Ombudsmanship and its application in Turkey

In today's context, state sattribute great importance to the over sight of administration to ensure the principles of a democratic rule of law, emphasize the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens and simultaneously secure the supremacy of the law. This emphasisarises as a response to changes in the modern state concept, increased duties and responsibilities, and the complexities in state structures. In order to achieve these objectives, state sendeavor to develop various over sight mechanisms to show greater respect for citizens' rights, up hold justice, and embrace agovernance approachaligned with democratic values. One out come of this evolution is the establishment of the ombudsman institution, which originated in Sweden and has become a model adopted world wide. This institution plays a significant role in promoting transparent, ethical, and accountable actions by citizen stowards the state. In line with a similar need in our country, the Public Ombudsman Institution was established in 2012. The aim is for this institution to considercitizens' complaints, scrutinize the actions and procedures of the administration, and contribute to the establish ment of justice. However, assessing the performance of this institution and understanding its positive and potential short comings is a crucial step for continuous improvement. This new oversight mechanism has the potential to enhance trust between citizens and the state, strengthen legal compliance, and contribute to achieving social justice. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of the system and the extent to which citizens embrace this mechanism are para mount. Within the scope of this thesis, the concept of oversight was initially discussed, emphasizing why the oversight of administration is essential. Various types of oversight were examined, and their impacts on the activities of the administration were explored. Subsequently, the emergence, evolution, features and global application examples of the ombudsman institution were examined. The ombudsman institution emerged as a significan to versight mechanism aimed at protecting citizens' rights and promoting transparent and ethical governance. Furthermore, the focusshifted to the establishment period of the Public Ombudsman Institution in Turkey. The functioning, duties, and powers of the institution were comprehensively addressed. In this context, attention was given to how the institution evaluatescitizens' complaints and how effectively it oversees the activities of the administration. Lastly, the positive and negative aspects of the Public Ombudsman Institution were evaluated, discussing it's contributions to oversight mechanisms in our country and areas for potential improvement. This study aims to establish a foundation for understanding and assessing the role of the Public Ombudsman Institution, a crucial step towards more transparent, accountable, and citizen centric administration. Keywords: Ombudsman, ombudsman institution, good go vernance, justice, protection of human rights, public administration, over sight