The origin of the European ombudsman

Abstract

Assumption of the Treaty about the European Union of 7 February 1992 opened an important chapter in the sphere of the community regulation of the status of citizens of the European Union and its institutional reforms. The treaty constituted the legal construction of the citizenship of the European Union and the consequent rights, which had to be protected by judicial and extrajudicial mechanisms, among them, the institution of the European Ombudsman deserves special attention. The idea of the appointment of the institution of the Ombudsman on the community level was enrolled into experiences in many member countries from which it resulted, i.e. the independent institution like ombudsman, can create the elastic and effective system of the controlling of authorities, warranting that the right is justly practical and protects citizens. This was especially essential in consideration of the fact that the first economic integration and the further enlargement of the competence had gone toward the more and more deeper integration, both legal and political. Further development and the evolution of Commonwealths could not follow separately from citizens and their composite needs, and this manner it was necessary to acknowledge to them additional rights, entering into the range of the new institution of the European citizenship. In the article there was introduced the idea of the European citizenship and its influence on the origin of the European Ombudsman, and also two ideas of the institution of Ombudsman effluent from Danish and Spanish experiences.