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| Sunday, 5 June 2005 |
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Features |  |
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Consumer Ombudsman : Ombudsman schemes in Sri Lanka by National Consumer Watch This week as promised we devote our Consumer Ombudsman Column to the several Ombudsman Schemes in operation in Sri Lanka. For the knowledge of our readers we may start by asking the question 'what or who is an Ombudsman'? The dictionary meaning of the term Ombudsman is 'a government official appointed to investigate complaints made by individuals against the government or public bodies'. According to the dictionary, the origin of the word is Swedish-from umboth (commission) plus mathr (man). Historically, the modern office of 'Ombudsman' can be traced to the establishment of such an office in Sweden in 1809. From Sweden, the Ombudsman concept was copied in other Scandinavian countries like Finland, Denmark and Norway and over the last two hundred years Ombudsman schemes came to be established globally in most countries. Studies conducted by the National Consumer Watch show that in developed countries like the United States, Canada, England, Australia etc, wherever large scale consumer services are provided, the Ombudsmen have been appointed to overlook these services. Thus, in these developed nations we have Ombudsmen for banking, insurance, superannuation(pension), water supply, electricity, telecommunications etc. Some Ombudsmen are appointed by the state but most Ombudsmen are appointed and funded by the service providers themselves. All the schemes whether statutory or non-statutory are functioning well. Coming to Sri Lanka, during the reign of the Sinhalese Kings, there was a senior and trusted official in the King's Palace called 'The Dukganna Rala' which in translation means 'The Person who receives or hears complaints'. However it is generally believed that this high official listened to and provided whatever relief he could only to the complaints and requests of the King and not his subjects. Thus, it appears that the office of 'Dukganna Rala' was not meant for the average citizen. In modern times, Sri Lanka's first Ombudsman was established by the 1978 Constitution. Article 156 of our Constitution established 'the office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman)' He is popularly referred to as the Parliamentary Ombudsman. Since 1978, two legislative enactments were made relating to the office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman. These were as follows:- i). Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration Act.No. 17 of 1981, and ii). Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Amendment) Act No.26 of 1994. Under the law now applicable, the Parliamentary Ombudsman is appointed by the President and can continue in office until he reaches 68 years unless he resigns or is removed by the President on account of illness or mental incapacity. Like in the case of a Supreme Court Judge, he can also be removed by an address in Parliament. Thus, the Parliamentary Ombudsman's independence is assured. His functions and powers are contained in the two Acts of Parliament referred to above. His main duty is: The word 'injustice' is defined broadly in the legislation to include any injustice caused by any decisions/recommendation (including a recommendation to a Minister) or by any act or omission and the infringement of any right recognized by the Constitution. The following areas of injustice are however excluded from the Parliamentary Ombudsmen's powers and terms of reference. Thus he cannot inquire into any matters relating to (a) Members of the Armed Forces or the Police (b) The appointment, transfer, dismissal or disciplinary control of public officers (c) The staff of the Auditor-General and the Election Commissioner's Office. Initially, the Parliamentary Ombudsman could only investigate complaints referred to him by Parliament but the 1994 amending legislation permitted direct complaints to the Ombudsman. As a result, there was a phenomenal increase in the Ombudsman's workload. The legislation provides for a Deputy Ombudsman but no such appointment has been made upto date. The Parliamentary Ombudsman has no power to compel the public official or the public sector institution he investigate into to take action in response to his findings. It is also relevant to note that the Ombudsman cannot be sued for any act or omission. The Ombudsman and his staff must also maintain full secrecy in their work. Since the office was established in 1981, three Parliamentary Ombudsmen have officiated. The first Ombudsman was S.S. Wijesinghe the former Commissioner-General of Parliament, the second was Professor Bertram Bastianpillai, a University Professor and the current Ombudsman (in 2004) is Justice Dr. Ranjith Ranaraja, a retired judge of the court of Appeal. In next weeks' column we'll outline for the benefit of our readers the other Ombudsmen schemes now operating in Sri Lanka like the Financial Ombudsman and the Insurance Ombudsman. The National Consumer Watch which was established in 1994 invites responses to 143 A, Vajira Road, Colombo 5.
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