«The strange and unpronounceable word ‘ombudsman’ (from the Swedish ombudsmanen) entered the Russian political vocabulary just over a decade ago, when in January 1994 the State Duma appointed Russia’s first parliamentary ombudsman for human rights. The relevant law was adopted only in 1997, approving the institution of independent control over the work of state officials and extrajudicial defence of human rights and freedoms in the country, which is the function of the ombudsman.
Why does Russia need such a special control structure, when there is law, a judicial system and a lot of official controlling instances? Why does the Ombudsman’s activity make officials in any country wary? Who can appeal to the Ombudsman, how, and on what grounds? What leverage on the authorities can the Ombudsman use without having any authority?
All this becomes clear in the book by Alvaro Gil-Robles, former Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, the drafter of the law on the ombudsman, who headed this service in his country for a number of years.»
Parliamentary control over administration
Gil Robles A. Parliamentary control over administration (Alvaro Gil Robles y Gil Delgado. El control parlamentario de la administratñon (El ombudsman). Instituto National de Administratión Pública, 1981.) — Moscow: Moscow School of Political Studies, 2004. — 360 p.
