A Comparative Analysis of Ombudsman Approaches to Family Policy Complaints in EU Member States

Yıl 2025, Sayı: ÖZEL SAYI 3 (AİLE), 231 - 262

Soner Akın

https://doi.org/10.32002/ombudsmanakademik.1706790

Öz

This study conducts a comparative analysis of ombudsman reports, legal frameworks, and academic literature from three EU member states—Sweden, Spain, and Germany. The goal is to reveal the strengths and limitations of different institutional models and contribute to a cohesive understanding of family policy across the European Union. Adopting a comparative perspective, the research examines how ombudsman institutions address family policy–related complaints within institutional, judicial, and normative dimensions. Through case studies of Sweden, Spain, and Germany, it identifies the jurisdictional scope, procedures, and legal structures shaping each country’s ombudsman authority in family policy matters. The analysis highlights both the similarities and differences in how these bodies handle family-related grievances and the extent to which their reports and recommendations influence national policy agendas. It also explores interactions between national ombudsmen and the European Ombudsman, emphasizing transnational oversight and cooperation mechanisms. The findings indicate that institutional and legal diversity across EU states strongly affects how family policy complaints are assessed and resolved. Furthermore, decisions by national and EU-level ombudsman bodies encourage participatory, accountable, and rights-based policymaking. The study concludes that ombudsman institutions possess significant transformative potential in shaping EU-wide family policy frameworks. Finally, it evaluates how critical themes such as gender equality, caregiving responsibilities, and children’s rights are represented in ombudsman decisions, illustrating their broader contribution to the development of equitable and inclusive family policies within the European Union.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Family Policy , European Union , Rights-Based Approaches , Ombudsman Institutions , Complaint Procedures

AB ÜLKELERİNDE AİLE POLİTİKASI ŞİKÂYETLERİNE OMBUDSMAN YAKLAŞIMLARININ KARŞILAŞTIRMALI İNCELEMESİ

Öz

Çalışma kapsamında, İsveç, İspanya ve Almanya gibi ülkeler üzerinden AB’ne üye ülkelerin ombudsman raporları, yasal düzenlemeler ve akademik literatür karşılaştırmalı olarak analiz edilmiştir. Karşılaştırmalı analiz, farklı uygulama modellerinin güçlü ve zayıf yönlerini belirleyerek, AB düzeyinde paylaşılan bir aile politikası anlayışına katkıda bulunmayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu bağlamda, çalışma AB üye ülkelerinde ombudsman yaklaşımlarını karşılaştırmalı bir çerçevede ele almaktadır. Avrupa Birliği üyesi ülkelerde aile politikasıyla ilgili şikâyetlere yönelik ombudsman kurumlarının kurumsal, yargısal ve hukuki yaklaşımları, bu çalışmada karşılaştırmalı olarak incelenmektedir. İsveç, İspanya ve Almanya örnek ülkeler kapsamında derinlemesine ele alınarak, bu ülkelerdeki ulusal ombudsman makamlarının aile politikası bağlamındaki yetki alanları, işleyiş süreçleri ve hukuki çerçeveleri ortaya konmuştur. Çalışma, aile politikasıyla ilgili şikâyetlerin ele alınış biçimindeki benzerlik ve farklılıkları ile ombudsman raporlarının, tavsiyelerinin ve kararlarının aile politikası üzerindeki etkilerini tartışmaktadır. Ayrıca, ulusal ombudsmanların aile politikası kapsamındaki uygulamalarının Avrupa Ombudsmanı ile etkileşimi incelenmekte; bu çerçevede uluslararası denetim ve iş birliği mekanizmalarının rolü değerlendirilmektedir. Sonuçlar, ülkeler arasındaki kurumsal ve hukuki farklılıkların aile politikası şikâyetlerinin değerlendirilme süreçlerini şekillendirdiğini; ulusal ve Avrupa Ombudsmanı kararlarının ise aile politikası oluşturma süreçlerinde katılımcılık, hesap verebilirlik ve hak temelli yaklaşımları güçlendirdiğini göstermektedir. Araştırma bulguları, AB aile politikalarının geliştirilmesinde ombudsman kurumlarının dönüştürücü rolünü vurgulamaktadır. Ayrıca, aile politikası kapsamında toplumsal cinsiyet eşitliği, bakım yükümlülükleri ve çocuk hakları gibi tematik konuların ombudsman kararlarına yansımaları değerlendirilmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Aile Politikası , Avrupa Birliği , Hak Temelli Yaklaşımlar , Ombudsman Kurumları , Şikayet Süreçleri

