The year 2009 marks the Bicentennial of the Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman institution and thus of the very idea of Parliamentary Ombudsmanship. In recognition of this fact, the IXth International Ombudsman Institute World Conference will be held in Stockholm, Sweden, on June 9-12, 2009. This includes one day celebrating the 200th Anniversary. The event ends with a Jubilee and Conference Closing Banquet in the City Hall, the venue of the Nobel Prize dinner.

The Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsmen, with the support of the Swedish Parliament (the Riksdag), invite colleagues from around the world to participate in these events.

The World Conference will provide an opportunity for Ombudsmen to discuss a wide range of topics of mutual interest and to take part in discussions and influence decisions concerning the future goals and work of their common organization.

About the IOI

The International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) was established in 1978 and has grown to be a truly world wide organization of Ombudsman offices. It is incorporated as a non-profit organization under the Canada Corporations Act and, as such, has the status of a natural person at law. Institutional Members are public sector, independent Ombudsman offices around the world. Specialized Ombudsman offices and public human rights organizations may also become Institutional Members. For further information, visit IOI's website http://www.law.ualberta.ca/centres/ioi

IOI World Conferences are held every four years. The Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsmen are very honored to have been entrusted with the task of organizing the IXth World Conference.

About the Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsmen

In 1809 a new Swedish Constitution was adopted, which provided for the election of an Ombudsman, a representative of the Parliament, to exercise ”supervision of the observance of the laws by judges and officers of the state”. For more than 100 years the Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman – or the Justice Ombudsman, or simply JO as the institution was and still is commonly called in Sweden – was the only institution of its kind in the world. From the 1950’s, however, the idea of appointing a Parliamentary Ombudsman or a similar institution has spread rapidly around the globe. Today Ombudsmen in more than 120 countries around the world contribute to the rule of law and to the respect for human rights.

About the concept of Ombudsman

Ombudsmen are elected by Parliament or appointed by the Head of State or Government after nomination by or consultation with Parliament. The primary role of an Ombudsman is to investigate complaints concerning violation of rights, abuse of power, error, negligence, unfair decisions and maladministration in public administration. In their work, the Ombudsmen contribute to make the government's actions more open and the government and its servants more accountable to members of the public. Often an Ombudsman also has the power to initiate an investigation even if a complaint has not been registered.

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Number of Participants

It will probably, for logistical reasons, be necessary to restrict the number of participants to the incumbent or incumbents of each Member of the IOI together with at the most two members of their staff. It may even prove necessary to give priority to present over future IOI Members.