The Ethiopian institution of the Ombudsman is an independent parliamentary ombudsman Institution that has a council of the Ombudsman.  The council composition shall be a chief ombudsman, a deputy chief ombudsman and other ombudsmen.  The council, therefore, has the following powers and duties:-

• Adopts directives and by-laws necessary for the implementation of its proclamation.
• Discusses on draft budget of the institution.
• Adopts staff regulations in conformity with the basic principles of Federal Civil Service laws.
• Appoints department heads.
• Examines and renders a final decision within a short period of time, on cases, petitions or complaints submitted to it within short period of time in relation to staff administration.
• Hears disciplinary cases relating to department heads.

EIO has a vision where all citizens receive high quality public service from the executive organs of government in a manner that is accountable, transparent and efficient.

The institution strive to build culture of good governance and rule of law in the country by performing its functions, including the settlement of conflicts through mediation and arbitration of disputes between citizens and governmental organizations, initiation of reforms through identification of legal and systematic loopholes and recommendation of appropriate improvement measures, control of the administrative process through supervision and detection of errors made by governmental organizations and the like.

The institution, therefore, shall have the following major powers and duties to:-

• Supervise that administrative directives issues, and decisions given, by executive organs and practices thereof do not contravene the constitutional rights of citizens and the law as well;
• Receive and investigate complaints in respect of  maladministration;
• Conduct supervision, with a view to ensuring that the executive carries out its functions in accordance with the law and to preventing maladministration;
• Seek remedies incase where it believes that maladministration had occurred;
• Undertake studies and research on ways and mean of curbing maladministration;
• Make recommendations for the revision of existing laws practices or directives and for the enactment of new laws and formulation of policies with a view to bringing about better governance;
• Perform such other functions as are related to its objective.
  

Though the major function of EIO is to prevent government agencies and public enterprises from infringing on the rights and interests of citizens, it cannot deal with all citizen complaints.

The Ombudsman has no jurisdiction over matter that:-

• Decisions given by councils established by election, in their legislative capacity.
• Cases pending in courts of law of any level
  
• Matters under investigation by the office of the Auditor-General or
• Decisions given by security forces and units of the defense forces, in respect of matters of national security or defense.
  

The Ethiopian Institution of the Ombudsman, since its establishment, it has given a due attention for promotion, protection and defense of child, women and disability rights within the executive organs. The institution has its own Office of the Ombudsman for children and women.

The Ombudsman can investigate complaints about actions and decisions of Ethiopian Government organizations to see if they are wrong, unjust, unlawful, discriminatory or just plain unfair. The Ombudsman also seeks remedies for those affected by administrative deficiency, and acts to improve public administration generally.

Anyone can make a complaint. If you do not want to make the complaint yourself, you can ask someone else to complain on your behalf.

The Ombudsman’s services are free.

Yes. The Ombudsman accepts anonymous  complaints. However, we will not normally investigate unless the complaint raises a serious matter and there is sufficient information in the complaint to enable us to conduct an investigation.

Making a complaint is simple. You can make a complaint by telephone, in person, in writing, by fax, or using the online complaint form. If you do not someone else can make a complaint on your behalf, but we may still need to contact you to get your approval to proceed. Your complaint should include copies of all relevant correspondence with the agency that you are making a complaint about and any reference numbers.

Keep it simple and stick to the facts. Be as specific as possible about dates, names and other important details. There should be enough information for the Ombudsman to understand the circumstances of your complaint and decide how to deal with it. When writing your complaint, think about:

• What happened?
  
• Where did the events take place?
  
• When (time and date)?
• Who was involved?
• Were there any witnesses to these events? Have you included their details?
• Do you have any evidence or documents, which may be relevant? If so, you may want to supply copies with your complaint.
• Have you taken any action already in relation to your complaint? What happened?
• What action or outcome would you like to see as a result of your complaint?
  

We have found that most complaints can be dealt with quickly. Others may take months to investigate properly. In any event, we will try to deal with your complaint as quickly as possible, and to keep you informed of progress.

We will give your complaint careful consideration. In most cases we will telephone the agency or person involved and ask for an explanation. Most complaints are resolved at this stage. If the complaint raises serious or complex issues, or if we are not satisfied by the agency's initial response, we may undertake further investigation. If there are reasons why we cannot take up your complaint, we will explain them to you.

If the Ombudsman finds your complaint is justified, the conclusions are reported to you and to the agency concerned. The Ombudsman may recommend that the agency should reconsider or change its action or decision; that a law, rule or procedure should be changed; and/or that the agency should take any other action that is appropriate in the circumstances, for example, paying compensation for financial loss.

The Ombudsman cannot override the decisions of agencies, or compel them to comply with his or her recommendations. However, agencies generally do accept the Ombudsman's recommendations. If they do not, and the Ombudsman considers that it is in the public interest to do so, a formal report can be made to the Parliament.

Professional and courteous attention, and an independent, impartial assessment of your complaint, and advice about the options available. We will undertake confidential, free and prompt investigations if appropriate, using procedures that are fair to everyone concerned. We will provide clear explanations about what we can and cannot do and for any decision we make. We will keep you informed of the progress of your complaint.

Criticisms and compliments are important ways of gaining feedback about our service. We are committed to improving our service to the community, and your views are welcome even if they are critical.

You can discuss the progress of your complaint with the investigator conducting the investigation. You are welcome to provide evidence, additional information or your view of the facts and we will give you a full explanation of the decisions that we make and the evidence on which they are based.

If you disagree with our final decision after it is made, you can ask us to review it. A request for review should be made in writing within three months of being told of our decision.

The review will be conducted by a senior investigator who  was not involved in the original investigation of your complaint. The review will consider:

• the process adopted by the investigating officer and whether it was fair and adequate to address all the complaint issues you raised
• the merit of the officer's conclusions and whether they were properly explained to you.

The review officer may:

• uphold the decision of the original investigation officer
• change the decision of the original investigation officer
  
• send the matter back to the original investigation officer or another officer for further investigation.
  

We endeavor to complete reviews within thirty days. The review officer will send you a letter advising you of the outcome of the review.

We will only review a matter once.