Kaynakça

• ABEDİN, Najmul (2006). The Ombudsman Institution and Conflict Resolution in the Contemporary Third World Societies. Journal of Third World Studies, 23 (1), ss. 219-233.
• ATHANASIADOU, Natassa ve Nikos Vogiatzis (2021). "The EU Queries: A Form of Extra-Judicial Preliminary Reference in the Field of Maladministration?" German Law Journal, 22 (3), ss. 441-465.
• AVTONOMOV, Alexei (2021). "Activities of the European Ombudsman under the Charter of Fundamental Rights: Promoting Good Administration through Human Rights Compliance." Laws, 10 (3), s. 51.
• AYENI, Victor O. (1997). "Evolution of and Prospects for the Ombudsman in Southern Africa." International Review of Administrative Sciences, 63 (4), ss. 543-563.
• AYENI, Victor O (2014). "Ombudsmen as Human Rights Institutions." Journal of Human Rights, 13 (4), ss. 498-511.
• BASAURE MIRANDA, Isaac Marcelo (2017). "La Ausencia del Defensor del Pueblo en Argentina: Siete Años Sin Representación Colectiva." Derecho PUCP, 78, ss. 199-214.
• BELL, Mark (2002). Anti-discrimination Law and the European Union. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• BOUSTA, Rhita (2007). "Contribution à une Définition de l'Ombudsman." Revue Française d'Administration Publique, 123 (3), ss. 387-397.
• BOWRING, Bill (2019). "Twentieth Century Totalitarian Regimes, Lustration, and Guilt for Crimes of the Past: Challenges and Dangers for the Strasbourg Court." Review of Central and East European Law, 44 (1), ss. 91-116.
• CARL, Sabine (2018). "The History and Evolution of the Ombudsman Model." Research Handbook on the Ombudsman. Der. Buck, Trevor – Kirkham, Richard – Thompson, Brian. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, ss. 17-33.
• CRAIG, Paul. (2018). EU administrative law. Oxford University Press.
• CREUTZFELDT, Naomi. (2016). What do we expect from an ombudsman? Narratives of everyday engagement with the informal justice system in Germany and the UK. International Journal of Law in Context, 12(4), ss. 437–452.
• ÇAĞDAŞ, Tülin. (2017). ’Ombudsman Kurumu ve Türkiye’de 6328 Sayılı ‘‘Kamu Denetçiliği Kurumu Kanunu’nun’’ Düzenlenmesi. İstanbul Medipol Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi, 4(2), ss. 83–107.
• DALY, Aoife. (2017). Children, autonomy and the courts: Beyond the right to be heard (Vol. 3). Brill.
• DARPÖ, Jan. (2009). Justitieombudsmannen, de närboende och miljön. In JO–Lagarnas väktare Riksdagstrycket (ss. 68–91). Sverige. Riksdagen Press.
• DE GUTTRY, Andreas M. T. (2024). The duty of care of international organizations: Emerging trends in contemporary jurisprudence. Ordine Internazionale e Diritti Umani, 5, ss.793–817.
• DE LEO, Andreina. (2025). Fostering accountability for human rights violations in EU border externalization through the European Ombudsman: The case of contesting financial support to the Libyan Coast Guard. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 23(1), ss.104–120.
• DIAMANDOUROS, Nikiforos. (2012). The European Ombudsman and good administration post-Lisbon. In The European Union after the Treaty of Lisbon (ss. 210–226). (ed.) Diamond Ashiagbor, Nicola Countouris and Ioannis Lianos, Cambridge University Press.
• DONZELOT, Jacques. (2003). Décomposition de la famille? «La polices des familles», 25 ans après. In Quoi de neuf dans le domestique? (2), ss.21–30.
• DUMON, Wilfried A., Tanja Nuelant, ve Francoise Bartiaux (1991). National family policies in EC countries in 1991. Commission of the European Communities, Directorate General for Employment, Industrial Relations and Social Affairs.
• DUMON, W Wilfried A., (2013). The situation of families in Western Europe: A sociological perspective. In The Family on the Threshold of the 21st Century (pp. 181-200). Psychology Press.
