The Ombudsman decides – based on the material in the individual case, meaning the complaint and the attached documents – what a complaint gives occasion to do.
A complainant is not entitled to have their case investigated by the Ombudsman, even if the general conditions for complaining are met.
What criteria can the Ombudsman emphasise?
When the Ombudsman determines whether a complaint should be investigated, he emphasises, among other things, the extent to which there is any prospect that an Ombudsman investigation would be able to help the complainant reach a different outcome.
In that connection, the decision may be affected by, for instance
- the case containing issues that rely on a special expert assessment of which the Ombudsman cannot make a qualified assessment – examples could be medical or technical issues
- the Ombudsman institution not being suited for clarifying questions of evidence, meaning questions where it is one person’s claim against another’s. The Ombudsman processes complaints on a written basis and cannot normally question witnesses.
Examples of other matters that may affect whether the Ombudsman will enter a case:
- Is it clear what the complaint is about? Read what a complaint must contain
- Has the authority already rectified what the complaint is about?
- Does the case concern a significant or fundamental legal issue, and could the assessment of the issue affect more people?
- Are the legal issues that the complaint raises more suited to being processed in a more general investigation? Read about own-initiative investigations
Furthermore, consistent with standard practice, the Ombudsman generally does not investigate complaints about the case processing in concrete cases unless he also investigates the decision in the case.
The complaint case is closed without a detailed investigation
If the Ombudsman decides not to investigate the case, it is closed with a brief letter to the complainant with a reference to Section 16(1) of the Ombudsman Act.
The Ombudsman sometimes finds it most appropriate to forward the complaint to an authority so that the authority gets an opportunity to respond to the complainant. In those cases, the Ombudsman closes the case with a letter to the complainant stating that he has forwarded the complaint.
