DRAFT
background note
Type 1 +
From
To:-
Telephone No. & Ext.
Department
The Ombudsman is a Scandinavian institution.
In Sweden the pattern of public administration, the
status of civil servants and the relationships between
Ministers and Tarliamont are materially different from
in those obtaining a Westminster type system of Government. However the Danish model (introduced in 1953) is more
readily capable of adaptation, for in Denmark the con-
stitutional structure bears a farly close resemblance
to that of Britain. When New Zealand became the first
Commonwealth country to appoint an Ombudsman (in
pursuance of the Parliamentary Commission (Ombudsman) Act, 1962), it drew heavily on Danish experience.
2. An Ombudsman (known as the Parliamentary
Commissioner for Administration) was appointed in the
United Kingdom in 1967. A copy of the White Paper (Command 2767) setting out the duties and functions of
the Parliamentary Commissioner in the United Kingdom is
attached.
3. No Ombudsman or Parliamentary Commissioner has bec
appointed in any of the Dependent Territories although
the Constitutions of certain territories have made
provision for such an appointment on the attainment of
independence e.g. Mauritius and Guyana. New Zealand was
the first Commonwealth country to appoint an Ombudsman.
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