By Thomas Fouad Lund-Sørensen

Today the Jordanian Ombudsman Bureau (diwan al mathalem) will officially open for business. It will be an important part of Jordan’s democratic development.

Every beginning is difficult - and the ombudsman will be faced with some tough challenges. The first one will be to establish a relationship with its stakeholders - especially the citizens of Jordan, the Parliament and the government.

Any citizen in Jordan will from today have a place to complain about decisions of the public administration that they believe are unwarranted or wrong. The independent ombudsman will look into the matter without prejudice. Citizens will get a new instrument for interaction with a bureaucracy that by many is considered closed and difficult to access. The ombudsman will help break the barrier between the public and the administration.

The Parliament will see its ability to scrutinise and control the government reinforced. The yearly ombudsman report could provide a solid basis for a parliamentary debate about the public administration. Experience also shows that questioning individual ministers is a very efficient instrument to convince the relevant public institutions to give careful consideration to the recommendations received from the ombudsman. The Parliament and the ombudsman are thus complementary partners in the development of an efficient public administration, to the benefit of the citizen and the country as a whole.

The relationship between the government and the ombudsman is crucial. Apart from raising issues based on petition, the ombudsman is, according to the law, entitled to take up any issue that he deems important. At general level, the ombudsman will be able to go into a dialogue with the concerned public institution and give advice on how to fulfil the criteria of a just, legal and transparent public administrative process. Based on his experience the ombudsman will be able to assist the government disseminate best practices throughout the public administration. Without doubt, the government will welcome the new ombudsman in this positive cooperative spirit.

The challenges will be many. The new institution needs to be introduced to the Jordanians. If the citizens do not know about the ombudsman, they will not be able to benefit from his services. This calls for a public awareness campaign. The recent agreement between the Jordan Post and the ombudsman about using post offices for submitting petitions is a very good start. It is of equal importance that it is widely understood that filing a complaint does not necessarily mean that the public administration has committed a mistake. Experience from other countries shows that many complaints are unfounded and thus disregarded - and this is something that must be accepted by all. After all, the ombudsman is no judicial court but looks into whether a decision has been correctly taken, according to the regulations in force.

It is important to stress that the government is responsible for the public administration. If the ombudsman, according to the law, asks for all files related to a specific decision, the government should make sure that the ombudsman bureau receives the files - otherwise the system breaks down. The ombudsman does not only have the right but also the duty to check administrative procedures in order to fulfil his tasks. This is one of the new democratic elements introduced with the ombudsman law.

No one likes to be scrutinised - in particular if a mistake has been committed - but the clever institutions learn from their mistakes and evolve into something better.

The ombudsman does not have any means to enforce his decisions. He can only give advice, issue statements and publish his findings. In the best of worlds, the ombudsman’s impartiality and integrity will ensure that no institution will disregard his findings. But any ombudsman needs backing when the going gets though. The backing should come from the Parliament which, if needed, must insist that institutions in the public administration listen to and act on the findings of the ombudsman. In the end, it is the Parliament that controls the government and the public administration - not the ombudsman.

The biggest challenge in the near future lies on the shoulders of the ombudsman himself. The Ombudsman Bureau must represent the highest level of administrative excellence, in particular in transparency, impartiality and integrity. Recruiting the right people with the right competences will be crucial. Reaching out to partners is equally important. If the citizens do not find the institution meaningful, if the Parliament does not go into partnership with him or if the government does not respect the ombudsman, the institution - despite all good intentions - will fail. This will not be the case, I know. For after all, the government suggested the ombudsman law to the Parliament which adopted it. So, I feel confident that the ombudsman bureau, together with its partners in the Parliament and the government, will contribute another element to a democratic Jordan.

The writer is the ambassador of Denmark to Jordan, and the Danish government and ombudsman have assisted Jordan in establishing the Ombudsman Bureau during the last five years. He contributed this article to The Jordan Times.