The purpose of this subject is to analyze the European Ombudsman, the European body that responds to complaints from EU citizens, helping to uncover cases of “maladministration” – where EU institutions have broken the law, failed to respect the principles of a good administration or violated fundamental rights.

The European Ombudsman is a European body created in 1992 based on the Scandinavian model. Like its namesakes elsewhere, the Ombudsman would review complaints of “maladministration”. It would be able to compel the cooperation of the European Institutions in its investigations and ultimately make recommendations, supported by reports to the European Parliament. Due to its function and powers, it plays a relevant role in the recognition and guarantee of fundamental rights in the European Union.

In spite of its important paper, most of European Union Law handbooks don’t pay any attention to this figure. Because of it, this optional subject offers the study of this European body.