Annual report 2009
The complaints filed this year raise three major concerns:
- Unequal treatment: Efforts to modernise the administrative authorities do not take sufficient account of the unequal access of citizens to new technologies. Some discrimination results from the regulations themselves. At times, they are the last trace of a past society…
- The administrative authorities at times fail to comply with the law themselves: When the regulations are inadequate to deal with new or unforeseen situations, the administrative authorities take initiatives on occasion that depart from the law without waiting for the recommended reforms to enter into force – with unacceptable consequences for the fundamental rights of the citizens.
- The citizens expect greater proactivity and communication from the administrative authorities when they do not succeed in honouring their commitments: The automation and rationalization of procedures, as well as the multiple number of intervening parties in certain procedures, do not leave enough room for dialogue between the administrative authorities and the citizens.
The total number of new case files in 2009 amounted to 6,500. This is the highest number of new files registered since the office of the Federal Ombudsman was created thirteen years ago. It is worth noting a slight increase in the proportion of requests for information in 2009.
This year, the institution made 8 recommendations to the administrative authorities and submitted 4 recommendations to Parliament.
Take a look at the annual report 2009.