The word "ombudsman" was deciphered in the 16th century in Sweden. Then, this concept meant a person who controls the work of the court, incl. transparency of business conduct and decisions made. After the Swedes lost the battle of Poltava, the position of the Ombudsman became much wider. Today, this is the name given to a human rights commissioner.
Modern ombudsmen monitor ministries and departments, as well as other government bodies in order to prevent them from violating human rights. The ombudsman can act both independently and at the request of citizens. Moreover, first of all, he must be guided by justice. So, for example, in the sphere of his interests, officials abuse their powers and much more.
How to become an ombudsman
The Ombudsman is elected by the municipal authorities or the State Duma, if we are talking about the all-Russian ombudsman for human rights. Candidates for this role must submit their programs and proposals to legislators, after which a vote is taken. Formally, the president of the country can also give his consent to the approval of this or that candidate (of course, on a large scale).
Any resident of the country can apply to the Ombudsman if his rights have been grossly violated. The task of the commissioner is to contact the relevant person or authority with a proposal to eliminate the conflict. If he receives a refusal to his legal demand, he can apply further through the instances, for example, to the court.
Ombudsmen in Russia
In Russia, the first human rights ombudsmen appeared in 1994. Then he was appointed by the State Duma Sergei Kovalev. The position of the Ombudsman in the Russian Federation is legally spelled out in Article 103 of the Constitution of the country. In addition to the human rights ombudsman, there is another type of ombudsman - those who are involved in the protection of minor children. In 2014, such an ombudsman in Russia is the well-known lawyer Pavel Astakhov.
The main tasks of the Ombudsman are:
- restoration of violated rights;
- work in the field of legislation to improve and finalize laws on human rights (it is necessary to take care that everything is still in accordance with international norms);
- work on international cooperation in the field of human rights protection;
- legal education of the citizens of the country.
There are a number of important points in the list of the main duties of the ombudsman. Thus, it must ensure the protection of human rights and require the observance and respect of the constitutional rights of society from state bodies and other responsible persons. In the event of a massive violation of both the rights and freedoms of people, the commissioner can act as their mediator before the State Duma. He must also apply for the creation of a special commission, which will investigate the issue in detail in order to restore justice. The Ombudsman can go to court on behalf of the victim and demand protection of the rights and freedoms of the victim. This applies equally to both administrative and criminal proceedings. However, the human rights ombudsman cannot make any decisions that fall within the competence of other state bodies and local self-government bodies.