72 Annexes should as a general rule be presented to the administrative body or official concerned. The same applies to subsequent statements and information from the complainant. The administrative body or official concerned must always be given the opportunity to comment before the Ombudsman issues an opinion as set out in section 10, second and third paragraphs, of the Parliamentary Ombudsman Act. The Ombudsman will decide what measures should be taken in order to clarify the circumstances of the case. He may obtain the information he considers necessary in accordance with the provisions of section 7 of the Parliamentary Ombudsman Act, and may set a deadline for complying with an order to provide information or submit documents, etc. He may also make further ­inquiries of the administrative body or enterprise to which the complaint applies, see section 8 of the Parliamentary Ombudsman Act. The complainant is entitled to familiarise himself with the statements and information provided in the case, unless he is not entitled to do so under the rules applicable to the administrative body involved. If he for special reasons finds it necessary, the Parliamentary Ombudsman can obtain an expert opinion. Section 7. Notifying a complainant when a complaint is not investigated (See section 6, fourth paragraph, of the Parliamentary Ombudsman Act) If the Parliamentary Ombudsman finds that there are no grounds for dealing with a complaint, the complainant shall be notified immediately. In such cases, the Ombudsman should, as far as possible, advise the complainant of any other legal avenues that may exist or forward the case to the appropriate authority himself. Section 8a. Special provisions relating to the Parliamentary Ombudsman as national preventive mechanism The Ombudsman may receive assistance from persons with specific expertise in connection with its function as the national preventive mechanism in accordance with section 3a of the Parliamentary Ombudsman Act. The Ombudsman shall establish an advisory committee to provide expertise, information, advice and input in connection with its function as the national preventive mechanism. The advisory committee shall include members with expertise on children, human rights and psychiatry. The committee must have a good gender balance and each sex shall be represented by a minimum of 40 % of the membership. The committee may include both Norwegian and foreign members. Added by Storting decision of 17 June 2013 No. 1251 (in force from 1 July 2013). Section 9. Completion of the Ombudsman’s procedures in a case (See section 10 of the Parliamentary Ombudsman Act) The Ombudsman shall personally make a decision in all cases that are accepted following a complaint or that he has considered on his own initiative. He may nevertheless give specific members of staff the authority to complete cases that clearly must be rejected or that clearly do not provide sufficient grounds for further consideration. The Ombudsman’s decision is issued in a statement in which he gives his opinion on the questions that apply in the case and that come within his sphere of responsibility, see section 10 of the Parliamentary Ombudsman Act. Amended by Storting decision of 2 December 2003 No. 1898 (in force from 1 January 2004). Section 8. Cases considered on the Ombudsman’s own initiative (See section 5 of the Parliamentary Ombudsman Act) Section 10. Instructions for employees at the Ombudsman’s office If the Ombudsman finds reason to do so, he may further investigate proceedings, decisions or other matters on his own initiative. The provisions of section 6, first, second and fourth paragraphs, shall apply correspondingly to such investigations. (See section 2 of the Parliamentary Ombudsman Act) Norway’s National Preventive Mechanism – Annual Report 2014 The Ombudsman will issue out further instructions for his staff. He may give the employees the authority to make the necessary preparations for cases that are dealt with by the Ombudsman.

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