In the Public Interest

The Scandinavian countries are much admired all over the world for their enlightened social policies. Sweden has evolved an excellent system for protecting the individual citizen from high - handed or incompetent public officers. The system has worked so well, that it has been adopted in other countries too.

The Swedes were the first to recognize that public official like civil servants, police officers, health inspectors or tax - collectors can make mistakes or act over - zealously in the belief that they are serving the public. As long ago as 1809, the Swedish Parliament introduced a scheme to safeguard the interest of the individual. A parliamentary committee representing all political parties appoints a person who is suitably qualified to investigate private grievances against the State. The official title of the person is 'Justiteombudsman', but the Swedes commonly refer to him as the 'J.O.' or 'Ombudsman'.

The Ombudsman is not subject to political pressure. He investigates complaints large and small that come to him from all levels of society. As complaints must be made in writing, the Ombudsman receives an average of 1,200 letters a year. He has eight lawyer assistants to help him and he examines every single letter in detail. There is nothing secretive about the Ombudsman's work, for his correspondence is open to public inspection. If a citizen's complaint is justified, the Ombudsman will act on his behalf. The action he takes varies according to the nature of the complaint. He may gently reprimand an official or even suggest to parliament that a law be altered. The following case is a typical example of the Ombudsman's work.

A foreigner living in a Swedish village wrote to the Ombudsman complaining that he had been ill - treated by the police, simply because he was a foreigner. The Ombudsman immediately wrote to the Chief of Police in the district asking him to send a record of the case. There was nothing in the record to show that the foreigner's complaints were justified. The Ombudsman nevertheless decided to carry out an investigation, for he had received similar complaints from other foreigners in the area. He sent a form to the police chief asking him to make a list of all the foreign residents in the district. The police chief did so and sent the list to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman then sent a letter to each of the foreigners asking them to describe their experiences with the police. In reply, he received a number of letters from the foreigners which told of the same kind of ill - treatment by the police. These letters enabled the Ombudsman to prove that the police had acted unjustly. He reprimanded the police chief in writing and demanded that he send a written apology to the foreigner. The police chief complied and the foreigner was satisfied.

The Ombudsman's job is not an easy one. He often has to work long hours, and he has to be able to stand up to political pressure. But he is highly respected for his integrity and his impartiality.

斯堪的纳维亚半岛各国实行的开明的社会政策，受到全世界的推崇。瑞典已制定了一种完善的制度，以保护每个公民不受专横的和不称职的政府官员的欺压。由于这种制度行之有效，已被其他国家采纳。

瑞典人最早认识到，像公务员、警察、卫生稽查员、税务人员等等这类公职人员可能会犯错误或者工作过度热心，他们深信自己是在为公众服务。早在1809年，瑞典议会就建立了一个保护公民利益的制度。议会内有一个代表各政党利益的委员会，由它委派一位称职的人选专门调查个人对国家的意见。此人官衔为“司法特派员”，但瑞典人一般都称他为“J.O.”或者“特派员”。

司法特派员不受任何政治压力的制约。他调查来自社会各阶层的大大小小的申诉案件。由于申诉必须以书面形式提出，司法特派员每年平均收到1,200封信。他有8位律师作他的助手，他们仔细审查每一封信。司法特派员的工作没有什么秘密可言，他的信件是公开的，供公众监督。如果公民的申诉有理，司法特派员便为他伸张正义。司法特派员采取的行动因申诉案件性质的不同而有所不同。他可以善意地批评某位官员，也可以甚至向议会提议修改某项法律。下面是司法特派员工作的一个典型例子。

一个住在瑞典乡村的外国人写信给司法特派员，抱怨说他受到警察的虐待，原因就是他是个外国人。司法特派员立即写信给当地的警察局长，请他寄送与此事有关的材料。材料中没有任何文字记载表明这个外国人的申诉是有理的。尽管如此，司法特派员还是决定进行调查，因为他收到了这个地区其他外国人的类似申诉。他给警察局长送去一份表格，要他列出这个地区所有的外国居民。警察局长照办了，并把名单送交给司法特派员。司法特派员随后给每个外国人寄去一封信，要他们描述一下他们与警察打交道的经历。他收到了外国人的许多来信，信中讲述了警察同样的虐待行为。这些信件使司法特派员得以证实警察的行为是不公正的。他书面批评了警察局长，并要求他向这位外国人书面道歉。警察局长照办了，这个外国人满意了。

司法特派员的工作并不轻松。他常常要长时间地工作，而且还要能顶住政治方面的压力。但他因自己的正直和公正而受到高度的尊敬。