9 Hans Gammeltoft-Hansen Parliamentary Ombudsman GoOD ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICE – about good behaviour by the administration All the cases processed by the Parliamentary Ombudsman are assessed according to rules. These are primarily rules of law, i.e. legal provisions, administrative regulations and unwritten fundamental legal principles. However, alongside the actual rules of law, another system of rules and principles also forms part of the basis of the Ombudsman’s assessments: good administrative practice. It can be difficult to get an overview of the standards and principles constituting good administrative practice. They cannot be found in the text of acts and orders. Within some areas, they may be mentioned in guides and other regulations, but the directions are far from always as specific as the actual rules of law. New definitions of what must be regarded as good administrative practice may also be introduced, especially when the Ombudsman considers specific cases. All this results in some uncertainty about the concept of good administrative practice among many case workers and authorities. They have a feeling that it is not always possible to guard against breaking the rules and principles of good administrative practice. This is a problem not only for the relevant members of the administration themselves, but for the entire relationship between citizen and public administration, for good administrative practice is – both historically and currently – a core concept in our administrative culture; a pivot in relations between administration and citizens. It is therefore also important to understand the meaning and origins of good administrative practice and in addition to have some overview of what it involves. If one knows where administrative practice originates, how it develops and what it covers, it should also be easier to comply with its rules.