ABSTRACT
In the United Kingdom have seen a major expansion in mechanisms for citizens to complain against government Departments and other public bodies. The National Health Service Act and National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973 introduced separate Health Service Commissioners for England, Wales and Scotland. Originally excluded from investigation by the Ombudsman, the Health Service Commissioners Act 1996 extended the jurisdiction of Ombudsmen to include clinical judgments of medical practitioners. The meaning of maladministration can best be understood when placed in the context of actual investigations undertaken by the Ombudsman. In the Balchin cases no fewer than three decisions of the Ombudsman were struck down by the courts in judicial review proceedings. The Barlow Clowes affair resulted in hundreds of complaints being made to the Ombudsman concerning the collapse of the Barlow Clowes company. The Channel Tunnel Rail Link is a stretch of railway line designed to take high-speed cross-channel trains.
