About the I.O.I.
In many countries around the world there is an ombudsman who deals with complaints from the public regarding decisions, actions or omissions of public administration. Although the specific role may vary the holder of this office is usually elected by parliament or appointed by the head of state or government by or after consultation with parliament. The role of the ombudsman is to protect the people against violation of rights, abuse of powers, error, negligence, unfair decisions and maladministration and to improve public administration while making the government's actions more open and its administration more accountable to the public.
The International Ombudsman Institute (I.O.I.), established in 1978, is the only global organisation for the cooperation of more than 150 Ombudsman institutions. In addition to its periodic conferences the I.O.I. fosters regional and international information exchange. The International Ombudsman Institute is organised in regional chapters in Africa, Asia, Australasia & Pacific, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America, and North America. The organisation has three working languages, English, French and Spanish.
Based on its by-laws the I.O.I. offers different types of membership: Institutional Members are public sector, independent ombudsman offices located around the world which may have a variety of titles. They are entitled to vote at meetings. Associate Members include those persons or agencies interested or involved in ombudsman-like activities who do not qualify as Institutional Members. The I.O.I. also accepts Individual Members who are interested in ombudsman activities, scholars and libraries. In addition, there are a number of libraries around the world which are subscribers to the I.O.I. publications and are categorized as Library Members.
Are you interested in joining the I.O.I.? Please contact the General Secretariat at ioi@volksanw.gv.at for detailed information on the different membership categories as well as on the application procedure.