The Ombuds Blog: European Molecular Biology Laboratory Selects Next Ombuds

June 18, 2025

European Molecular Biology Laboratory Selects Next Ombuds

Tuba Bilecik has been appointed the Ombudsperson for EMBL, the intergovernmental laboratory for the life sciences in Heidelberg, Germany. She follows Martina Peskoller-Fuchs, who established the program in 2015. As the Ombuds, Bilekic will serve staff, fellows, trainees, and lab visitors at sites across Europe, and will serve an initial five-year term.

Bilecik comes to the position after five years as a Mediator with the Office of the Ombudsman for United Nations Funds and Programmes. Her prior experience as an ADR practitioner includes work at Index Grup in Turkey, JAMS in California, and the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office. She graduated from Marmara University and earned an LLM at the University of Southern California. Bilecik was a presenter at IOA's first virtual symposium in 2023. (LinkedIn.)

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Tom Kosakowski6/23/2025 10:53 AM
Note to the anonymous commenter: Please email me directly. I will not approve the comment as written but would like to consider verifiable information. Thanks.
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Organizational Ombuds

Organizational Ombuds serve as a confidential, independent, neutral and informal dispute resolution resource for a specific entity. They are accessible to a defined population and can advocate for fairness. These unique characteristics distinguish Organizational Ombuds from Classical Ombuds, mediators, arbitrators, and other alternative dispute resolution professionals. The term "Ombuds" is shorthand for "Ombudsman," "Ombudsperson" and "Ombuds Officer," which also are used widely.

Some other variants include:

Brazil -- Ouvidor

Croatia -- pravobranitelji

France -- médiateur/defénseur

Germany/Austria -- Ombudspersonen and Ombudsleute

Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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