1994D0262 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 1
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►B DECISION OFTHE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
of 9 March 1994
on the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman's duties
(94/262/ECSC, EC, Euratom)
(OJ L 113, 4.5.1994, p. 15)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Decision 2002/262/EC, ECSC, Euratom of the European Parliament of
14 March2002L 92 13 9.4.2002
▼B
DECISION OFTHE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
of 9 March 1994
on the regulations and general conditions governing the perfor-
mance of the Ombudsman's duties
(94/262/ECSC, EC, Euratom)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
Having regard to the Treaties establishing the European Communities,
and in particular Article 138e (4) of the Treaty establishing theEuropean Community Article 20d (4) of the Treaty establishing theEuropean Community, Article 107d (4) of the Treaty establishing the
European Atomic Energy Community,
Having regard to the opinion of the Commission,
Having regard to the Council's approval,Whereas the regulations and general conditions governing the perfor-
mance of the Ombudsman's duties should be laid down, in compliancewith the provisions of the Treaties establishing the European Commu-nities;
Whereas the conditions under which a complaint may be referred to the
Ombudsman should be established as well as the relationship between
the performance of the duties of Ombudsman and legal or administra-
tive proceedings;
Whereas the Ombudsman, who may also act on his own initiative, must
have access to all the elements required for the performance of hisduties; whereas to that end Community institutions and bodies areobliged to supply the Ombudsman, at his request, with any informationwhich he requests of them, unless there are duly substantial grounds forsecrecy, and without prejudice to the ombudsman's obligation not to
divulge such information; whereas the Member States' authorities are
obliged to provide the Ombudsman with all necessary informationsave where such information is covered by laws or regulations onsecrecy or by provisions preventing its being communicated; whereasif the Ombudsman finds that the assistance requested is not forth-coming, he shall inform the European Parliament, which shall make
appropriate representtions;
Whereas it is necessary to lay down the procedures to be followed
where the Ombudsman's enquiries reveal cases of maladministration;
whereas provision should also be made for the submission of a compre-hensive report by the Ombudsman to the European Parliament at theend of eachannual session;
Whereas the Ombudsman and his staff are obliged to treat in confi-
dence any information which they have acquired in the course of theirduties; whereas the Ombudsman is, however, obliged to inform thecompetent authorities of facts which he considers might relate to crim-
inal law and which have come to this attention in the course of his
enquiries;
Whereas provision should be made for the possibility of cooperation
between the Ombudsman and authorities of the same type in certainMember States, in compliance withth e national laws applicable;
Whereas it is for the European Parliament to appoint the Ombudsman
at the beginning of its mandate and for the duration thereof, choosinghim from among persons who are Union citizens and offer every requi-site guarantee of independence and competence;
Whereas conditions should be laid down for the cessation of the
Ombudsman's duties;
Whereas the Ombudsman must perform his duties with complete inde-
pendence and give a solemn undertaking before the Court of Justice ofthe European Communities that he will do so when taking up hisduties; whereas activities incompatible with the duties of Ombudsman1994D0262 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 2
▼B
should be laid down as should the renumeration, privileges and immu-
nities of the Ombudsman;
Whereas provisions should be laid down regarding the officials and
servants of the Ombudsman's secretariat which will assist him and thebudget thereof; whereas the seat of the Ombudsman should be that ofthe European Parliament;
Whereas it is for the Ombudsman to adopt the implementing provisions
for this Decision; whereas furthermore certain transitional provisionsshould be laid down for the first Ombudsman to be appointed afterthe entry into force of the Treaty on European Union,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
1. The regulations and general conditions governing the performance
of the Ombudsman's duties shall be as laid down by this Decision in
accordance with Article 138e (4) of the Treaty establishing the
European Community, Article 20d (4) of the Treaty establishing theEuropean Coal and Steel Community and Article 107d (4) of theTreaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community.
2. The Ombudsman shall perform his duties in accordance with the
powers conferred on the Community institutions and bodies by theTreaties.
3. The Ombudsman may not intervene in cases before courts or
question the soundness of a court's ruling.
Article 2
1. Within the framework of the aformentioned Treaties and the
conditions laid down therein, the Ombudsman shall help to uncover
maladaministration in the activities of the Community institutions and
bodies, with the exception of the Court of Justice and the Court of FirstInstance acting in their judicial role, and make recommendations with aview to putting an end to it. No action by any other authority or personmay be the subject of a complaint to the Ombudsman.
