Dos años de experiencia del primer Ombudsman del País Vasco

San Martín Ortiz de Zárate, Juan

Publication year:

1992

Publication place:

Donostia-San Sebastián

ISBN:

84-87471-39-0

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Summary

The mission of the Ombudsman in a State by right is presented.We must go back to the first Justitie-Ombudsman created in Sweden in 1809, and to what it represented in history. Its rich experience and the prestige gained encouraged other states to integrate the figure of Ombudsman after the II World War, which became instituted in the democratic countries of Europe. In Spain, it is introduced through the Constitution in 1878, and has a legal and political nature, with the name of People?s Defender, as a High Deputy of the General Courts, to which he has to justify his exertion, through the power granted by the organic Law 3/1981, on April the 6, which normalizes the Institution. The law makes provision for the possibility of creating similar deputies in the autonomous communities. The Basque Parliament approved the Law 3/1985 on February the 27, through which was created and normalized the Institution of the Ararteko. The commission had to wait until March the 2, 1989. Then a digression is made about the historical figure of Justice of Aragón, and a comment is also made on the development of institution process of Ombudsman in communities like Andalusia, Catalonia, Galicia ad Canary Islands. The Ararteko, besides basing the essential aim of his institution, as a legal body, on protecting the citizen?s rights against abuses and negligences of Public Administration, explains his acts while listening to the parties and reminds the implementation of laws in force. And claiming Protagoras sentence: "Man is the dimension of all things", he sees the importance of philosophy that every Ombudsman has to apply to his duty. He can start the investigation not only at the party?s request, but also automatically, and reserves this procedure particularly for groups in an undefended position, to which he pays a special attention ; he has planned to realize monographic investigations to inform the Parliament. In the yearly report of his performance to the Parliament, he shows, besides a list of the most representative complaints corresponding to each area of his duty, a series of conclusions, as well as several suggestions and advice directed to the public authorities, both to the legislative power, by pointing at the legal faults detected, and to the executive power, by reminding the legal duties ; as guarantor of citizen?s rights, he collaborates in the succes of what the ultimate end of Administration must be, that is public interest.