Toward a definition and taxonomy of public sector ombudsmen

Abstract

Abstract The world‐wide diffusion of the ombudsman concept and the accompanying academic literature have failed to produce a universal definition of “ombudsman.” As a result, liberal interpretations of the concept have flourished, and the invention of technical terms has gone unchecked. This article examines the two most commonly cited definitions of an ombudsman and the wealth of technical terms for their conformity to the original concept. A definition for public sector ombudsmen congruent with primordial functions and recent conceptual extensions is proposed. The article concludes with a taxonomy of the different kinds of ombudsmen in place today.