The public sector ombudsman has become one of the most important administrative justice institutions in many countries around the world. This international and interdisciplinary Research Handbook brings together leading scholars and practitioners to discuss the state-of-the-art of ombudsman research. It uses new empirical studies and competing theoretical explanations to critically examine important aspects of the ombudsman’s work. This comprehensive Handbook is of value to academics designing future ombudsman studies and practitioners and policymakers in understanding the future challenges of the ombudsman.

Public and private organizations can benefit from the creation and implementation of an ombudsman program designed to problem-solve at the organizational level. This timely book presents the ombudsman in concept and in practice, offering full design and operational details from start-up to key activities and roles, as well as the benefits for the top executives, the employees and the customers. Case studies from numerous fields are examined to illustrate how a strong ombudsman program is vital to avoiding litigation, resolving conflicts and assisting management.

This book explores the ombudsman as a global institution. It has spread all over the world and its institutional development is increasingly being governed transnationally. Initially an institution of administrative law, the ombudsman has become a human rights institution and institution of good governance. These ideational shifts have influenced the global diffusion of the ombudsman but also the way in which this institution of accountability functions. The ombudsman is a peculiar institution of public accountability - both an institution and individual - that observes changes in the general political climate and engages in renegotiations of its intra-institutional position. The global models associated with the ombudsman are a source of organizational ideas, legitimacy, and sense of orientation, but they treat institutional actors differently, working also as mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion. The book tracks the global diffusion and institutional evolution of the ombudsman. Its chapters on institutional cases further explore the joint institutional history of the Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Chancellor of Justice in Finland, and the European Ombudsman.

An indispensable survival guide for anyone in the media industry and the lawyers who serve them Especially now, in an age of instant global access through digital media, it is vitally important that journalists, authors and publishers, as well as the lawyers who serve them, be fully up on the laws governing media, worldwide. The ultimate resource for all the media content providers and purveyors, this fully updated and expanded Third Edition of the critically-acclaimed handbook offers you instant access to relevant libel and privacy laws and important legal rulings in the Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. It clearly and concisely explains risks publishers should know about prior to publication, steps they can take in order to avoid legal conflicts, and legal defences available to them in the event of a claim. Offers nation-by-nation summaries of libel and privacy law written by local practitioners in an easy-to-use reference format Expanded to include coverage of important emerging territories--Mexico, Israel, and Argentina, et al--as well as the latest libel and privacy rulings Features new chapters on emerging media markets--including Israel, Mexico, Argentina, Jordan, and others--as well as valuable updates to the Middle East section Provides updates on all major media markets and nations, along with coverage of changes in libel laws in key jurisdictions, including Australia, the UK, Hungary and Germany

As the field of public administration has been changing due to globalization, government reforms, and increasing governance practices within intergovernmental networks, research and teaching in public administration also adapted itself to these changes. Public policy research and instruction has become transformed and has diffused into other countries with the help of international organizations and other agents of change and transfer. Research in this field is seen as an opportunity for a definitive shift from traditional models of public administration in the sense that policies may be better designed, articulated, and governed through a collaborative approach, while service provision could be enhanced in terms of proximity, representativeness, and innovativeness. The Handbook of Research on Global Challenges for Improving Public Services and Government Operations provides comprehensive approaches to the study of public administration and public policy from a comparative perspective and includes sound theories and concepts for understanding opportunities and challenges governments face when seeking to improve public services and government operations. The book is a compilation of selective high-quality chapters covering cases, experiences, and practical recommendations on topics related to public administration, public policy, social policy, public management, and public affairs. This book is ideal for policymakers, students, and researchers in the field of public administration, public policy, governance, public management, public affairs, citizen engagement, and administrative sciences and management along with practitioners, stakeholders, and academicians interested in the best practices of various countries in public administration and policy.

This essential Research Handbook provides a comprehensive and critical assessment of the global governance instruments related to business and human rights from an interdisciplinary perspective. Contributions from a diverse range of leading international scholars offer an overview of the existing literature and rapidly-evolving research discipline, as well as identifying key trends and outlining an ambitious future research agenda.

The statutory duty of public service ombudsmen (PSO) is to investigate claims of injustice caused by maladministration in the provision of public services. This book examines the modern role of the ombudsman within the overall emerging system of administrative justice and makes recommendations as to how PSO should optimize their potential within the wider administrative justice context. Recent developments are discussed and long standing questions that have yet to be adequately resolved in the ombudsman community are re-evaluated given broader changes in the administrative justice sector. The work balances theory and empirical research conducted in a number of common law countries. Although there has been much debate within the ombudsman community in recent years aimed at developing and improving the practice of ombudsmanry, this work represents a significant advance on current academic understanding of the discipline.