IN the Swedish process of law, the protection of the rights of individuals in their contacts with authorities is fundamental. In this context the Swedish Ombudsman system is a guarantee against oppressive measures and misgovernment in the judiciary and public administration.

The word "Ombudsman' has been derived from the Swedish word "ombud", which in the Swedish language commonly denotes a person who acts as a spokesman or representative of another person or persons. It is a public officer entrusted with the power to investigate public grievances. Its supervision covers all central and local government agencies and their staff. The powers of the Parliamentary Ombudsman are to supervise the observance of laws by judges, government officials and other civil servants employees and to advise or prosecute officials who have acted illegally or have neglected their duties.

The Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO) is appointed by the Parliament and helps to maintain public confidence in the activities of the courts and in the Public Administration. We also have an Ombudsman for Military Affairs to ensure that statutes, regulations and rules are observed by the officers.

Other Ombudsmen exist in a number of special areas. These are appointed by the Government - (and are accordingly subject to the supervision of the Parliamentary Ombudsman) - and they have similar duties of surveillance, each in a particular sphere such as Consumer Ombudsman, The Equal Opportunities Ombudsman, the Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination, the Children's Ombudsman, the Office of the Disability Ombudsman. There is also a Press Ombudsman who, rather than being a public institution, is sponsored by media.

Sweden was the first country to establish the office of Ombudsman. It dates back to 1809, created by the constitution. It was originally established to provide the Parliament (Riksdag) with the means of supervising compliance with laws and ordinances by all judges, civil servants and military officers.

It took more than 100 years until some other countries followed suit - first in Finland in 1919, Denmark in 1954 and Norway in 1960. In 1962 New Zealand became the first Commonwealth country to establish an office of the Ombudsman. In 1966 Tanzania became the first African country with the name "Permanent Commission of Enquiry". Today we find similar institutions in a large number of countries.

Why was the institution established?
I have asked myself why such an institution was established in Sweden at such an early date. When we discuss institutional development they can hardly be separated from the socio-economic context within which they were created or where they operate.

Throughout the 17th-18th centuries, domestic politics were dominated by a power struggle between the king and the aristocracy. With the death of King Karl XII - and the fall of the Swedish "empire" - there was an almost total change in the mode of Government. "Here everyone is behaving like flies that have survived the winter and come to life again" we read in a letter describing the political activity at that time. During the following decades of what we call "The age of Freedom" (1719-1772) The Parliament gradually grew into a strong constitutional position. We had a somewhat unique feature in Sweden at that time with more than 50% of landowner self-owning farmers or peasants forming their own association and party. The emerging division of interests was a crucial basis for the enhancement of the role of the Parliament as the focal arena for debate and consultations on vital national issues. Despite autocratic interventions by the kings, the Parliament alone controlled the state's finances and had exclusive control of legislation. And not only this. It also exerted its sway over foreign policy through its Secret Commission. At any moment it could also intervene in the administration or the judiciary.

In 1809, Parliament was summoned and worked out and adopted a new constitution. Based partly on Montesquie's ideas, partly on indigenous experiences from the Age of Freedom, the 1809 Constitution distributed the power between king, Council or Government and Parliament. Sweden became a constitutional monarchy. The institution of Ombudsman became an important body to provide the Parliament with a means of supervising compliance with laws and ordinances by all judges, civil servants and military officers.

How does it function?
The Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO) covers all central and local government agencies and bodies. It is not intend to supervise Cabinet Ministers or members of Parliament. There are special Standing Constitutional Committees dealing with that. There are four Parliamentary Ombudsmen elected for four-year periods. One of them is responsible for administration and focus of its activities.

Anyone who feels that he or she has been wronged may submit a written complaint to the JO. Some 5,000 such complaints are handled each year. About 40% of these usually prove at an early stage to be unfounded, and can therefore be summarily dealt with.

The Parliament has empowered the Ombudsman (JO) with full discretion to decide which cases to investigate. It has also been authorised to refer to other agencies cases that are more appropriately dealt with there.

