The Austrian Ombudsman Board

Monitoring public administration

The Austrian Ombudsman Board is one of the so-called supreme bodies of the Republic of Austria and has been monitoring the public administration since 1977 based on the Federal Constitution. It monitors all authorities, administrative bodies and departments of the state, the provinces and the local government authorities in the entire federal territory. The Ombudsman Board in Tyrol and Vorarlberg only examine complaints about the Federal administration as the state parliaments there appoint their own state ombudsmen.

The AOB investigates complaints from citizens and assesses whether the administration is acting within the law and complies with human rights standards. If the AOB suspects maladministration, it can also act ex-officio – in other words act without a specific complaint. More information on the subject of complaints to the AOB you can find here.

Protecting and promoting human rights

Since 1 July 2012, the AOB has also been responsible by order of the Federal Constitution for protecting and promoting compliance with human rights as part of the UN mandate. Since then, the AOB along with its commissions has been monitoring all institutions in which liberty is being or may be deprived or restricted. It also examines the institutions and programmes for people with disabilities as well as the exercise by the administration of direct authority and the use of force, particularly during deportations and demonstrations. For more information on the subject of preventive human rights monitoring click here.

The AOB supports legislative authority

The impact laws actually have on people’s lives is often only evident when regulations are applied by authorities. Breaking points or shortcomings of laws often become evident when they are monitored. The AOB incorporates these experiences into the ongoing legislative process by occasionally drawing up statements on draft laws for the evaluation procedure and submitting these statements to the Austrian Parliament or a state parliament.

The AOB also makes the legislative authority aware of existing legal provisions that are problematic and draws up suggestions for improvements in the form of legislative propositions. An overview on this subject can be found in the respective annual report of the AOB.

The AOB is also authorised have the legitimacy of a regulation of a federal or provincial authority assessed in the event that concerns are raised. The board is in this case able to submit an application to the Constitutional Court. The AOB is also involved in petitions and citizens’ initiatives that are addressed towards the Austrian Parliament. It elaborates statements relating to the above and submits these statements to Parliament or the relevant state parliament.

Currently, the AOB has 90 employees, approximately half of whom are legal experts handling the cases investigated. The information service and the secretariats of the AOB members are the points of contact for citizens’ concerns.

Since September 2009, the AOB has also been operating the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI). The IOI is an international organisation that promotes the cooperation between independent ombudsman institutions for the public sector at the national, regional and local level.

With the effect of 1 July 2012, the AOB appointed six Commissions comprising about 48 members who perform these tasks as a secondary job. They monitor and control all institutions and facilities where people with and without disabilities are in danger of abuse, inhuman treatment and measures that deprive them of their liberty. The newly established Human Rights Advisory Council advises the members of the AOB with regard to their new tasks.

The organisational chart (only in German) of the AOB provides an overview of the areas of responsibility and the contact details.