Sweden, Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsmen
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Sweden, Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsmen
Work load
In November 2000, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen presented their annual report to Parliament. The report covers the period 1 July 1999 – 30 June 2000. The summary in English of the report contains the following information about the organization and the development of the workload.
During the period covered by the report, the following have held office as Parliamentary Ombudsmen: Mr. Claes Eklundh, who is Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman, Mr. Jan Pennlöv, Mrs. Kerstin André and Mr Nils-Olof Berggren (as from December 1, 1999). During a vacancy, Deputy Ombudsman Leif Ekberg has worked as acting ombudsman between August 23 and November 30, 1999. Moreover, Mr. Ekberg and Deputy Ombudsman Gunnel Norell Söderblom have handled and decided cases of supervision during a number of shorter periods.
Mr. Eklundh has supervised the courts of law, the public prosecution service and the police, while Mr. Pennlöv has dealt with matters concerning the prisons, the armed forces, taxation, customs, the execution of judgements, social insurance and chief guardians. Mrs. André has supervised the fields of social welfare, public health and medical care and education. A number of cases in this area have been handled and decided by Mrs. Norell Söderblom. Mr. Berggren and Mr. Ekberg, finally, have been responsible for the supervision of the administrative courts, building and construction, immigration, administration of foreign affairs, environmental protection, farming and protection of animals, labour market, and all additional aspects of civil administration not supervised by any other Parliamentary Ombudsman.
During the year, 4,739 new cases were registered with the Ombudsmen; 4,626 of them were complaints and other cases received (a decrease by 165 compared to the number of cases received during the previous year) and 113 were cases initiated by the Ombudsmen themselves on the basis of observations made during inspections, of newspaper reports or on other grounds.
It should be noted that the schedules overleaf show cases concluded during the period, not all cases lodged.
Schedule of cases initiated by the Ombudsmen and concluded during the period 1 July 1999–30 June 2000
| Activity concerned
| Closed without final criticism | Admonitions or other criticism | Prosecutions or disciplinary proceedings | Referred to other agencies or state organs | Proposal to Parliament or to the Government | Total |
| Courts | 3 | 7 | – | – | – | 10 |
| Public prosecutors | 2 | 12 | – | – | – | 14 |
| Police authorities | 4 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 35 |
| Armed forces | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Prison administration | 2 | 8 | - | – | – | 10 |
| Social welfare | 3 | 4 | - | – | – | 7 |
| Medical care | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | 2 |
| Social insurance | 2 | 9 | – | – | 1 | 12 |
| Labour market | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| Execution of judgements | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| Education, culture | – | 6 | – | – | – | 6 |
| Taxation, customs | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 2 |
| Environmental management, public health, protection of animals | 1 | 7 | – | – | – | 8 |
| Planning | 1 | 4 | – | – | – | 5 |
| Communications | – | 5 | – | – | – | 5 |
| Chief guardians | – | 5 | – | – | – | 5 |
| Access to official documents, Freedom of the press | 2 | 7 | – | – | – | 9 |
| Total | 22 | 103 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 133 |
Schedule of complaint cases concluded during the period 1 July 1999–30 June 2000
| Activity concerned | Dismissed without investigation | Referred to other agencies or state organs | No criticism after investigation | Admonitions or other criticism | Prosecutions or disciplinary proceedings | Preliminary investigation; no prosecution | Total |
| Courts of law | 145 | – | 181 | 15 | 1 | – | 342 |
| Administrative courts | 40 | – | 54 | 2 | – | – | 96 |
| Public prosecutors | 72 | 10 | 125 | 14 | – | – | 221 |
| Police authorities | 164 | 21 | 229 | 51 | – | 2 | 467 |
| Armed forces | 18 | – | 4 | 2 | – | – | 24 |
| Prison administration | 323 | – | 185 | 42 | – | – | 550 |
| Social welfare | 204 | 20 | 368 | 84 | – | – | 676 |
| Medical care | 94 | 9 | 108 | 25 | – | – | 236 |
| Social insurance | 141 | – | 83 | 76 | – | – | 300 |
| Labour market etc. | 46 | 22 | 56 | 25 | – | – | 149 |
| Planning | 41 | – | 37 | 24 | – | – | 102 |