2. Any citizen of the Union or any natural or legal person residing
or having its registered office in a Member State of the Union may,directly or through a Member of the European Parliament, refer acomplaint to the Ombudsman in respect of an instance of maladminis-tration in the activities of Community institutions or bodies, with the
exception of the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance acting
in their judicial role. The Ombudsman shall inform the institution orbody concerned as soon as a complaint is referred to him.
3. The complaint must allow the person lodging the complaint and
the object of the complaint to be identified; the person lodging the
complaint may request that his complaint remain confidential.
4. A complaint shall be made within two years of the date on which
the facts on which it is based came to the attention of the personlodging the complaint and must be preceded by the appropriate admin-
istrate approaches to the institutions and bodies concerned.
5. The Ombudsman may advise the person lodging the complaint to
address it to another authority.
6. Complaints submitted to the Ombudsman shall not affect time
limits for appeals in administrative or judicial proceedings.
7. When the Ombudsman, because of legal proceedings in progress
or concluded concerning the facts which have been put forward, has to
declare a complaint inadmissible or terminate consideration of it, the
outcome of any enquiries he has carried out up to that point shall befiled without further action.
8. No complaint may be made to the Ombudsman that concerns
work relationships between the Community institutions and bodies and1994D0262 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 3
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their officials and other servants unless all the possibilities for the
submission of internal administrative requests and complaints, in parti-cular the procedures referred to in Article 90 (1) and (2) of the Staff
Regulations, have been exhausted by the person concerned and the
time limits for replies by the authority thus petitioned have expired.
9. The Ombudsman shall as soon as possible inform the person
lodging the complaint of the action he has taken on it.
Article 3
1. The Ombudsman shall, on his own initiative or following a
complaint, conduct all the enquiries which he considers justified to
clarify any suspected maladministration in the activities of Community
institutions and bodies. He shall inform the institution or bodyconcerned of suchaction, wh ichmay submit any useful comment tohim.
2. The Community institutions and bodies shall be obliged to supply
the Ombudsman with any information he has requested of them and
give him access to the files concerned. They may refuse only on duly
substantial grounds of secrecy.
They shall give access to documents originating in a Member State and
classed as secret by law or regulation only where that Member Statehas given its prior agreement.
They shall give access to other documents originating in a Member
State after having informed the Member State concerned. In both cases,
in accordance with Article 4, the Ombudsman may not divulge thecontent of suchdocuments.
Officials and other servants of Community institutions and bodies must
testify at the request of the Ombudsman; they shall speak on behalf ofand in accordance with instructions from their administrations and shall
continue to be found by their duty of professional secrecy.
3. The Member States' authorities shall be obliged to provide the
Ombudsman, whenever he may so request, via the Permanent Repre-sentations of the Member States to the European Communities, withany information that may help to clarify instances of maladministrationby Community institutions or bodies unless suchinformation is covered
by laws or regulations on secrecy or by provisions preventing its being
communicated. Nonetheless, in the latter case, the Member Stateconcerned may allow the Ombudsman to have this informationprovided that he undertakes not to divulge it.
4. If the assistance which he requests is not forthcoming, the
Ombudsman shall inform the European Parliament, which shall make
appropriate representations.
5. As far as possible, the Ombudsman shall seek a solution with the
institution or body concerend to eliminate the instance of maldadminis-tration and satisfy the complaint.
6. If the Ombudsman finds there has been maladministration, he
shall inform the institution or body concerned, where appropriate
making draft recommendations. The institution or body so informed
shall send the Ombudsman a detailed opinion within three months.
7. The Ombudsman shall then send a report to the European Parlia-
ment and to the institution or body concerned. He may makerecommendations in his report. The person lodging the complaint shallbe informed by the Ombudsman of the outcome of the inquiries, of the
opinion expressed by the institution or body concerned and of any
recommendations made by the Ombudsman.
8. At the end of each annual session the Ombudsman shall submit to
the European Parliament a report on the outcome of his inquiries.
Article 4
1. The Ombudsman and his staff, to whom Article 214 of the Treaty
establishing the European Community, Article 47 (2) of the Treaty1994D0262 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 4
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establishing the European Coal and Steel Community and Article 194
of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Communityshall apply, shall be required not to divulge information or documents
which they obtain in the course of their inquiries. They shall also be
required to treat in confidence any inforamtion which could harm theperson lodging the complaint or any other person involved, withoutprejudice to paragraph2.
