OMBUDSMAN REPORT
7
administrative actions of the Executive; and the limitation
of its power to recommendations addressed to competent legislative and executive organs."
The three principles to which reference is made in the above passage were in fact formulated at the conference by Sir Guy Powles, the New Zealand Parliamentary Commissioner.
From the pen of distinguished writers on the subject one is able to examine the variations in the system and the experience of those countries that have embraced it. An effort is made herein to extract the main features of the Ombudsman's office and how it operates, without going too deeply into its fascinating history and constitutional origins.
Main Features of System
The basic idea behind the creation of such an office is to protect the general and individual rights of the people against the abuse or misuse of power by the authorities and to watch the activities of the authorities to make sure that they adhere to the laws and statutes. Against the background of the society of that time, in the early 19th Century, this was a grand and revolutionary thought, namely, to institute an office, the holder of which, with the authority and con- fidence of the Parliament of the State and quite independent of the Government, would ensure that administrative authorities respected the rights of the citizens. This is especially true when considering that there was no precedent for such an office in other countries.
The powers of the Ombudsman include the authority to ask all civil servants for their co-operation; thus, all civil servants must give him any information required and conduct investigations which are considered necessary in each case. Further, the Ombudsman has access to all departmental files and records and is entitled to be present at all deliberations and decisions of administrative officials. In reality, those powers give opportunity to investigate wrong doings and to report on the truth derived from such investigations, and further, when this is called for, to prosecute or call for the prosecution of civil servants who have committed errors or shown negligence.