The second of a series of four webinars about the potential role of the Ombudsman in making public administration more effective in a democratic society, and so reducing the burden on the administrative courts, was held on 26 March 2021. The webinar aimed to inform and present recommendations on the improvement of the relationship between public administration and Ombudsman Institution for resolution of disputes in line with the good governance principles and the role and powers of the Ombudsman.
Along with the high-level participation from the Court of Accounts, the Council of State, the Ombudsman Institution and various Directorates of the Ministry of Justice and the presidents of the pilot courts of the project; the webinar hosted public administration authorities with the highest number of cases at all levels of the administrative judiciary such as the Revenue Administration, Council of Higher Education, Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, Social Security Institution, Directorate General of Highways, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the Directorate General of Security, the Housing Development Administration and Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency.
The Turkish Ombudsman Institution shared information about the public administration authorities against whom most complaints are logged. They also presented their position with regard to reducing the caseload of the administrative courts, as well as how to improve the relationship between public authorities and individuals. The institution reiterated the importance of the project and that of co-operating with the public authorities, calling on the need for the full implementation of the Venice Principles on the Protection and Promotion of the Ombudsman Institution of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission).
In addition, esteemed scholars and ombudspersons Dr. Nick O’Brien, Dr. Naomi Creutzfeldt and Mr. Marek Nowicki shared their recommendations regarding democratic participation and equality, women’s access to justice and establishment of regional offices during the morning session. The second panel included presentations on the institution of Amicus Curiae, ex officio investigation of the Ombudsman Institutions as well as the power of informal dispute resolution methods with relevant European practices. The webinar continued with a Q&A session moderated by Dr. Engin Saygın, where Council of Europe consultants and representatives of the Turkish Ombudsman Institution answered a wide range of questions from representatives of the public administration and administrative judges.
Two polls were launched and answered during the webinar and more comprehensive evaluation surveys were sent to all participants after the webinar.
Relevant resources can be found at the following link:
The Joint Project on “Improving the Effectiveness of the Administrative Judiciary and Strengthening the Institutional Capacity of the Council of State” is implemented by the Council of Europe, and co-funded by the European Union, the Republic of Turkey and the Council of Europe. The Turkish Ministry of Justice - Directorate General for Legal Affairs is the end beneficiary of the Project. The Central Finance and Contracts Unit is the contracting authority of this Project.
