BackOn 25 June 2024, Parliamentary Ombudsman Petri Jääskeläinen submitted his Annual Report 2023 to Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho. In 2023, there were a total of 7,124 complaints (6,613 in 2022). This is just over 500 (7.7%) more than the previous year. The largest number of complaints concerned social welfare 1,136 (997), the police 855 (821), healthcare 803 (751) and criminal sanctions 591 (672). In the reporting year, 6,876 complaints were resolved. The corresponding figure in 2022 was 6,857.
There were 133 submissions and hearings and 83 inspections were carried out (76 in 2022).
Importance of the Ombudsman’s own initiatives in the oversight of legality
In his general comment in the Annual Report, Parliamentary Ombudsman Jääskeläinen discusses the Ombudsman’s own-initiative investigations, which are the third avenue of the Ombudsman’s oversight of legality in addition to processing complaints and performing inspections.
Own initiatives are based on the Ombudsman's own observations on matters in which there is reason to suspect unlawful conduct or deficiencies in the realisation of fundamental or human rights. Own initiatives often address matters that involve structural deficiencies or that otherwise hold a wider significance than an individual case.
Own initiatives are especially important in safeguarding the rights and treatment of people who are unable to submit complaints about the violations they have experienced. For example, they include children, older people, persons with disabilities or psychiatric patients.
Own-initiative investigations may also be started for procedural reasons. For example, if numerous complaints are made about the actions of the police in connection with a demonstration, it may be appropriate to investigate the matter as a whole as the Ombudsman's own initiative in which all the events, claims and issues relevant from the point of view of the investigation can be compiled from the different complaints.
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Source: Parliamentary Ombudsman, Finland
