Ombudsman services by country

The People's Advocate (ombudsman) of the Republic of Albania () was envisaged in Chapter VI of the Albanian Constitution approved in November 1998 (articles 60–63 and 134). Article 60 states that "The People's Advocate defends the rights, freedoms and lawful interests of individuals from unlawful or improper actions or failures to act of the organs of public administration". The Parliament passed the Law on the People's Advocate, Law No. 8454, in February 1999. The People's Advocate is elected by three-fifths of all members of the Assembly for a five-year period, with the right of re-election. The Law has since been amended by Law No. 8600, of 10 April 2000, and Law No. 9398, of 12 May 2005. The current Ombudsman is Erinda Ballanca, elected on 22 May 2017, succeeding Igli Totozani, elected on 23 December 2011, and Dr Emir Dobjani who had served since February 2000. == Andorra ==

In the Principality of Andorra, the ombudsman is called . == Argentina ==

The (''The People's Defender of The Nation of Argentina''), established in Article 86 of the Constitution, is an independent body related to the Argentine National Congress with functional autonomy, as it does not receive instructions from any authority and enjoys same immunities and privileges as a legislator. The principal functions are, first, the defense of human rights and other rights, guarantees, and interests protected by the Constitution, to acts or omissions of public administration, and secondly, the control of public administrative functions. By law, the Defender should be elected by the vote of 2/3 of the members present in each branch of Congress for a period of five years and may be reappointed. However, no replacement was elected to fill the position, when the period of office ran out for the last person actually holding the office, Eduardo René Mondino, in 2008. Thus, the position has been vacant since 2009. == Armenia ==

The office of the Human Rights Defender, or Ombudsman, of Armenia was created through legislation in October 2003. The Human Rights Defender describes the goal of the office as the protection and restoration of human rights and fundamental freedoms. It also receives citizen complaints against state and local officials. In February 2004, Larisa Alaverdyan was appointed to the office by presidential decree. The second ombudsman was Armen Harutyunyan, who was elected by the National Assembly under article 83.1 of the Constitution on 17 February 2006, obtaining more than 3/5 votes of deputies. Karen Andreasyan was the third Human Rights Defender of Armenia. On 2 March 2011, the National Assembly elected the new Ombudsman, with 83 parliamentarians voting for and 13 against. Karen Andreasyan assumed his responsibilities as Human Rights Defender of Armenia on 3 March 2011. The fourth Ombudsman, Arman Tatoyan, was elected by the National Assembly in February 2016. Tatoyan was the former deputy Minister of Justice. Since 24 January 2022, Kristinne Grigoryan was elected as the fifth Human Rights Defender of Armenia by the National Assembly. == Australia ==

The first ombudsman created in Australia was the Western Australian Ombudsman in 1971, followed shortly by the South Australian Ombudsman in 1972 and the Victorian Ombudsman in 1973. The Commonwealth Ombudsman in Australia was established in 1976. The Ombudsman can investigate complaints about the actions and decisions of Australian Government departments and agencies, the services delivered by most private contractors for the Australian Government, and oversee complaint investigations conducted by the Australian Federal Police. == Austria ==

The three-member Ombudsman Board (, literally People's Representative) was created in 1977 as an independent authority monitoring Austria's entire public administration. It checks the legality of decisions by authorities and examines possible cases of maladministration. The members are appointed by parliament for six-year terms. There are also children's ombudsman offices. == Azerbaijan ==

The Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan is also the country's national human rights institution, initially accredited with A status by the International Co-ordinating Committee of NHRIs. GANHRI downgraded it to B status in May 2018. The first ombudsman, Elmira Süleymanova, was elected by the Parliament on 2 July 2002, and was reappointed in 2010 for a second term. Suleymanova (born 1937), formerly a professor of chemistry, had been active in the women's movement in Azerbaijan. In November 2021, Parliament chose Sabina Aliyeva as the new ombudsperson. According to many international organizations and publications, Azerbaijan is one of the worst countries for journalists and human rights defenders in the world. The ombudsman's office has been criticized for turning a blind eye to complaints of torture and oppression of activists and the opposition. == Barbados ==

Under the Ombudsman Act 1980, the Ombudsman of Barbados is appointed by the Governor-General with the approval of both houses of the legislature. The current Ombudsman of Barbados is Valton Bend, a former Magistrate. == Belgium ==

Belgium has one federal and four regional statutory ombudsman agencies, all covering the normal range of complaint-handling, investigation and mediation within the respective jurisdictions of their founding legislature. • The office dealing with complaints against the federal authorities is the Federal Ombudsman (, , ). The office was established in 1997. • The Vlaamse Ombudsdienst () was established by the Flemish Parliament by decree of 7 July 1998 (the ). • The Walloon Ombudsman (), established by decree of the Walloon Parliament of 22 December 1994, seeks to help any person, natural or legal, who is experiencing difficulties with the Walloon regional authorities to arrive at a solution without litigation. • The French Community Ombudsman (), created by the Parliament of the French Community by decree of 20 June 2002, is responsible for handling complaints of citizens who encounter a problem with any administrative unit of the French Community. Its mission is to promote dialogue between the citizen and the administration concerned. • In the smallest linguistic region, the Ombudsman of the German-Speaking Community () was created by decree of 26 May 2009. This requires the Ombudsman to mediate between citizens and administrative authorities and seek alternative way to resolve conflicts, to settle disputes and, in some cases, to avoid litigation. In its plenary session of 17 May 2010, the Parliament of the German-speaking Community appointed Cedric Langer for a term of six years as the first Ombudsman. Belgium also has separate children's commissioners for the French and Flemish communities. There is a Pensions Ombudsman service (, , ) at the federal level. == Bermuda ==

