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2007 Assessment

Thailand: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Thailand: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: National Ombudsman
Indicators		Score
52	In law, is there a national ombudsman, public protector or equivalent agency (or collection of agencies) covering the entire public sector?	100
53	Is the national ombudsman effective?	55
54	Can citizens access the reports of the ombudsman?	67

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

In law, is there a national ombudsman, public protector or equivalent agency (or collection of agencies) covering the entire public sector?

52: In law, is there a national ombudsman, public protector or equivalent agency (or collection of agencies) covering the entire public sector?

Score:

YES

Comments: The Office of the Ombudsman was created by the Constitution.

References: Constitution of Thailand 1997, Section 197

Is the national ombudsman effective?

53a: In law, the ombudsman is protected from political interference.

Score:

YES

Comments: The ombudsman is created as an independent body.

References: Ombudsman Act 1999, Section 11

53b: In practice, the ombudsman is protected from political interference.

Score:

100

Comments: There have been no indications of political interference.

References: Interview, official, Human Resource Unit, the Ombudsman of Thailand, Oct. 24, 2007

Peer Review Comments: Absence of action could itself be an indication that the ombudsman is not free from political interference.

Peer Review Comments: Political interference is not so direct. Ombudsman self-restraint is a problem.

53c: In practice, the head of the ombudsman agency/entity is protected from removal without relevant justification.

Score:

100

Comments: None of the ombudsmen have been removed from office so far.

References: Interview, official, Human Resource Unit, The Ombudsman of Thailand, Oct, 24, 2007

53d: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

Comments: Under the Constitution of 1997, the number of staff was sufficient. But under the new Constitution of 2007 the number of officials are insufficient for the expanded task.

References: Interview with official, Human Resource Unit, The Ombudsman of Thailand, Oct, 24, 2007

Peer Review Comments: The 2007 constitution was adopted after the time period ended. I cannot find information about whether the ombudsman's office was reduced under the military regime.

53e: In practice, agency appointments support the independence of the ombudsman agency (or agencies).

Score:

100

Comments: It is hard to say whether the present ombudsmen do not have informal political affiliations because they were chosen by the elected Senate, which was accused of being pro-Thaksin government.

References: Parliamentary Act of 1999, chapter 1, section 5-8

53f: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) receives regular funding.

Score:

100

Comments: Yes, the ombudsmen receive funding from the annual budget.

References: [ LINK ]

53g: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) makes publicly available reports.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Citizens can access to reports through the Internet. The publicized information covers: 1. statistics of complaint handling 2. monthly reports 3. annual reports [ LINK ]

53h: In practice, when necessary, the national ombudsman (or equivalent agency or agencies) initiates investigations.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: The agency aggressively starts investigations -- or participates fully with cooperating agencies\' investigations -- into judicial misconduct. The agency is fair in its application of this power. <p>50 Score Criteria: The agency will start or cooperate in investigations, but often relies on external pressure to set priorities, or has limited effectiveness when investigating. The agency, though limited in effectiveness, is still fair in its application of power. <p>0 Score Criteria: The agency rarely investigates on its own or cooperates in other agencies\' investigations, or the agency is partisan in its application of this power.$

Comments:

References: According to the Constitution 1997, the Ombudsman cannot initiate investigations. However, the Constitution 2007 allows it to.

Interview with official, Human Resource Unit , the Ombudsman of Thailand, Oct., 24 2007

Peer Review Comments: The 2007 constitution was adopted after the period under study ended.

53i: In practice, when necessary, the national ombudsman (or equivalent agency or agencies) imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments: The Ombudsman is called "a paper tiger" by a report from the parliamentary news. The Ombudsman can only report its findings to Parliament. The cabinet has authority to decide whether to take action and punish the accused official.

References: [ LINK ]

53j: In practice, the government acts on the findings of the ombudsman agency (or agencies).

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Ombudsman\'s reports are taken seriously, with negative findings drawing prompt corrective action. <p>50 Score Criteria: In most cases, ombudsman\'s reports are acted on, though some exceptions may occur for politicalally sensitive issues, or particularly resistant agencies. <p>0 Score Criteria: Ombudsman reports are often ignored, or given superficial attention. Ombudsman reports do not lead to policy changes.$

Comments: The government will process the case to respective agencies. However, only minor actions are taken.

References: [ LINK ]

53k: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) acts on citizen complaints within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: There are delays in processing cases. Only 1,907 cases were considered out of 14,762 cases. The ratio is about 1 to 9.

References: [ LINK ]

Can citizens access the reports of the ombudsman?

54a: In law, citizens can access reports of the ombudsman(s).

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Constitution of Thailand 1997, Section 38 states that Information obtained in the enforcement of this legislation shall not be divulged except with the consent of the Ombudsmen or when it is necessary to further an investigation, fulfill official duties or reporting procedures, or enforce compliance with this legislation.

54b: In practice, citizens can access the reports of the ombudsman(s) within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: No, the information that is available is not up-to-date. They have an 2004 annual report. The citizens cannot review the latest cases.

References: [ LINK ] [ LINK ]

54c: In practice, citizens can access the reports of the ombudsman(s) at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: The citizen can access the agency report through [ LINK ] and get the photocopying in 1 baht (US$0.03) per page. In addition, they can access information about the ombudsman in general news.

Peer Review Comments: The indirect costs can be quite high (and we know from the last response that availability is scarce).