The ombudsman as democratic ‘alternative’: Reading the EU Consumer ADR Directive in the light of the PASC reports

Abstract

This article considers the potential impact of the EU Consumer ADR Directive on the future development of public-sector ombudsmen in the UK. It suggests that, whilst the Directive might constructively encourage the reinforcement of consumer rights, any such tendency towards consumerism in the development of the ombudsman institution should be balanced by respect for the distinctive qualities of public-sector ombudsmen as agents of a form of participatory democracy. This disciplined reading of the Directive points towards the need to heed the recommendations, and underlying thinking, of the report on the UK Parliamentary Ombudsman by the Public Administration Select Committee in 2014.

Keywords::

• ombudsman
• EU ADR Directive
• regulation
• Public Administration Select Committee
• democracy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

^1. This directive amends Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 and Directive 2009/22/EC (Directive on consumer ADR).

^2. Cited by S. Fredman, Human Rights Transformed (Oxford: OUP, 2010) pp. 126–128.