SDR - Annual Report - 2012

Between October 2011 and December 2012, the Ombudsman received 1,059 complaints and responded to 2,900 requests for information, confirming the institution’s vital role in ensuring access to citizens rights in Luxembourg. The most common issues relate to immigration, housing benefit, social security, taxation, education and dealings with local authorities. The report emphasises the importance of high-quality customer service, administrative transparency and clear reasoning behind decisions, in order to avoid delays, misunderstandings and errors that lead to injustices. The Ombudsman also highlights the potential of mediation as a tool for conflict resolution, helping to relieve pressure on the courts and preserve social cohesion.

Beyond the handling of complaints, the Ombudsman highlights several systemic shortcomings: a lack of consistency between departments, excessive delays, restrictive interpretations of the law, and shortcomings in the protection of vulnerable people — particularly people with disabilities, for whom the Ombudsman calls for a strengthening of her mandate. She also recommends modernising the Ombudsman’s legal framework in order to extend her remit to all bodies responsible for providing a public service, and to better integrate the human rights dimension, which is considered essential to the proper functioning of a modern and democratic administration.