Greece
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Office of the Ombudsman, Greece
Office of the Ombudsman completes its first year of operation
On 1 October 1999, the office of the Greek Ombudsman celebrated its first anniversary. Established by Law 2477/97, the office opened its doors to the public on 1 October 1998.
Powers of the Ombudsman
The Greek Ombudsman is an independent administrative authority, entrusted with the responsibility of mediating between citizens and the civil service, local government authorities, corporate bodies under public law and public utility companies, in order to protect the rights of the citizen, combat maladministration, and ensure respect for the law. Excluded from the Ombudsman’s remit are cases concerning the political function of members of the government, religious legal entities, the judicial authorities, the armed forces on matters regarding national defence and security, the secret service, the services of the Foreign Ministry for matters related to the conduct of foreign policy or the country’s international relations, the Legal Council of State, and the functioning of other independent administrative authorities. Also outside the Ombudsman’s authority are questions of state security and the service status of civil servants. In addition, the Ombudsman does not take on cases where an administrative act has created rights in favour of a third party, which can only be overturned by a judicial decision, unless it is clear that an illegal act is involved or the issue is related to the protection of the environment.
The Ombudsman begins an investigation following the submission of a signed complaint by an individual or legal entity or union of individuals, whose rights have been violated or affected by individual administrative acts or oversights by the public administration. The conditions are that the complaint must be submitted within six months from the date on which the applicant was informed of the administrative acts or oversights, and that the applicant should also have previously exhausted all the in-service means of redress. However, the Ombudsman also has the very important right to take action on his own initiative in cases which have aroused the interest of public opinion.
The Ombudsman serves for a non-renewable five-year term and is selected by the cabinet, following a prior opinion by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Institutions and Transparency. Greece’s first Ombudsman is P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, Professor of Political Science at the University of Athens. The Ombudsman himself selects the four Deputy Ombudsmen.
Organization of the Office
The office of the Greek Ombudsman is organized around four thematic departments, each supervised by a Deputy Ombudsman. The departments are:
- Human Rights, dealing with complaints pertaining to the exercise of individual, political and social rights, supervised by George Kaminis, Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Athens.
- Quality of Life, dealing with complaints about the environment, urban planning and landscape design, public works, etc., supervised by Dr. John Michael, architect - urban planner.
- Social Welfare, dealing with complaints about national insurance, health, welfare, and disabled individuals, etc., supervised by Dr. Maria Mitrosili-Assimakopoulou, lawyer.
- State-Citizen Relations, dealing with complaints concerning maladministration in general, including issues of transport and communication, energy, taxation, education, quality of public services, etc., supervised by Ms. Aliki Koutsoumari-Argyropoulou, former Director General of the Ministry of the Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization.
The Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsmen are supported by a professional staff currently numbering 73 case-handlers, of whom 48 are Senior Investigators and 25 Junior Investigators. The administrative personnel totals 17 individuals. All the administrative staff and 19 of the Senior Investigators are civil servants on secondment. Of the professional staff, 51 (69.9%) have postgraduate qualifications, while 9 (12.3%) are graduates of the National School for Public Administration. Approximately 50% of the case-handlers are lawyers, while the rest come from a diverse range of professional and educational backgrounds, including political scientists, civil engineers, and economists, a doctor and a psychologist. Two-thirds (64.4%) of the professional staff are women.
The case-handling system, which is fully computerised, is regarded as a model for the Greek public administration. The Reception office is staffed by Senior and Junior Investigators on a daily rota basis, while the Ombudsman and four Deputy Ombudsmen also periodically assist, so that the initial contact of citizens submitting complaints to the Ombudsman’s office will be with professional case-handlers. The premises of the Ombudsman, located in a central Athens district, have been specially designed as a pilot project for the Greek civil service, offering unimpeded access to the differently abled and individuals with special needs.
Activities of the office
In the first 11 months of its operation (to 31 August 1999), the office of the Greek Ombudsman received a total of 5,937 complaints, distributed among the departments in the following way: State-Citizen Relations (33.1%), Social Welfare (27.3%), Quality of Life (25.2%) and Human Rights (14.4%). By the end of August, investigation had already been completed in 61% of cases. Of the complaints submitted, 27% fell outside the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman. Of those falling within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction, 59% were closed with redress in favour of the citizen.
In March 1999, the office of the Greek Ombudsman submitted its first annual report to Parliament. The report covers the first three months of operation of the office (October-December 1998), and identifies a number of policy areas where the Ombudsman locates a need for legislative amendments and administrative action. These cover a wide range of issues, including the legislation governing the issue of residence permits to foreign nationals, the naturalization procedure, selection procedures for new types of university programmes, the right of non-Greek nationals to participate in national athletics competitions, blood donation, early retirement pension rights, rights of war wounded army officers, the environmental consequences of the selection of landfill sites, the demolition of illegally-constructed buildings, the protection of level crossings, compensation following compulsory purchase of archaeological sites, procedures for issuing income tax demands and water bills, etc. An abridged version of this report is scheduled to appear in English late in 1999.
