WHAT IS OMBUDSMAN?

A Philosophical Reflection on a Supervision Concept

By Reza Aref

PhD in Philosophy

Tehran 2021

A look at the Ombudsmen of different countries shows there are similarities among them which in the terminology of some philosophers such as Wittgenstein, are called the Family Resemblance.This kind of similarity makes it impossible to provide a comprehensive definition of all instances. To better understand Family Resemblance, the "Window" concept can be used as an example.If one wants to define the "window", there is no single common denominator among windows that can be used to provide a definition that is a discriminator of the window from the door and can be used to distinguish the difference between doors and windows.

Our understanding shows that there are types of "windows", including glassy, woody, metallic windows, above ground levelwindows, equal to the ground level windows, smaller windows or larger than the "door", the windows that are the same size as the "door", input and exit windows, and …, which a door can also have each of these features.Then you can still ask what is the commonality among the windows and what is the difference between the windows and the doors?

The situation is the same about the definition of ombudsman, and therefore there is no consensus, but in order to clarify the matter and advance the supervision of society, it is necessary to determine the meaning of ombudsman by a stipulative definition, so I say it is:

"an independent official position available to the public, established based on the rule of law by one of the main organs of the government, headed by an independent high-ranking official, with the aim of not only overseeing the performance of government bodies but also playing a complementary role for the courts in disputes between the people and the government, backed by its legal immunity from threats and pressures,  using tools such as the Parliamentary Tribune, public opinion, the media, and non-binding recommendations, to pursue people"s complaints, at high speed while avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy and formalities, through non-judicial mediation, in a peaceful, cost-effective, flexible, and elderly manner and it is accountable just to the parliament, the legislature, or the government." 

The above definition includes the basics, philosophy of the establishment, establisher, the position of the manager, duties, the degree of authority, methods, tools, and other characteristics of the Ombudsman.  

Although ombudsmen all together have the above characteristics, it is not the case that each one alone has all the characteristics. For example, some of the ombudsmen may not be accountable to parliament or the legislature but may report to another authority. Or, for example, some of the ombudsmen are even allowed to issue court rulings, and their activities are not limited to non-judicial and the mediation of elderly manner. However, in order to advance community oversight, we consider the above definition to be comprehensive.