• DUMON, Wilfried A., (2003). Comments on Giovanni Sgritta’s Paper: Family and Welfare Systems in the Transition to Adulthood: An Emblematic Case-study. Family Forms and the Young Generation in Europe.
• FARRELL, Nora. (2016). The evolution of the idiosyncrasy of the role of Ombudsman/Person in Canada. In The Nature of Inquisitorial Processes in Administrative Regimes (ss. 325–358). Routledge.
• GALERA, Susana, Pablo Acosta ve Helena Soleto. (2014). ADR tools in Spanish administrative law. In Alternative Dispute Resolution in European Administrative Law (ss. 233–257). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
• GEORGIEVA, Gergana, Yavor Simov ve Reneta Nikolova.(2020) Some National Security Issues under The European Convention on Human Rightscase-Law. International Conference of Knowledge-Based Organızatıon. Vol. 26. No. 2.
• GLUŠAC, Luka. (2021). A critical appraisal of the Venice principles on the protection and promotion of the Ombudsman: An equivalent to the Paris principles?.Human Rights Law Review 21(1), ss. 22-53.
• GRONOWSKA, Bożena. (2014). Poland and its contribution” to the Strasbourg case-law. Європейські студії і право 1,ss. 15-30.
• HALÁSZ, Ivan. (2023). The Role of The Czech, Slovak, And Polish Ombudsman During The First Wave of The Covid-19 Epidemic. Зборник радова Међународни научни скуп „Изазови и перспективе развоја правних система у XXI вијеку 3.3 (1), ss. 79-90.
• HOFMANN, Herwig CH, and Alexander H. Türk. (2006).An introduction to EU administrative governance. Ed.,Hofmann, Herwig CH & Türk, Alexander H.(Hg.), EU Adminstrative Governance. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, ss.1-8.
• HOFMANN, Herwig CH ve Jacques Ziller, (2017) Accountability in the EU: The role of the European Ombudsman. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017.
• HOFMANN, Herwig CH, Ellen Vos ve Merjin Chamon (2019). The External Dimension of EU Agencies and Bodies: Law and Policy. Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Hryb, Anna Mykolaïvna. (2025). Protection of human rights in the European Union: general principles. Аналітично-порівняльне правознавство, (1), ss.859-865.
• INGLESE, Marco. (2019) EU agencies external activities and the European Ombudsman. In The External Dimension of EU Agencies and Bodies. Edward Elgar Publishing, ss. 164-181.
• IVERSEN, Vibeke, ve Claes Nilas (2017).Forvaltningsprocessen blev skabt i en anden tid: Interview med Folketingets Ombudsmand Jørgen Steen Sørensen. Administrativ Debat, 1.
• JACKSON, Riikka ve Paula Saikkonen (2020). Perustoimeentulotuen siirto Kelaan kasvatti eduskunnan oikeusasiamiehelle tehtyjen kanteluiden määrää, Janus Sosiaalipolitiikan ja sosiaalityön tutkimuksen aikakauslehti, 28 (2), ss. 194-201.
• KESER, Ahmet, and Şadiye Sucu (2021). Türkiye’de Kamu Denetçiliği Politikasının Oluşturulması: Bir Kamu Politikası Analizi. Türk Sosyal Bilimler Araştırmaları Dergisi 6 (1), ss: 49-70.
• KIM, Ray Dongryul. (2019). Korea’s Anticorruption Struggles. Ed., Cheng Chen, Meredith L. Weiss, In The political logics of anticorruption efforts in Asia, s.169.Suny Press.
• KOREN, Marian (1995). A children's ombudsman in Sweden. Int'l J. Child. Rts.3, s. 101.
• KOSTADINOVA, Petia. (2015). Improving the transparency and accountability of EU institutions: The impact of the Office of the European Ombudsman. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 53(5), ss. 1077-1093.
• LAFFRANQUE, Julia (2020). The Ombudsman in the Eyes of the European Court of Human Rights. Juridica Int'l (29), s. 95.
• LAGELLE, Anaïs. (2010). Le défenseur des droits: un ombudsman à la française. Revue juridique de l'Ouest, 4, ss. 443-457.
• MAGNETTE, Paul. (2003). European governance and civic participation: beyond elitist citizenship? Political studies 51(1), ss. 144-160.
• MCINTYRE, Ruairi. (2021). What is the Meaning of'Ombudsman'? A Biological Analysis of the Irish Administrative State. King's Inns Student L. Rev. 10, s. 1.
