Human rights and complaints: for ombudsman schemes

The human rights that are most likely to be involved in complaints to ombudsman schemes are:

Civil and political rights

These rights are enshrined in the Human Rights Act, European Convention of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

• the right to life
• the right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
• the right to liberty and security of person
• the right to a fair hearing
• the right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence
• the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion
• the right to freedom of expression
• the right to protection from discrimination
• the right to education

This is not an exhaustive list.

Socio-economic rights

These rights are set down in the European Social Charter and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

• the right to health
• the right to an adequate standard of living
• the right to social security

This is not an exhaustive list.

For each right, we explain:

• which public services and institutional settings it is most likely to apply to
• what the obligations are for governments and organisations providing public services
• the legal framework and, where appropriate, relevant case law
• what ombudsman case handlers should consider when handling a complaint  

Where possible, we give links to case studies.

You can also search by sector and topic for associated human rights.