Questions and answers

When can I complain to the Parliamentary Ombudsman?
Is there a time limit for complaining to the Parliamentary Ombudsman?
Who can complain?
How do I write a complaint?
How will the complaint be handled?
What can the Parliamentary Ombudsman do?
What type of issues does the Parliamentary Ombudsman take on?
How long does it take to process a complaint?

When can I complain to the Parliamentary Ombudsman?

Before a complaint is submitted to the Ombudsman the public administration must be given the opportunity to rectify the matter in question and to reach a final decision. If the complaint concerns an administrative decision, there will in many cases be a supervisory body with the power to review the decision. If so, this channel of appeal must be exhausted before you lodge a complaint with the Parliamentary Ombudsman. For example, a National Insurance decision must generally first have been appealed to the National Social Insurance Court and a decision in a building case or a social security case must first have been appealed to the County Governor. If after the appeal case has been decided with final effect you still believe that an error or injustice has been committed, you may file a complaint with us.

Is there a time limit for complaining to the Parliamentary Ombudsman?

Yes. The complaint must be filed no later than one year after the final decision in the case was adopted by the administrative authority in question or from the time of the event to which the complaint applies. Deviations from this rule are permitted only in special cases.
 

Who can complain?

Any person who believes they have been subjected to an injustice or an error by the public authorities may complain to the Ombudsman. However, the complainant must personally have been the subject of the error or negligence. The Parliamentary Ombudsman will not normally consider cases involving third parties only.

However, there is nothing to prevent someone from submitting a complaint on your behalf. If so, a power of attorney must be enclosed stating clearly that you have granted the person in question the authority to complain to the Parliamentary Ombudsman on your behalf.

An organisation may complain to the Ombudsman on behalf of a member. In these cases the member concerned should countersign the complaint. Alternatively, a written power of attorney should accompany the complaint.

People who have been deprived of their personal liberty, e.g. prison inmates, have the right to complain to the Ombudsman in a sealed letter, i.e. a letter that cannot be censored by the institution in question.

How do I write a complaint?

It is important that you describe as precisely as possible the public administration agency (local council, directorate, ministry etc.) to which the complaint applies. You must also give your grounds for the complaint by explaining the fault or injustice that you believe the agency has committed. Normally it will not be necessary to write more than a page or two.

If your complaint concerns a specific decision that you believe to be incorrect, you must state the date of the decision and preferably attach a copy of the decision. You should also enclose any other letters and photographs or maps that you believe might illuminate your case. However, the office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman will be able to obtain the documents in the case from the public administration agency in question.

If you find it difficult to write a complaint, contact the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s office and request assistance from one of his staff. Assistance is available by telephone or you can ask to make an appointment. If so, the time and date must be agreed in advance.

How will the complaint be handled?

As soon as it comes in, your complaint will be passed on to an executive officer who will review the complaint and determine whether or not it can be investigated by the Parliamentary Ombudsman. If the case cannot be investigated, for example because it was not submitted within the due time or because you have not taken full advantage of your right to appeal to a higher public administration agency, you will be informed within two weeks. We will, in any event, send you a provisional answer within two weeks telling you when you can expect to receive further information from us.

We will then consider whether there are grounds for raising the matter with the public administration agency in question. Normally this assessment will take between four and ten weeks. If grounds do exist for further action, we will write a letter to the public administration agency in question requesting their comments on the complaint. We will often also put specific questions to the agency. As a general rule the public administration agency will be given four weeks to reply. When we receive the reply, you will have an opportunity to comment on it.

If we can find no grounds for proceeding with the complaint, we will write to you giving our reasons.

Finally (in cases which have been taken up for closer review) the Ombudsman will give an opinion on the case. He may point out that a public administration agency or a civil servant has committed an error or been negligent. Alternatively, the conclusion of the Ombudsman’s investigation may be that no error has been committed. Moreover he may order the public administration agency to rectify the fault, negligence or unfairness, for example by reconsidering your case. Nevertheless, the Parliamentary Ombudsman does not have the power to adopt binding decisions or to reverse decisions made by the administration. In most cases the authorities comply with the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s recommendations or requests.

Further information on the processing of a complaint can be found here

 What can the Ombudsman do?

The Ombudsman can express his opinion on matters that fall within his mandate. In other words, investigations conducted by the Ombudsman may result in censure of and requests and recommendations to the public authorities. The Ombudsman may point out that errors or negligence have been committed by a public administration agency or a civil servant. He may also request that the public administration agency in question rectify the error, negligence or unfairness.

Nevertheless, the Parliamentary Ombudsman does not have the authority to adopt binding decisions or to reverse decisions made by the administration. Nor does he have the power to issue legally binding instructions to the authorities. In practice, however, the authorities comply with the requests and recommendations of the Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman has only limited powers to criticise discretionary decisions adopted by the public authorities.
The Ombudsman may also draw attention to shortcomings in statutes, regulations and administrative practice.
 

What type of issues does the Parliamentary Ombudsman take on?

The Parliamentary Ombudsman has the power to investigate most types of cases and circumstances that have been considered and decided by public authorities.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman cannot review

• cases that have been decided by the Storting or the Odelsting
• decisions made by the King in Council of State
• the activities of the courts, including the administrative duties of the offices of the courts and decisions that under specific statutory provisions may be brought before the courts in appeals, complaints or other legal remedies, e.g. distraint or compulsory deductions from salary
• the business of the Office of the Auditor General
• matters that fall within the remit of the Ombudsman for National Defence or the Ombudsman for Civilian Conscripts

How long does it take to process a complaint?

The time required will depend on whether grounds are found for a detailed investigation to be conducted. You will hear from us no later than two weeks after we receive your complaint. Further details on the

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