The JO concentrates on those that are significant in the sense that they involve striking a just balance between the claims of the community and the freedom of the individual. Many of the complaints come from people caught on a bureaucratic "merry-go-round", a vicious circle. The aggrieved citizens may lodge complaints with the Ombudsman, but he can also proceed upon his own motion through any other means.

It is the JO's duty to inspect, from time to time, authorities under their supervision. Frequent inspections have been made of central government agencies, courts, prisons, the police etc. The JO also pursue long-term investigations. The power over the court is specially interesting as we also have the principle of independence of judiciary. JO is not concerned with contents of the court's decision but rather with the question of whether a judge has acted illegally and violated its mandate.

When the JO find that an error has been made, but one of such seriousness as to entail punitive or disciplinary consequences, the JO may issue critical statements of opinion. These, containing more or less serious criticism, usually feature in some 600 JO decisions annually. That represents about one-fourth of the investigations.

One of the duties is to present an annual report to the Parliament. The report contains an account of the work done and the investigations carried out. It is entitled to draw to the attention of the Parliament or the Government inconsistencies, gaps or other shortcomings in the regulatory and administrative system that has come to light during the investigations. It could result in an amendment of a law or ordinance. The report is examined by one of the Standing Parliamentary Committees. After examining the contents on a spot-check basis, the committee presents a statement of opinion to the Parliament. The mass media may also be said to exercise control over the JO, since they often take up controversial cases for debate.

Other Ombudsman Institutions
Just a few comments on the other Ombudsman institutions:

The Consumer Ombudsman took office in 1971 with the duty to ensure that "The Marketing Act" and "The Unfair Contract Terms Act" are followed to protect the consumer.

The Swedish Children's Ombudsman watches over juvenile rights and interests. The basis of this work is the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child and to ensure that Sweden fulfills its obligations.

The Equal Opportunities Ombudsman was established in 1980 the same year in which the Act concerning Equality between Men and Women at Work came into force. The purpose of the Act is to promote equal rights and opportunities for men and women with regard to work and terms of employment.

The Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination was established in 1986. Ethnic discrimination is in the Act defined as when a person or group of persons is treated unfairly, compared to others, because of race, skin, colour, national or ethnic origin or religious faith.

The Office of the Disability Ombudsman aims to work for the rights and interests of persons with functional disabilities, to promote their full participation in society.

The Press Ombudsman is entirely voluntary and wholly financed by the three press organisations. The National Press Club, the Union of Journalists, the Newspaper Publisher's Association. These organisations are also responsible for drawing up Sweden's Code of Ethics for the press television and radio. The purpose is to establish a self-regulatory system. The Swedish Press Council founded in 1916, is the oldest tribunal of its kind in the world. A newspaper that has been found to contravene good press practice is expected to publish the findings of the Press Council. It may also have to pay an administrative fee.

Important ingredients and features
Which are the important ingredients or features for the Ombudsman to pay such a role?

It has a high degree of independence from executive intervention. It enjoys full freedom in regard of investigations. It is being manned by people of outstanding merits and integrity to ensure trust in its operations.

It has powers of investigation - to have access to and investigate any documents and other material - to give strength and credibility of the investigation. It has the power to recommend - not to enforce changes - but the system of transparency and credibility will give the recommendation high weight.

In its annual report it can provide the people (mainly thorough the media) and the Parliament with adequate information, not least to clarity general expectations of the bureaucracy in its dealings with citizens.

The concept of Ombudsman originated in Sweden. Now the institution has been adopted in many parts of the world, irrespective of social, economic, demographic, legal or political diversities among these countries. The primary duty is to fight against maladministration. The fundamental function is to ensure transparency and accountability and efficiency - all vital ingredients of Good Governance.

The writer is honourable Ambassador of Sweden to Bangladesh. This is the full text of his speech delivered at the British-Bangla Law Week (29 November-5 December 1998) organised by the British Council, Bangladesh.