ICANN Ombuds Points Out -- Executive Ombuds Have No Professional Group

In his last public address as the Ombudsman for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, Frank Fowlie observed that his office does into fit into either of the two prevailing models for Ombuds.

At the ICANN Meeting Public Forum in Cartagena, Fowlie said:

The difficulty in putting this particular office uniquely into a cache of one of the various ombudsman associations that exists is that it is an executive ombudsman office. It is created by a legislative body, being the table, and performs a specific function of answering questions about fair treatment within the community.


There is no specific ombudsman association in the world that caters exclusively to executive ombudsmen.


The United States Ombudsman Association and the International Ombudsman Association reflect either end of the spectrum. The United States Ombudsman being the classical or governmental ombudsman and the International Ombudsman Association being organizational ombudsmen who have very different characteristics of dealing usually with staff issues, client issues and who do not formally report. So there are elements of both.

His point is well taken. The logical question then is: Which association will welcome Executive Ombuds? (ICANN Ombuds Blog.)


Related post: ICANN Ombuds Will Step Down.