Complaints?
The National Ombudsman investigates complaints brought to him by members of the public.
About the National Ombudsman of the Netherlands
The National Ombudsman of the Netherlands is independent and impartial. Alex Brenninkmeijer is the current National Ombudsman, but he has an Office with around 170 members of staff to assist him. His job is to help individual citizens who are experiencing problems with government and to explain to administrative authorities (i.e. government bodies) how they can do things better. Where appropriate, the National Ombudsman responds to problems or complaints by launching investigations. By law, all parties concerned have to cooperate with these.
The first step: complain to the authority itself, The National Ombudsman is a 'fall-back provision'. If you have a complaint, the first step is to complain to the administrative authority itself. The National Ombudsman can only deal with your complaint if you and the administrative authority have failed to settle the matter together.
What he can and can't do (powers)
The law says exactly what the National Ombudsman can and can't do. The Netherlands has a special National Ombudsman Act (Wet Nationale ombudsman). In addition, the work of the National Ombudsman's Office is covered by the Dutch General Administrative Law Act (Algemene wet bestuursrecht) and the existence of the National Ombudsman is guaranteed by the Dutch Constitution (Chapter 4, Article 78a).
The National Ombudsman investigates complaints brought to him by members of the public. He can also launch investigations on his own initiative. His remit includes almost the entire machinery of government: not just the ministries and their different sections, but also other administrative authorities (like the Social Insurance Bank and the Information Management Group), the police, the water authorities, the provinces and many municipalities.
Only about powers
The National Ombudsman cannot deal with complaints about government policy or the content of laws. Complaints have to concern the actions of administrative authorities (i.e. the way they do their job). For example, that it has taken too long to deal with a letter or request. Or that the complainant has received no response to a question. Or that a law has been wrongly applied.
If it is possible for the individual to appeal to the administrative authority itself, the National Ombudsman must refer him or her to that body.
Authority rather than power
The National Ombudsman's decisions, recommendations and reports are not legally enforceable. However, the National Ombudsman has extensive investigative powers. By law, both administrative authorities and witnesses have to cooperate with his investigations. The Ombudsman can even have witnesses picked up from their homes to take part in an investigation. He investigates the facts, reaches well-argued decisions and issues clear, readable reports. The National Ombudsman owes much of his authority to the meticulous way in which he works.
The Office: 170 support workers The National Ombudsman is assisted by around 170 support workers. Many of them are lawyers. They are divided into eight different investigation teams, each assigned to one of the following areas:
Ministries Tax Police and Justice (North) Police and Justice (south) Decentralised Authorities Alien Affairs and Young People Social Security and Education Large-Scale Investigations. The Front Office deals with telephone and e-mail enquires from members of the public, while the remaining departments (Central Services, ICT, secretariats, Communications & Library, Policy and Advice, and Personnel and Finance) support the work of the Office in other ways.