| Execution of judgements | 99 | – | 50 | 13 | – | – | 162 |
| Local government | 53 | 1 | 28 | 8 | – | – | 90 |
| Communications | 96 | – | 41 | 13 | – | – | 150 |
| Taxation, customs | 101 | 1 | 51 | 45 | – | – | 198 |
| Education, culture | 76 | 8 | 86 | 25 | – | – | 195 |
| State Church | 9 | – | 1 | 3 | – | – | 13 |
| Chief guardians | 22 | – | 11 | 7 | – | – | 40 |
| Agriculture, environmental management, public health, protection of animals | 44 | – | 43 | 19 | – | – | 106 |
| Immigration | 40 | – | 23 | 6 | – | – | 69 |
| Other cases at County administrative boards, control of lotteries e.a. | 12 | – | 9 | – | – | – | 21 |
| Employment of civil servants etc. | 53 | – | 25 | 5 | – | – | 83 |
| Access to official documents, Freedom of the press | 91 | 1 | 119 | 96 | 1 | – | 308 |
| Administration of Parliamentary and foreign affairs; General elections | 23 | – | 8 | – | – | – | 31 |
| Miscellaneous | 35 | – | 28 | 6 | – | – | 69 |
| Complaints outside jurisdiction, complaints of obscure meaning | 100 | – | – | – | – | – | 100 |
| Total | 2,142 | 93 | 1,953 | 606 | 2 | 2 | 4,798 |
International cooperation
During the latest months, the Parliamentary Ombudsman Institution has cooperated with the People´s Advocate, the recently set up ombudsman institution of Albania, in order to assist the People´s Advocate establishing suitable working methods and routines. In October 2000 Marianne von der Esch, international coordinating officer, visited Tirana for one week, where she participated in a seminar arranged by the People´s Advocate, had practical discussions with Mr Ermir Dobjani, his commissioners and other officials and informed them about the Swedish experiences from a long time of Ombudsman work. Mid January 2001, an Albanian delegation visited the Parliamentary Ombudsmen for one week to study the working methods of the Swedish institution on the spot. Among the members of the delegation were the three commissioners, Mr. Agron Caushi, Mr. Jorgo Dhrami and Ms. Florina Nuni.
During the period November 2000 – January 2001,The Parliamentary Ombudsmen have also received several other visits from abroad. Among the visitors have been Mr. Antonius Sujata, Chief Ombudsman of Indonesia, Mr. Sergey Stepashin, Chairman of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, a delegation from the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) and a delegation of representatives of the Parliaments in 10 of the countries which are candidates for membership in the European Union.
Newsletter No. 23
Sweden, Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsmen
Work load
In November 2000, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen presented their annual report to Parliament. The report covers the period 1 July 1999 – 30 June 2000. The summary in English of the report contains the following information about the organization and the development of the workload.
During the period covered by the report, the following have held office as Parliamentary Ombudsmen: Mr. Claes Eklundh, who is Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman, Mr. Jan Pennlöv, Mrs. Kerstin André and Mr Nils-Olof Berggren (as from December 1, 1999). During a vacancy, Deputy Ombudsman Leif Ekberg has worked as acting ombudsman between August 23 and November 30, 1999. Moreover, Mr. Ekberg and Deputy Ombudsman Gunnel Norell Söderblom have handled and decided cases of supervision during a number of shorter periods.
Mr. Eklundh has supervised the courts of law, the public prosecution service and the police, while Mr. Pennlöv has dealt with matters concerning the prisons, the armed forces, taxation, customs, the execution of judgements, social insurance and chief guardians. Mrs. André has supervised the fields of social welfare, public health and medical care and education. A number of cases in this area have been handled and decided by Mrs. Norell Söderblom. Mr. Berggren and Mr. Ekberg, finally, have been responsible for the supervision of the administrative courts, building and construction, immigration, administration of foreign affairs, environmental protection, farming and protection of animals, labour market, and all additional aspects of civil administration not supervised by any other Parliamentary Ombudsman.
During the year, 4,739 new cases were registered with the Ombudsmen; 4,626 of them were complaints and other cases received (a decrease by 165 compared to the number of cases received during the previous year) and 113 were cases initiated by the Ombudsmen themselves on the basis of observations made during inspections, of newspaper reports or on other grounds.
It should be noted that the schedules overleaf show cases concluded during the period, not all cases lodged.
