The Ombudsman Act stipulates that the parliamentary Ombudsman is ap-pointed for a five-year term, which term may be renewed once. This law was passed in 1995 and the first Ombudsman – Joseph Sammut – was appointed by Parliament in July of the same year. He served two terms and was succeeded by Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Said Pullicino, in December 2005.

Ten years ago, as an investigating officer within the same Ombudsman institution, I shared the frustration with my colleagues, the frustration resulting directly from the fact that Malta was left without an Ombudsman in office for a good five months (between July and December 2005). We did our best to keep the office going, under the helm of the most senior officer within the institution – Anthony Vassallo – and we spent the time concluding investigations and drafting reports for the new incumbent to consider once he was appointed.

It was not a nice time. We were frustrated without proper direction and so were those people who approached the office for assistance at the time. The worst part of this sorry saga was that it was completely avoidable, with a bit of forward planning on Parliament’s part.

At this stage, I am not aware about whether Parliament is seeking to prevent a repeat of what happened in 2005, by appointing an Ombudsman-designate, to ensure continuity when the present incumbent’s second and last term expires this December.

Ideally, the next Ombudsman should have already been identified and should be preparing himself for when he takes over from Dr Said Pullicino in less than two months.

If it has not been done, I suggest that Parliament gets down to it with the least delay possible. I also suggest that Parliament takes on a proposal which the first Ombudsman made when his term was coming to an end but which fell on deaf ears: issue a public call for applications for the position.

Parliament should issue a public call for applications for the post of Ombudsman

The members of the selection board would be composed of representatives from both sides of the House and chaired by the Speaker of the House. The advantage of this would be to reach out to a wider pool of potentially interested people.

Apart from the question of timing, it is important that Parliament gets its choice right. So far, we have had a senior civil servant and a retired chief justice to fill the position. Both brought with them a wealth of experience, which reflected on their individual style in office and reflected directly not only on the output of the office but also on its relations with the public administration and with the public.

There is no hard and fast rule regarding the background of the incumbent: the present European Ombudsman, for example, is a journalist by profession. What counts, apart from experience and insight into matters related to public administration, is that the person has the correct credentials.

Honesty and integrity: he (or she – why not?) must have a good public reputation; otherwise, neither the public administration nor the public will have faith in the institution.

Commitment: it is not an easy job. The Ombudsman’s role is to oversee the public administration’s workings and, where necessary, recommend corrective action. This will not necessarily make him very popular and there will be times when he will have to face tough and sensitive issues.

Communication skills: he must be an excellent listener and a very patient one at that.

Energy: he will need to work very hard, not only to continue building good relations with the administration and the public, but also to promote the institution and its values. He will also need to work very hard at times to bring the public administration around to his way of thinking and to persuade them to implement his recommendations (this is also where excellent communication skills come in).

Finally, it is not enough to be energetic. He must also understand what his role as Ombudsman entails and the limits of his office: these include making a clear distinction between reviewing administrative acts and trying to substitute the discretion and decision-taking powers of the public administration. The Ombudsman must never venture beyond the former.

I am sure that people with the right qualities exist in Malta and I trust that Parliament will waste no time in identifying such a person.

Ivan Mifsud is a senior lecturer at the university’s Department of Public Law.