citizens and society in general. It is recommended that the Government should carry out a study to establish whether authorities and institutions set up by law that have functions akin to those of the Parliamentary Ombudsman could usefully be converged with his Office. This would strengthen the autonomy and independence ensuring their conformity with the Paris Principles.
Another issue addressed in the proposals submitted to Government, is whether there is a need for a revision of the Ombudsman’s remit to extend his jurisdiction to protect citizens receiving an essential service from a private stakeholder previously administered by the government.
The Parliamentary Ombudsman also believes that measures need to be taken in order to render more effective the Ombudsman’s recommendations.
In his conclusion to the proposals which were sent to Government, the Parliamentary Ombudsman stated that: “It is my conviction that the principles on which the proposals made in this document are based should attract wide consensus. The recommendations made are obviously not cast in stone. They should be considered as an element for a fruitful debate to trace the way forward for the strengthening of an institution which has always been regarded by all shades of public opinion as a major player in the network of checks and balances essential for the correct, transparent and accountable management of public affairs in a modern democracy to which citizens are justly entitled.”
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Source: Parliamentary Ombudsman, Malta