Schedule of cases initiated by the Ombudsmen and concluded during the period 1 July 1999–30 June 2000
| Activity concerned
| Closed without final criticism | Admonitions or other criticism | Prosecutions or disciplinary proceedings | Referred to other agencies or state organs | Proposal to Parliament or to the Government | Total |
| Courts | 3 | 7 | – | – | – | 10 |
| Public prosecutors | 2 | 12 | – | – | – | 14 |
| Police authorities | 4 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 35 |
| Armed forces | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Prison administration | 2 | 8 | - | – | – | 10 |
| Social welfare | 3 | 4 | - | – | – | 7 |
| Medical care | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | 2 |
| Social insurance | 2 | 9 | – | – | 1 | 12 |
| Labour market | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| Execution of judgements | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| Education, culture | – | 6 | – | – | – | 6 |
| Taxation, customs | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 2 |
| Environmental management, public health, protection of animals | 1 | 7 | – | – | – | 8 |
| Planning | 1 | 4 | – | – | – | 5 |
| Communications | – | 5 | – | – | – | 5 |
| Chief guardians | – | 5 | – | – | – | 5 |
| Access to official documents, Freedom of the press | 2 | 7 | – | – | – | 9 |
| Total | 22 | 103 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 133 |
Schedule of complaint cases concluded during the period 1 July 1999–30 June 2000
| Activity concerned | Dismissed without investigation | Referred to other agencies or state organs | No criticism after investigation | Admonitions or other criticism | Prosecutions or disciplinary proceedings | Preliminary investigation; no prosecution | Total |
| Courts of law | 145 | – | 181 | 15 | 1 | – | 342 |
| Administrative courts | 40 | – | 54 | 2 | – | – | 96 |
| Public prosecutors | 72 | 10 | 125 | 14 | – | – | 221 |
| Police authorities | 164 | 21 | 229 | 51 | – | 2 | 467 |
| Armed forces | 18 | – | 4 | 2 | – | – | 24 |
| Prison administration | 323 | – | 185 | 42 | – | – | 550 |
| Social welfare | 204 | 20 | 368 | 84 | – | – | 676 |
| Medical care | 94 | 9 | 108 | 25 | – | – | 236 |
| Social insurance | 141 | – | 83 | 76 | – | – | 300 |
| Labour market etc. | 46 | 22 | 56 | 25 | – | – | 149 |
| Planning | 41 | – | 37 | 24 | – | – | 102 |
| Execution of judgements | 99 | – | 50 | 13 | – | – | 162 |
| Local government | 53 | 1 | 28 | 8 | – | – | 90 |
| Communications | 96 | – | 41 | 13 | – | – | 150 |
| Taxation, customs | 101 | 1 | 51 | 45 | – | – | 198 |
| Education, culture | 76 | 8 | 86 | 25 | – | – | 195 |
| State Church | 9 | – | 1 | 3 | – | – | 13 |
| Chief guardians | 22 | – | 11 | 7 | – | – | 40 |
| Agriculture, environmental management, public health, protection of animals | 44 | – | 43 | 19 | – | – | 106 |
| Immigration | 40 | – | 23 | 6 | – | – | 69 |
| Other cases at County administrative boards, control of lotteries e.a. | 12 | – | 9 | – | – | – | 21 |
| Employment of civil servants etc. | 53 | – | 25 | 5 | – | – | 83 |
| Access to official documents, Freedom of the press | 91 | 1 | 119 | 96 | 1 | – | 308 |
| Administration of Parliamentary and foreign affairs; General elections | 23 | – | 8 | – | – | – | 31 |
| Miscellaneous | 35 | – | 28 | 6 | – | – | 69 |
| Complaints outside jurisdiction, complaints of obscure meaning | 100 | – | – | – | – | – | 100 |
| Total | 2,142 | 93 | 1,953 | 606 | 2 | 2 | 4,798 |
International cooperation
During the latest months, the Parliamentary Ombudsman Institution has cooperated with the People´s Advocate, the recently set up ombudsman institution of Albania, in order to assist the People´s Advocate establishing suitable working methods and routines. In October 2000 Marianne von der Esch, international coordinating officer, visited Tirana for one week, where she participated in a seminar arranged by the People´s Advocate, had practical discussions with Mr Ermir Dobjani, his commissioners and other officials and informed them about the Swedish experiences from a long time of Ombudsman work. Mid January 2001, an Albanian delegation visited the Parliamentary Ombudsmen for one week to study the working methods of the Swedish institution on the spot. Among the members of the delegation were the three commissioners, Mr. Agron Caushi, Mr. Jorgo Dhrami and Ms. Florina Nuni.
During the period November 2000 – January 2001,The Parliamentary Ombudsmen have also received several other visits from abroad. Among the visitors have been Mr. Antonius Sujata, Chief Ombudsman of Indonesia, Mr. Sergey Stepashin, Chairman of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, a delegation from the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) and a delegation of representatives of the Parliaments in 10 of the countries which are candidates for membership in the European Union.
