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Ombudsmen at the Crossroads

The Legal Services Ombudsman, Dispute Resolution and Democratic Accountability

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  • © 2017

Overview

Authors:
  1. Nick O'Brien

    1. University of Liverpool , Liverpool, United Kingdom

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  2. Mary Seneviratne

    1. Nottingham Trent University , Nottingham, United Kingdom

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  • Uses the Legal Services Ombudsman (LSO) as a case study to explore the development of the ombudsman concept over 20 years
  • Assesses the legacy of the LSO from the perspective of the history of professional regulation
  • Appeals to students and scholars of public administration, public law and political theory

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiii
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  2. Introduction

    • Nick O’Brien, Mary Seneviratne
    Pages 1-5

  3. Professional Context and Regulatory Background: “Fat Cats” and Frustrated “Consumers”

    • Nick O’Brien, Mary Seneviratne
    Pages 7-14

  4. The LSO, Market Forces and the Challenge to Professional Self-Regulation in the 1980s

    • Nick O’Brien, Mary Seneviratne
    Pages 15-27

  5. The LSO in Practice 1991–1997: Democratic Accountability and the “Creaking System”

    • Nick O’Brien, Mary Seneviratne
    Pages 29-51

  6. The LSO in Practice 1998–2002: Consumer Dispute Resolution and “The Regulatory Maze”

    • Nick O’Brien, Mary Seneviratne
    Pages 53-69

  7. The LSO in Practice 2003–2010: “Putting Consumers First”

    • Nick O’Brien, Mary Seneviratne
    Pages 71-89

  8. Conclusion: The Ombuds as “Third Way”

    • Nick O’Brien, Mary Seneviratne
    Pages 91-103

  9. Back Matter

    Pages 105-117
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Keywords

About this book

This book charts the evolution of the Legal Services Ombudsman for England and Wales. Established in 1990, it had a statutory remit that explicitly recognized its dual responsibility for consumer dispute resolution and democratic accountability. It was replaced in 2010 by a very different type of ombudsman institution. The book describes how the Ombudsman reconciled its different roles and how far it succeeded in changing the mentality of the legal profession. The authors relate the Ombudsman’s successes and failures to current debates facing the ombudsman and regulatory community, and highlight the continuing potential of the ombudsman institution. The ombudsman institution emerges as a ‘third way’ between the courts and various forms of alternative dispute resolution, and as a creative and democratic means of responding to public grievance.

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Liverpool , Liverpool, United Kingdom

    Nick O'Brien

  • Nottingham Trent University , Nottingham, United Kingdom

    Mary Seneviratne

About the authors

Nick O’Brien is Honorary Research Fellow at Liverpool University, UK. He was Legal Director of the Disability Rights Commission between 2000 and 2007, and Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee inquiry on the UK Parliamentary Ombudsman 2013-14. 


Mary Seneviratne is Emeritus Professor of Law, Nottingham Trent University, UK. She was formerly a Member of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council, and Adviser to the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee. She is author of The Legal Profession: Regulation and the Consumer (1999), and Ombudsmen: Public Services and Administrative Justice (2002).                                                                          

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