84 annual report 2012 Rejected cases A total of 3,611 (84.0 per cent) of the cases concluded were rejected without being subjected to a full or shortened substantive investigation. Cases may have to be rejected by the Ombudsman for various reasons and the category ‘rejected cases’ covers a number of situations: If a complaint is submitted too late, the case must be rejected pursuant to section 13(3) of the Ombudsman Act. In 2012, the Ombudsman rejected 128 cases for this reason. Sometimes a person lodging a complaint with the Ombudsman has not exhausted the appeal options available in connection with the case processing by the administrative authorities within the existing deadlines. In such cases, the complaint cannot subsequently be considered by the Ombudsman. In 2012, the Ombudsman rejected 47 cases of this kind. The Ombudsman does not consider cases which are outside his jurisdiction. Pursuant to section 7(2) of the Ombudsman Act, the Ombudsman must reject complaints relating to the courts and their work. The Ombudsman also rejects complaints concerning matters on which a court is expected to make a decision. In 2012, a total of 131 cases were rejected for these reasons. Complaints relating to the Danish Parliament, including complaints about legislative issues, are likewise outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction (a total of 34 cases). This also applies to complaints relating to private legal matters and complaints about certain tribunals, even though they are part of the public administration in other contexts (section 7(3) of the Ombudsman Act). In 2012, 226 cases were rejected for these reasons. In 2012, the Ombudsman rejected a total of 391 cases because they were outside his jurisdiction. 1,591 cases were rejected for the time being because the complainant could still complain about the matter/appeal the decision within the administrative appeal system etc. As already mentioned, the Ombudsman cannot enter a case until all administrative complaint/appeal options have been exhausted (section 14 of the Ombudsman Act). In such situations, the Ombudsman will either forward the case to the relevant authority or authorities or ask the complainant to use his or her complaint/appeal options etc. within the administrative system. In this connection, the Ombudsman will also inform the complainant of the possibility of returning after his or her complaint/appeal options have been exhausted and a final decision has been made. In 2012, the Ombudsman forwarded 988 (62.1 per cent) of the cases he rejected for the time being to the relevant authorities.