The Ombudsman and the Protection of Human Rights in Europe : Case Study of Italian Civic Defender
Articolo
Data di Pubblicazione:
2014
Citazione:
The Ombudsman and the Protection of Human Rights in Europe : Case Study of Italian Civic Defender / M.A. Quiroz Vitale. - In: MEI ZHONG FA LÜ PING LUN. - ISSN 1548-6605. - 11:8(2014 Aug), pp. 951-972.
Abstract:
The paper is centered on the Ombudsman’s role in the defense of
individual human rights. The institution of the Ombudsman is based on the idea that citizens should be entitled to complain against specific acts and behaviors of their rulers and that their complaints should be investigated by an independent body. In Europe, the establishment of a specific office to investigate citizen complaints against public bureaucracy is relatively recent, having started in Sweden in the early 19th century but can be considered as a fundamental European institution. The general purpose of the author is to explain how the Ombudsman, in a new global era, take part in the defense of human rights. Thanks to a socio-legal method of analysis, we reflect upon the social function of the Ombudsman in Europe and its legal structure. In fact, Ombudsmen came to be seen as useful in helping to
meet the problem of expanding bureaucracy in the modern welfare state
and to improve human rights. In particular, the increase in the powers of discretion given to European governments led to a need of protection
against administrative arbitrariness. The Italian case study demonstrates
the activity of the Ombudsman—and especially of a ―Human Rights
Ombudsman‖—is dysfunctional for authoritarian governments and, also,
gives a paradigmatic example of the regressive processes that, even in
Western Democracies, and affect the attempts at the complete
democratization of political institutions.
Tipologia IRIS:
01 - Articolo su periodico
Keywords:
ombudsman ; Italy ; modernization ; Human Rights
Elenco autori:
M.A. Quiroz Vitale
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