Judicial Control of the Ombudsman

Abstract

This article concerns the powers of the courts to control the exercise of authority by the ombudsman. Over the past twelve years, courts in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom have decided disputes about the powers of ombudsmen. Kenneth Keith discusses the range and nature of those cases, reviews the reasoning of some of the judgments and considers their possible consequences. He also notes the related legislative indications on the possible role of the courts. The author concludes that if the legislation is well prepared the courts have in general a very small role to play in this area.

Keywords: Ombudsman, Ombudsman Act 1975, administrative law, courts, judicial review, control of the ombudsman.

JEL Classification: K19; K23; K39.