Letter to Independent Review Authority Attachment 1
Comparative Chart: International Military Ombudsman
COUNTRY* |
CREATED BY LEGISLATION |
YEAR OF ESTABLISHMENT |
REPORTING STRUCTURE |
APPOINTMENT PROCEDURE |
INVESTIGATIVE POWER |
AUTHORITY TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS |
CLASSICAL OMBUDSMAN PRINCIPLES FULL INDEPENDENCE |
CLASSICAL OMBUDSMAN PRINCIPLES CONFIDENTIALITY |
CLASSICAL OMBUDSMAN PRINCIPLES IMPARTIALITY |
CLASSICAL OMBUDSMAN PRINCIPLES FAIRNESS |
AUSTRALIA |
YES Part II A of the Ombudsman Act 1976 |
1977 |
Submits reports to the Minister of National Defence for presentation before Parliament |
Appointed by the Governor General |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
CANADA |
NO Ministerial Directives and Defence Administrative Orders and Directives |
1998 |
Reports to the Minister of National Defence |
Appointed by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Minister of National Defense |
YES |
YES |
NO |
YES |
YES |
YES |
DENMARK |
YES Ombudsman Act, 1996 |
1996 |
Reports directly to the Folketing |
Elected by the Folketing (national assembly) after every general election or when a vacancy occurs |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
GERMANY |
YES The German Constitution at s 45b and Act on the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces |
1959 |
Reports directly to the Bundestag |
Elected by the Members of the Bundestag in a secret ballot |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
IRELAND |
YES |
2005 |
Reports to the Minister of Defence |
Appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Government |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
ISRAEL |
YES Military Justice Law, Part II, 1972 |
1972 |
Reports to the Defense Minister and the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee |
Appointed by the Minister of Defense in consultation with the Minister of Justice and with the approval of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee |
YES |
Information unavailable |
NO |
YES |
YES |
YES |
NEW ZEALAND |
YES Ombudsmen Act 1975 |
1962 |
Reports directly to the House of Representatives |
Appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the House of Representatives |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
NORWAY |
NO legislation - this is an elected parliamentary position Instructions for the Ombudsman Board for the Armed Forces |
1952 |
Reports directly to the Storting. |
Elected by the Storting (national assembly) after every general election or when a vacancy occurs. |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
SOUTH AFRICA |
YES Military Ombud Act 4 of 2012 |
2012 |
Reports to the Minister responsible for defence |
Appointed by the President |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
UNITED KINGDOM |
YES The Armed Forces (Service Complaints and |
2006 |
Reports to Parliament and the Defence Council |
Appointed by Her Majesty on the recommendation of the Secretary of State |
YES |
YES, and BINDING on certain matters |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
UNITED STATES |
YES Established by Congress in s 1117 of the Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1983 and the Inspector General Act of 1978 |
1982 |
Reports to the United States Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff of the United States Army |
Appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The inspector general cannot be a member of the Armed Forces, active or reserve |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
* This table compares international military ombudsman organizations from members of the “Five Eyes” intelligence sharing agreement (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States) as well as International Conference of Ombuds Institutions for the Armed Forces (ICOAF) participants with dedicated military oversight bodies.
Although the ICOAF has 80 member states, not all have established dedicated oversight bodies for their armed forces. Many are actively exploring the possibility of establishing an armed forces ombudsman, while others have chosen to assign these functions to organizations with broader general mandates, such as national human rights commissions.