The Office of the Ombudsman for Bermuda was established by the Bermuda Constitution and is governed by the Ombudsman Act 2004. The first National Ombudsman for Bermuda, Arlene Brock, was appointed on 1 August 2005 by the Governor after consultation with the Premier who first consulted with the Opposition Leader. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about the administrative actions of Public Authorities, including Government Departments, Boards and Bodies established or funded by the Legislature. == Bosnia and Herzegovina ==

The Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman/Ombudsmen of Bosnia and Herzegovina is also the country's UN-accredited national human rights institution. It was created by law in 2004. While the ombudsman's Child Rights Section is a member of the Children's Ombudsman network, there is a separate children's ombudsman in Republika Srpska. == Brazil ==

In Brazil the (Public Ministry) plays the role of ombudsman. It is an independent entity that, according to the Constitution, has the function of ensuring the effective respect of Public Authorities, public services of relevance and the rights guaranteed in the Constitution, promoting the necessary measures to guarantee them. == Bulgaria ==

The Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria (, ) is the national human rights institution, in addition to the normal range of functions in relation to maladministration. The institution was created as the 'Citizen's Defender' (, ) in 1998 but the first Ombudsman was elected in April 2005. Since 3 September 2019 the office has been held by Diana Kovacheva. There are also regional ombudsmen (Citizen's Mediators, , ) in most parts of the country. == Cayman Islands ==

The Ombudsman of the Cayman Islands is responsible for classical parliamentary ombuds work in addition to freedom of information, protection of privacy, whistleblower complaints and oversight of public complaints about police conduct. The office was created in 2017 when the previous Office of the Complaints Commissioner and Office of the Information Commissioner were combined and the additional responsibilities were added (privacy, whistleblower complaints and oversight of policy). Sandy Hermiston was appointed the first Ombudsman in September 2017. Sharon Roulstone was appointed as Ombudsman in 2022 when Hermiston returned to Canada to take up her appointment as Prince Edward Islands's first Ombudsperson. == Canada ==

In Canada, ombudsman offices are present in most departments of the federal government, in many provincial and municipal governments as well as in Crown Corporations such as CBC and Canada Post. There is an Ombudsman for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces, an Office of the Procurement Ombudsman, an Office for the Ombudsman for the Victims of Crimes, an Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson and an Office of the Veterans Ombudsman. There are also several independent ombuds offices in Canada, including the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments and various child advocate offices. While Canada has no single national legislative ombudsman, ten Canadian provinces and one territory have parliamentary ombudsmen (sometimes called "citizens' protector" or "citizens' representative") in the classical/legislative tradition, who oversee the provincial government and receive and investigate public complaints. They are: • Alberta Ombudsman, established 1967; • Office of the Ombudsperson, British Columbia; • Ombudsman Manitoba, established 1970; • New Brunswick Ombudsman's Office, established 1967; • Citizens' Representative of Newfoundland and Labrador; • Nova Scotia Office of the Ombudsman, established 1970; • Ontario Ombudsman, established 1975 • Ontario Patient Ombudsman, established 2015 • Quebec Ombudsman (), established 1968; • Ombudsman Saskatchewan, established 1972; • Office of the Yukon Ombudsman and Information & Privacy Commissioner; and • Ombudsperson Prince Edward Island, established 2022. ==Channel Islands==

In the bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, a statutory financial services ombudsman exists to investigate complaints about institutions providing financial services in or from either jurisdiction. In 2022, the government of Jersey formally announced the creation of a Jersey Public Services Ombudsman, following a public consultation that concluded in 2019. The project has been met with delays and is not operational yet, although commentators suggest that it could be finalised by the end of 2025. == Chile ==

Chile remains in 2012 the only country in South America without a national ombudsman office, although one was envisaged in a constitutional reform proposed in the Senate by the President in 2000. Indeed, Chile is not listed as having an ombudsman on the website of the Ibero-American Federation of Ombudsmen. There exists, however, a , or 'Chilean Ombudsman Chapter', an organisation lobbying for the introduction of a national ombudsman. Some other public bodies, such as the National Institute of Human Rights () or the Transparency Council (), have quasi-ombudsman functions, in that their statutes allow them to appeal to the legislature and judiciary for protection and development of fundamental rights. However, unlike many other ombudsman agencies, they do not have constitutional status, but were created by ordinary statutes. == Colombia ==

The People's Defender () or Ombudsman's Office of Colombia is the national agency in charge of overseeing the protection of civil and human rights within the legal framework of the state of Colombia. == Cyprus ==

The Commissioner for Administration (), usually referred to as the Ombudsman, is an Independent Authority in Cyprus and was established on 15 March 1991. The office is currently held by Maria Stylianou-Lottides. There is also a Commissioner for Children's Rights. == Czech Republic ==

The Public Defender of Rights () of the Czech Republic is more frequently referred to simply as ombudsman. The office was established in 1999. It has the traditional ombudsman role of mediating between complainants and officials in public bodies, but has no direct means or mechanisms of enforcement. Should the relevant body fail to provide a remedy, the ombudsman may refer the matter to the government. Following the death in office of the first ever Czech ombudsman, Otakar Motejl, in May 2010, former Constitutional Court judge Pavel Varvařovský was elected to the office by the lower house of parliament in September 2010. After his resignation in December 2013, Anna Šabatová, a deputy-ombudswoman from 2001 to 2007, was elected and sworn to the office in February 2014. == Denmark ==