The Grievance Man

On Britain's tight little island, the congestion of people, the spreading of the Welfare State (with its regulations as well as its benefits) and the inherent petty tyranny of multiplying bureaucrats add up to a frustrating experience for a determinedly individualistic nation. Even so doctrinaire a Socialist as the New Statesman's Editor Kingsley Martin grumbled last week: "Because there are too many people, regimentation becomes unavoidable, and so Socialism's basic idea of substituting cooperation for jungle fighting is lost; it becomes merely the demand for equal regimentation.''

Innumerable letters from outraged citizens and hapless victims pour in to British M.P.s demanding protection from the suffocating grip of bureaucracy. Sometimes the press takes up specific cases with a hue and cry, like that of Crichel Down, where a farmer defied the War Department's right in time of peace to hold onto land commandeered in time of war. or pleads for a Mrs. Christos, who went to jail for earning milk money for her children while on the dole (TIME, June 15). But often an M.P. has either too much work or not enough spunk to see an issue through, and the press is quick to shift to fresher news.

Citizen's Complaint. Last week many Britons were looking longingly at a Scandinavian answer to this problem--the institution of the ombudsman (pronounced om-boods-maw), a word that translates roughly as "the grievance man.'' Founded in Sweden 150 years ago in frank imitation of the ancient Roman 'tribunes of the people," whose job it was to watch the administration of justice and give assistance to citizens who were treated harshly, it has since spread to Finland and Denmark, is likely to be adopted this fall by Norway.

Speaking over BBC radio at the invitation of British M.P.s, Denmark's Ombudsman Dr. Stephan Hurwitz outlined his duties. Elected by Parliament (in Hurwitz' case, unanimously), the ombudsman must be a lawyer; he is above party, has a legal staff and annual budget, and is the highest-salaried man in the Danish government. On receiving a complaint from a citizen, or on his own initiative, Dr. Hurwitz can investigate any civil or military establishment. The courts remain outside the ombudsman's control, but he is empowered to look into the affairs of state officials, from Cabinet ministers to policemen, and is entitled "to enter any prison or hospital or other state institution, without warning, seeing everything, having access to all documents and able to speak to all persons there confined."

Port & Cigars. Denmark has but one ombudsman, Finland two, while Sweden has three, who respectively 1) guarantee Parliament against abuse by government officials, 2) guarantee Parliament against abuse by the military, 3) guarantee the King against abuse by officials. All three are obliged by law to investigate every complaint of every citizen, to ensure freedom of the press, and to begin prosecution of any official who acts wrongly or neglects his duty.

Over their port and cigars in London, parliamentarians and barristers were impressed by the efficiency and economy of the ombudsman system. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan promised to give the matter "careful" study. Labor's Hugh Gaitskell concurred. But other M.P.s were quick to point out that the ombudsman system would cut across the primary sources of parliamentary authority and power. They thought that what would work in the more placid arena of Scandinavia, with its tradition of dispassionate counselors such as Dag Hammarskjold. would not do so well in the bigger and more contentious British setting.

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