In July the Greek Ombudsman issued a report on the system of alternative service for conscientious objectors, which was introduced in Greece for the first time by Law 2510/97. After examining the experience of the system of alternative service to date, the report makes a number of proposals to improve its implementation. These included the establishment of a supervisory council to deal with problems as they arise, as well as ending the practice whereby recognition of conscientious objector status may be withdrawn for disciplinary reasons.
International activities
- 26-29 July 1998: visit of the Greek Ombudsman to the UK for meetings with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, Mr. Michael Buckley, the Ombudsman for Estate Agents, Mr. David Quayle, and the Associate Controller of the Audit Commission, Mr. John Golding
- 6 October 1998: participation of the Greek Ombudsman in the annual meeting of European Ombudsmen, Malta
- 10-11 December 1998: information workshop in Athens with the Ombudsmen of the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland and Slovenia, Messrs. Marten Oosting, Hans Gammeltoft-Hansen, Kevin Murphy and Ivan Bizjak
- 16-17 December 1998: visit by the Greek Ombudsman to the European Ombudsman, Mr. Jacob Söderman
- 25 May 1999: visit to the office of the Greek Ombudsman by the European Ombudsman, Mr. Jacob Söderman
- 17 June 1999: meeting of the Greek Ombudsman with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights of Hungary, Professor Katalin Gönczöl
- 21 June 1999: meeting of the Greek Ombudsman with Mr. Pavel Rychecky, Vice-Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
- 21 June 1999: meeting of the Greek Ombudsman with Mr. Martin Palous, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic
- 23 June 1999: meeting of the Greek Ombudsman with the Commissioner of the Government of the Czech Republic for Human Rights, Mr. Petr Uhl
- 9-10 September 1999: participation by the Greek Ombudsman and the Deputy Ombudsmen for Human Rights, Social Welfare and State-Citizen Relations in a seminar organised by the European Ombudsman on “Les Mediateurs, Le Traité d’Amsterdam et l’Integration Européene”, Paris, France
Newsletter No. 19
Office of the Ombudsman, Greece
Office of the Ombudsman completes its first year of operation
On 1 October 1999, the office of the Greek Ombudsman celebrated its first anniversary. Established by Law 2477/97, the office opened its doors to the public on 1 October 1998.
Powers of the Ombudsman
The Greek Ombudsman is an independent administrative authority, entrusted with the responsibility of mediating between citizens and the civil service, local government authorities, corporate bodies under public law and public utility companies, in order to protect the rights of the citizen, combat maladministration, and ensure respect for the law. Excluded from the Ombudsman’s remit are cases concerning the political function of members of the government, religious legal entities, the judicial authorities, the armed forces on matters regarding national defence and security, the secret service, the services of the Foreign Ministry for matters related to the conduct of foreign policy or the country’s international relations, the Legal Council of State, and the functioning of other independent administrative authorities. Also outside the Ombudsman’s authority are questions of state security and the service status of civil servants. In addition, the Ombudsman does not take on cases where an administrative act has created rights in favour of a third party, which can only be overturned by a judicial decision, unless it is clear that an illegal act is involved or the issue is related to the protection of the environment.
The Ombudsman begins an investigation following the submission of a signed complaint by an individual or legal entity or union of individuals, whose rights have been violated or affected by individual administrative acts or oversights by the public administration. The conditions are that the complaint must be submitted within six months from the date on which the applicant was informed of the administrative acts or oversights, and that the applicant should also have previously exhausted all the in-service means of redress. However, the Ombudsman also has the very important right to take action on his own initiative in cases which have aroused the interest of public opinion.
The Ombudsman serves for a non-renewable five-year term and is selected by the cabinet, following a prior opinion by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Institutions and Transparency. Greece’s first Ombudsman is P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, Professor of Political Science at the University of Athens. The Ombudsman himself selects the four Deputy Ombudsmen.
Organization of the Office
The office of the Greek Ombudsman is organized around four thematic departments, each supervised by a Deputy Ombudsman. The departments are:
- Human Rights, dealing with complaints pertaining to the exercise of individual, political and social rights, supervised by George Kaminis, Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Athens.
- Quality of Life, dealing with complaints about the environment, urban planning and landscape design, public works, etc., supervised by Dr. John Michael, architect - urban planner.
