News
The Catalan Ombudsman proposes good corporate practices in the private sector due to the liberalization of public services
Experts agree that the role of the Ombudsman must be especially aimed at correcting situations of contractual imbalance between the parties and in general, facilitating the identification of dissatisfactions with service provision
The Ombudsman recommendations on energy poverty show the ability of the Office to detect regulatory and organizational shortcomings impeding the full respect for human rights in the private sphere
The new electricity pricing and the lack of regulation in cases of over-indebtedness are criticized and questioned by the Ombudsman
The Catalan Ombudsman, Rafael Ribó, together with members of the National Energy Ombudsmen Network (NEON), the ombudsman services (UK), Lewis Shand; the director of the Service de médiation de l’énergie (Belgium), Eric Houtman, and the Médiateur national de l’énergie (France), Stéphan Mialot, presented in Parliament a document on the private provision of services of general interest and good corporate practices.
The report addresses the role that ombudsmen, and in particular the Catalan Ombudsman must acquire due to the economic and social developments in recent years, which have led to the privatization of many services as the universal or general interest ones. Article 78 of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia gives powers to the Catalan Ombudsman to take action in the field of private companies providing services of general interest, but the supervision is not really detailed or defined. Specifically, the report includes presentations by three well-known experts in the framework of a conference organized by the Catalan Ombudsman: Joan Ramon Borrell , Professor of Political Economy at the University of Barcelona, Carles Ramió , Professor of Political Science at the University Pompeu Fabra and Juli Ponce, Accredited University Professor and Professor of Administrative Law at the University of Barcelona.