• MEDDA, Roberto. (2017). L’Ombudsman in Italia tra Stato e Regioni: la perdurante assenza di un sistema integrato di garanzia. Istituzioni del federalismo: rivista di studi giuridici e politici 4, ss. 961-1000.
• NOWAK, Manfred. (2016). Human rights or global capitalism: the limits of privatization. University of Pennsylvania Press.
• O'BRİEN, Nick. (2015). What future for the ombudsman?, The Political Quarterly, 86(1), ss. 72-80.
• OKUR, Yaşar. (2011). Ombudsmanlık Kurumu: Tarihi Gelişim ve Türkiye’de Başlangıçta Birkaç Öneri. Denetişim 6, ss. 71-83.
• OSMANOĞLU, Kerem. (2011). Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi İçtihatlarında İşkence Yasağı ve Polisin Zor Kullanma Yetkisi. Erciyes Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi 6 (1-2), ss. 287-314.
• PAUTI, Monique. (2000). The ombudsman in France. Righting Wrongs, The Ombudsman in Six Continents, Ed., Richard Gregory and Douglas P. Giddings, IOS Press, Amsterdam, ss. 175-188.
• PFANDER, James E. (2003). Government Accountability in Europe: A Comparative Assessment." Geo. Wash. Int'l L. Rev. 35, s. 611.
• RAWLINGS, Richard, and C. Harlow. (2009). Law and administration. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• REIF, Linda C.(2004). The ombudsman, good governance, and the international human rights system. Vol. 79. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
• RICHTER, Claus. (2024). Das SGB VIII im Sozialgesetzbuch–Schnittstellen und Zuständigkeiten." Handbuch der Hilfen zur Erziehung 54. Lambertus Press.
• ROCA, Guillermo Escobar. (2024). Nuevos estándares y expectativas del Ombudsman: en especial, su aportación al cumplimiento del Estado de derecho. In La Ley del Ararteko. Construyendo el futuro: una reflexión sobre las defensorías del pueblo: 2023ko ekainaren 12an eta 13an Vitoria-Gasteizen egindako mintegia= Seminario celebrado en Vitoria-Gasteiz los días 12 y 13 de junio de 2023. Eusko Legebiltzarra= Parlamento Vasco, 2024.
• RODRÍGUEZ, José Julio Fernández. (2010). Defensor del Pueblo y defensorías autonómicas: Reflexiones sobre sus relaciones y posición recíproca. Teoría y realidad constitucional 26, ss. 259-284.
• ROWAT, Donald Cameron. (1973). Ombudsman Plan: Essays on the Worldwide Spread of an Idea. No. 67. McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP.
• SCHMIDT-AßMANN, Eberhard ve Stéphanie Dagron (2007). Deutsches und französisches Verwaltungsrecht im Vergleich ihrer Ordnungsideen. Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht, 67, ss. 395-468.
• SIMIĆ, Željko, Vladan Stanković ve Bojan Zdravković, (2020). Legal position of the ombudsman in transition countries – between the need and the process of overnorm. Faculty of Business Studies and Law, Beopress, Beograd.
• STUHMCKE, Anita (2008). "Changing relations between government and citizen: administrative law and the work of the Australian commonwealth Ombudsman." Australian journal of public administration 67(3), ss. 321-339.
• THERBORN, Göran. (2004) Between sex and power: Family in the world 1900-2000. Routledge.
• UGGLA, Fredrik (2004). "The Ombudsman in Latin America." Journal of Latin American Studies 36 (3), ss.423-450.
• USTA, Hasibe (2014) "Türkiye’de ombudsman (kamu denetçiliği) kurumu." Denetişim 14, ss.59-64.
• VITALE, Marco A. Quiroz. (2014). "The Ombudsman and the Protection of Human Rights in Europe: Case Study of Italian" Civic Defender"." US-China L. Rev. 11,s. 951.
• VITALE, Quiroz. (2018)."L’Ombudsman et la défense des droits humains." Società e diritti, 3(6), ss. 94-110.
• ZAHREBELNA, Nataliia., Andriy Dubovoi, Oleksandr Vashchuk, Serhii Sadovyi & Alla. Pyshna, (2024). Grundlagen of Legal Responsibility and Guaranteeing the Efficacy of Measures in Compliance with European Human Rights Standards. Yustisia, 13(2), ss. 189-209.