All complaints are not investigated

Every complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsmen (JO) is handled by an experienced legal advisor. An assessment is made as to whether the matter has been investigated sufficiently or if further investigation is needed.

If the legal advisor finds that no further investigatory measures are needed, he/she prepares a proposal for a decision.

The fact that a complaint is not investigated in a more thorough way does not mean that an ombudsman considers the complaint to be unjustified. If the complaint is not investigated more thoroughly, this is generally due to one or more of the following reasons:

• The complaint concerns a subject that does not fall under the supervision of the Parliamentary Ombudsmen, e.g. a public defence counsel, a custodian, a foster home or a private school. It is in principle only authorities and their employees that fall under the supervision of the Parliamentary Ombudsmen.
• The complaint concerns dissatisfaction with the decision as such made by an authority or a court. The Parliamentary Ombudsmen can not change or alter judgements or decisions that, instead, can be appealed. 
• The complaint concerns dissatisfaction with the judgement of an authority or a court in individual cases. In matters of judgement, there may be different opinions without anyone of them being incorrect in regards to the law.
• The complaint concerns events or circumstances which date back two or more years before the complaint.
• The authority or official complained against has essentially acted in a correct manner, or the reported deficiency has been corrected by the authority or court. 
• The complaint concerns a request for compensation. The Parliamentary Ombudsmen is not competent to examine claims for compensation.
• The complaint concerns general legal matters or is a request for advice in regards to different legal matters. The duties of the Parliamentary Ombudsmen do not include assisting the public with answers to general legal matters.
• The complaint is imprecise or is otherwise difficult to interpret.
• The complaint concerns circumstances that are being investigated or have been investigated by another authority. The examination made by the Parliamentary Ombudsmen shall not, as a rule, replace the supervision or application of the law that is the task of other authorities.
• The complaint concerns circumstances between employers and employees. As a rule, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen does not investigate such complaints as there is a special procedure for how labour disputes shall be resolved.