TNAG-0106-FCO40-142-Proposals-to-appoint-an-Ombudsman-1969 — Page 40

OCTOBER 90. 1969

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FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW

HONGKONG AFFAIRS

OMBUDSMAN REVIEWED

THE pros and cons of an ombudsman still need examination but it seems doubtful whether the right questions and answers will be forthcoming. The cold water poured on the idea through the Legislative Council has hardened the attitude of critics and enabled them to brand opposition to the scheme as coming from a government which wants no challenge to its authority. If ever there was a case for mediation, it would scem to be between the two sides in this debate

a government which doubts the value of such an office and an array of urban councillors, liberal- inclined lawyers and pressure groups which seem to have an almost vested in- terest in administrative change.

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The case for reappraisal of the Justice report is strong though this does not in- validate the case for a commissioner. Is Hongkong's legal system so inadequate that an ombudsman office is needed to "safeguard fundamental rights and free- doms" as Justice asserts? And if this is not really what the authors of the report meant, then why did they not elaborate on the legal "grey zones" within which their ombudsman protege presumably would operate? Hongkong is not a place to accept new administra- tive methods merely because of their novelty or success under conditions else- where. The onus is on ombudsman supporters to prove the need and to be specific about what their man would do.

Existing channels for settling grie- vances inadequate though they are may provide some guide to the role the commissioner would be required to play. UMELCO and the CDOs may or may

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not be thought of as instruments of government in the public mind but mat- ters brought to their attention surely are worth study. For the CDOs, the main problems have been housing and domes- tic disputes; there is a similar pattern for urban councillors under the ward system. In three months this year, 454 of 851 cases brought before them con- cerned housing while the second major category was hawking (115 cases). It can be assumed then that domestic dis- putes, housing and hawking matters will take up a major part of the ombuds- man's time if he is intent on serving those in need. Is this an area in which a "commissioner for comforting and pro- tecting people" with his legal authority and his investigation staff would func- tion better than CDOs or urban coun- cillors responsible for housing and hawk- er policy?

The shortcomings in the present ma- chinery are evident. The Urbco ward system is a patchwork affair functioning better in certain districts than in others. The CDOs inevitably are bound by their status as government servants. UMELCO is staffed by appointees who can hardly be seen as guardians of the public interest. An ombudsman, with his independent position; power to in- vestigate formal complaints and to probe on his own initiative, would seem to have vital work to do.

But there are several imponderables. The commissioner presumably will have to gain a broader base for his work than merely ministering to the hawkers and the illhoused. To do this, he must be come the focus for a different pattern

of complaint than those presented to the CDO's and urban councillors. His pres- tige and the personal touch which can be brought to investigation of grievances may ensure that a whole range of cases concerning administrative abuse are put before him.

As the REVIEW has already pointed out, there is a strong tendency in Hong- kong society to try to sidestep officialdom in settling its differences with authorities

and this often leads to corruption. And it cannot be denied that the Hong- kong civil servant is regarded by the citizen ignorant of his rights and there are many of them as something to be feared, kin to the old mandarin of Imperial China.

Forg

Certainly cases of injustice arising from government 'decisions can occur no less frequently in Hongkong than else- where and this seems a compelling ar gument in favour of the commissioner. The attempt to strengthen UMELCO by the appointment of an administrative secretary is irrelevant to this need as is the claim that "unofficials" are not ham- pered in investigating cases brought to their notice. To look after its interests the public needs a more powerful pallia- tive than the "unofficials". And it needs government to grant sufficient_legal powers to a commissioner to make his work effective. It can be argued that it is in the government's interest to back an independent ombudsman since offi- cialdom can be proved right as well as wrong by his findings. The public still awaits proof that an ombudsman could be effective in solving specific problems but this is no bar to appointment.

HKK 1/8