2. If, in the course of inquiries, he learns of facts which he considers
might relate to criminal law, the Ombudsman shall immediately notifythe competent national authorities via the Permanent Representations ofthe Member States to the European Communities and, if appropriate,the Community institution with authority over the official or servant
concerned, which may apply the second paragraph of Aticle 18 of the
Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Commu-nities. The Ombudsman may also inform the Community institution orbody concerned of the facts calling into question the conduct of amember of their staff from a disciplinary point of view.
Article 5
Insofar as it may help to make his enquiries more efficient and better
safeguard the rights and interests of persons who make complaints tohim, the Ombudsman may cooperate with authorities of the same typein certain Member States provided he complies with the national law
applicable. The Ombudsman may not by this means demand to see
documents to which he would not have access under Article 3.
Article 6
1. The Ombudsman shall be appointed by the European Parliament
after each election to the European Parliament for the duration of the
parliamentary term. He shall be eligible for reappointment.
2. The Ombudsman shall be chosen from among persons who are
Union citizens, have full civil and political rights, offer every guaranteeof independence, and meet the conditions required for the exercice of
the highest judicial office in their country or have the acknowledge-
ment competence and experience to undertake the duties ofOmbudsman.
Article 7
1. The Ombudsman shall cease to exercise his duties either at the
end of this term of office or on his resignation or dismissal.
2. Save in the event of his dismissal, the Ombudsman shall remain
in office until his successor has been appointed.
3. In the event of early cessation of duties, a successor shall be
appointed within three months of the office's falling vacant for theremainder of the parliamentary term.
Article 8
An Ombudsman who no longer fulfils the conditions required for the
performance of his duties or is guilty of serious misconduct may bedismissed by the Court of Justice of the European Communities at therequest of the European Parliament.
Article 9
1. The Ombudsman shall perform his duties with complete indepen-
dence, in the general interest of the Communities and of the ciitzens ofthe Union. In the performance of his duties he shall neither seek noraccept instructions from any government or other body. He shall refrain
from any act incompatible with the nature of his duties.
2. When taking up his duties, the Ombudsman shall give a solemn
undertaking before the Court of Justice of the European Communitiesthat he will perform his duties with complete independence and impar-tiality and that during and after his term of office he will respect the1994D0262 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 5
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obligations arising therefrom, in particular his duty to behalve with
integrety and discretion as regards the acceptance, after he has ceasedto hold office, of certain appointments or benefits.
Article 10
1. During his term of office, the Ombudsman may not engage in any
other political or administrative duties, or any other occupation,whether gainful or not.
2. The Ombudsman shall have the same rank in terms of remunera-
tion, allowances and pension as a judge at the Court of Justice of the
European Communities.
3. Articles 12 to 15 and Article 18 of the Protocol on the Privileges
and Immunities of the European Communities shall apply to theOmbudsman and to the officials and servants of his secretariat.
Article 11
1. The Ombudsman shall be assisted by a secretariat, the principal
officer of which he shall appoint.
2. The officials and servants of the Ombudsman's secretariat shall be
subject to the rules and regulations applicable to officials and otherservants of the European Communities. Their number shall be adoptedeachyear as part of th e budgetary procedure(
1).
3. Servants of the European Communities and of the Member States
appointed to the Ombudsman's secretariat shall be seconded in theinterests of the service and guaranteed automatic reinstatement in theirinstitution of origin.
4. In matters concerning his staff, the Ombudsman shall have the
same status as the institutions within the meaning of Article 1 of the
Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities.
Article 13
The seat of the Ombudsman shall be that of the European Parlia-
ment(2).
Article 14
The Ombudsman shall adopt the implementing provisions for this Deci-
sion.
Article 15
The first Ombudsman to be appointed after the entry into force of the
Treaty on European Union shall be appointed for the remainder of theparliamentary term.1994D0262 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 6
(1) A joint statement by the three institutions will set out guiding principles for
the number of staff employed by the Ombudsman and the status astemporary or contract staff of those carrying out enquiries.
(
2) See Decision taken by common agreement between the Representatives of
the Governments of the Member States on the location of the seats of the
institutions and of certain bodies and departments of the European Commu-
nities (OJ No C 341, 23. 12. 1992, p. 1).▼M1
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Article 17
This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the
European Communities . It shall enter into force on the date of its publi-
cation.1994D0262 — EN — 01.01.2000 — 001.001 — 7
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