- Social Welfare, dealing with complaints about national insurance, health, welfare, and disabled individuals, etc., supervised by Dr. Maria Mitrosili-Assimakopoulou, lawyer.
- State-Citizen Relations, dealing with complaints concerning maladministration in general, including issues of transport and communication, energy, taxation, education, quality of public services, etc., supervised by Ms. Aliki Koutsoumari-Argyropoulou, former Director General of the Ministry of the Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization.
The Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsmen are supported by a professional staff currently numbering 73 case-handlers, of whom 48 are Senior Investigators and 25 Junior Investigators. The administrative personnel totals 17 individuals. All the administrative staff and 19 of the Senior Investigators are civil servants on secondment. Of the professional staff, 51 (69.9%) have postgraduate qualifications, while 9 (12.3%) are graduates of the National School for Public Administration. Approximately 50% of the case-handlers are lawyers, while the rest come from a diverse range of professional and educational backgrounds, including political scientists, civil engineers, and economists, a doctor and a psychologist. Two-thirds (64.4%) of the professional staff are women.
The case-handling system, which is fully computerised, is regarded as a model for the Greek public administration. The Reception office is staffed by Senior and Junior Investigators on a daily rota basis, while the Ombudsman and four Deputy Ombudsmen also periodically assist, so that the initial contact of citizens submitting complaints to the Ombudsman’s office will be with professional case-handlers. The premises of the Ombudsman, located in a central Athens district, have been specially designed as a pilot project for the Greek civil service, offering unimpeded access to the differently abled and individuals with special needs.
Activities of the office
In the first 11 months of its operation (to 31 August 1999), the office of the Greek Ombudsman received a total of 5,937 complaints, distributed among the departments in the following way: State-Citizen Relations (33.1%), Social Welfare (27.3%), Quality of Life (25.2%) and Human Rights (14.4%). By the end of August, investigation had already been completed in 61% of cases. Of the complaints submitted, 27% fell outside the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman. Of those falling within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction, 59% were closed with redress in favour of the citizen.
In March 1999, the office of the Greek Ombudsman submitted its first annual report to Parliament. The report covers the first three months of operation of the office (October-December 1998), and identifies a number of policy areas where the Ombudsman locates a need for legislative amendments and administrative action. These cover a wide range of issues, including the legislation governing the issue of residence permits to foreign nationals, the naturalization procedure, selection procedures for new types of university programmes, the right of non-Greek nationals to participate in national athletics competitions, blood donation, early retirement pension rights, rights of war wounded army officers, the environmental consequences of the selection of landfill sites, the demolition of illegally-constructed buildings, the protection of level crossings, compensation following compulsory purchase of archaeological sites, procedures for issuing income tax demands and water bills, etc. An abridged version of this report is scheduled to appear in English late in 1999.
In July the Greek Ombudsman issued a report on the system of alternative service for conscientious objectors, which was introduced in Greece for the first time by Law 2510/97. After examining the experience of the system of alternative service to date, the report makes a number of proposals to improve its implementation. These included the establishment of a supervisory council to deal with problems as they arise, as well as ending the practice whereby recognition of conscientious objector status may be withdrawn for disciplinary reasons.
International activities
- 26-29 July 1998: visit of the Greek Ombudsman to the UK for meetings with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, Mr. Michael Buckley, the Ombudsman for Estate Agents, Mr. David Quayle, and the Associate Controller of the Audit Commission, Mr. John Golding
- 6 October 1998: participation of the Greek Ombudsman in the annual meeting of European Ombudsmen, Malta
- 10-11 December 1998: information workshop in Athens with the Ombudsmen of the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland and Slovenia, Messrs. Marten Oosting, Hans Gammeltoft-Hansen, Kevin Murphy and Ivan BizjakÂ
- 16-17 December 1998: visit by the Greek Ombudsman to the European Ombudsman, Mr. Jacob Söderman
- 25 May 1999: visit to the office of the Greek Ombudsman by the European Ombudsman, Mr. Jacob Söderman
- 17 June 1999: meeting of the Greek Ombudsman with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights of Hungary, Professor Katalin Gönczöl
- 21 June 1999: meeting of the Greek Ombudsman with Mr. Pavel Rychecky, Vice-Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
- 21 June 1999: meeting of the Greek Ombudsman with Mr. Martin Palous, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic
- 23 June 1999: meeting of the Greek Ombudsman with the Commissioner of the Government of the Czech Republic for Human Rights, Mr. Petr Uhl
- 9-10 September 1999: participation by the Greek Ombudsman and the Deputy Ombudsmen for Human Rights, Social Welfare and State-Citizen Relations in a seminar organised by the European Ombudsman on “Les Mediateurs, Le TraitĂ© d’Amsterdam et l’Integration EuropĂ©ene”, Paris, France
