The need for an ombudsman

Abstract

In September, 1962 the New Zealand Parliament passed the Parliamentary Commissioner (Ombudsman) Act, thereby creating within New Zealand the Office of a public official commonly known as the Ombudsman. This step was significant in a number of ways. It marked for the first time the establishment of the office of Ombudsman in a Country outside of that part of the world where such an office, as we know it, originated. The Swedes were the first to create this Office, early in the nineteenth century, and thus it is not surprising that the name 'Ombudsman' is Swedish. Since then the Office has been established in the other Scandinavian Countries - Denmark, Norway and Finland. In addition West Germany has a military Ombudsman. As will be seen later there has been no inherent reason why the office should have been so common to this part of the world; it is clear that the reasons for the establishment of such office are political, rather than geographical or racial; and the appearance of this office of relatively recent times does not mark the emergence of a new political concept, for it is merely a different form of political office which can be traced back at least to the Roman Republic Sawer, Ombudsman p8.