The main purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which, through the performance of (indirect) normative functions and the application of principles of good governance as assessment standards, the ombudsman institution can contribute to improving the legal quality of the government while enhancing the legitimacy of the administration and the democratic system as a whole.The study is conducted from a comparative perspective, exploring the performance of the Dutch, UK, Spanish and Peruvian Ombudsmen. They are analysed with the aim to determine how far these ombudsmen, although of different types and belonging to different legal traditions, share the same values and apply similar normative standards that can be traced back to principles of good governance. The Peruvian ombudsman is examined as a case study of the institutions evolving role in new democracies in Latin America. This reflects the wider process of the ombudsman 's hybridisation worldwide, and how its functions and assessment standards have been adapted to the evolution of the constitutional state, not least through application of the principles of good governance, which operate at the constitutional level, as a new source of legitimacy.By primarily focusing on the steering function regarding the promotion of good administration rather than the protective function of the institution, the study concludes that the ombudsmans activities result in changed and improved public administration, which are often underappreciated in the legal literature. The legal approach to good governance provides the conceptual framework for evaluating the performance of the institution.

This book uses comparative law and comparative international law approaches to explore the role of human rights ombuds, classic-based ombuds and other types of ombuds institutions in human rights protection and promotion, their methods of application of international and domestic human rights law and their roles in strengthening good governance. It highlights the increasing importance of national human rights ombuds institutions globally and their roles as national human rights institutions (NHRIs).

This book aims to show that a strong and achieving public service is a necessary condition for a competitively successful nation. The concept of good governance is linked with institutionalised values such as democracy, observance of human rights and greater effectiveness of the public sector.

This book explores the ombudsman as a global institution. It has spread all over the world and its institutional development is increasingly being governed transnationally. Initially an institution of administrative law, the ombudsman has become a human rights institution and institution of good governance. These ideational shifts have influenced the global diffusion of the ombudsman but also the way in which this institution of accountability functions. The ombudsman is a peculiar institution of public accountability - both an institution and individual - that observes changes in the general political climate and engages in renegotiations of its intra-institutional position. The global models associated with the ombudsman are a source of organizational ideas, legitimacy, and sense of orientation, but they treat institutional actors differently, working also as mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion. The book tracks the global diffusion and institutional evolution of the ombudsman. Its chapters on institutional cases further explore the joint institutional history of the Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Chancellor of Justice in Finland, and the European Ombudsman.

This book explores the creation, development, and impact of the concept of 'good governance'. It argues that, alongside the ideas of the rule of law and democracy, good governance acts as a third conceptual cornerstone of the modern state. Good governance can be viewed as a multilevel concept influenced by regional and international legal developments while being grounded in national administrative law. The book presents six principles of good governance: properness, transparency, participation, effectiveness, accountability, and human rights. The development of each of these principles on the national level is explored in a wide range of European contexts, and in Australia, Canada, and South Africa. As well as offering a fully up-to-date and comprehensive overview of administrative law in different jurisdictions, the book compares the implementation of the principles of good governance, taking into account international and European administrative law developments.

This book uses comparative law and comparative international law approaches to explore the role of human rights ombuds, classic-based ombuds and other types of ombuds institutions in human rights protection and promotion, their methods of application of international and domestic human rights law and their roles in strengthening good governance. It highlights the increasing importance of national human rights ombuds institutions globally and their roles as national human rights institutions (NHRIs). Chapters address: ombuds institutions as mechanisms to strengthen democratic, horizontal and vertical accountability, the rule of law and good governance; national human rights ombuds institutions as NHRIs; the investigatory, litigation, promotional and other powers of human rights and classic-based ombuds and their methods for applying international and domestic human rights law; ombuds institutions and the protection and promotion of international children's rights; national human rights ombuds additional mandates as OPCAT national preventive mechanisms, UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Article 33(2) framework mechanisms and EU national equality bodies; human rights ombuds and business and human rights; ombuds institutions, gender and women's rights; the European Ombudsman and human rights; national human rights ombuds and other ombuds models by region, accompanied by case studies on national human rights ombuds; and the legal and extra-legal factors affecting ombuds institutional effectiveness.

This study investigates the role of the ombudsman as a promotor of good governance. It is based on case studies from three Balkan countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. The main question is how the performance of National Ombudsman as a promoter of good governance can be improved. Although good governance comprises nine different principles, the main focus is set on accountability. Comparing the effective or ineffective performance of the ombudsman in three countries leads to the conclusion that the degree of influence depends on several factors: the existence of a minimum level of democratic governance, the co-operation of the government with the Institution, the independence of the Institution and the financial resources. Despite the fact that the current study has been based on case studies from three countries, it is likely that main conclusions can be applied to other Balkan countries which share the history of transition democracies.