Urban ombudsman: The Experience of Detroit

The author of the article deals with the issue of the local ombudsman. At the outset he gives a brief survey of the recent situation of the local ombudsmen in the U.S.A. In his opinion, quasi-ombudsman entities, complaint-handing mechanisms respectively, may be observed in a growing number of American states. Local ombudsmen, who have a character close to a legislative ombudsman pattern, operate in twelve American cities.

The relevant part of the article is devoted to an analysis of the legal background and functioning of the urban ombudsman in the city of Detroit. The author considers this institution to be one of the few true local legislative-type ombudsmen in the United States. First he gives some facts from the history of forming the institution. Then he is concerned with various aspects of position and activities of the urban ombudsman in Detroit: appointment, personal qualifica­tions, deputy of ombudsman, investigations a investigatory power, the office of the ombudsman, etc. Some of the facts are based on a personal interview with Marie Farrell-Donaldson, the Detroit's City Ombudsman.

In the conclusion the author indicates the meaning of the depicted experience with local (urban) ombudsman in the U .S. A. for the Czech Republic. Although an ombudsman-type institution has not been established in this country so far, there exists the bill on "Public Protector of Rights" which is in some aspects connected with the analysed issue. The author draws attention to unrealistic promises of candidates to the Senate to become the local ombudsman.