The impressive Seventh Annual International Business Ethics Conference: Rule of Law and International Business Ethics draw its curtain at the University of International Business and Economics on October 21, 2011. This annual meeting was held in cooperation with The Center For International Business Ethics and The Law School of the Univeirsity of International Buiness and Economics. The conference invited numerous experts and scholars in this field from around the world and attracted many students from the Law and Business schools of UIBE. It was,indeed,a feast for the scholars and wise men alike.In this meeting, Mr. Andrew, the previous ombudsman in Hong Kong and the member of the Standing Council in the International Association of the Ombudsman, gave a vivid and jocular address, focusing on the introduction, development, duty, and function of the ombudsman and the value placed on the ombudsman system toward the building of laws and ethics, which were metwith a lot of applause.

 The sentence, ‘”Things that would not change are: ethics, not laws; virtues, not mechanism; ideas, not handicraft.” blared at the very beginning of Mr. Andrew So’s address, which was quoted from anarticleby Zhangzhi Dong. Through his own experience as the Ombudsman, he discussed how the Ombudsman system perfectly links law and ethics in order to benefit society and the people.

To start, Mr. Andrew explained the establishment of the office of the Ombudsman. He mentioned in his speech that,“The first Ombudsman was appointed in Sweden some two hundred years ago, which was the reason why the word ombudsman is a Swedish word and “by the mid-sixties, Hong Kong began to see the need and advantage of some form of ombudsman”. He later briefly introduced its development in Hong Kong. In 1986, after public consultation, the government accepted the principle that an additional and independent authority, with status and power conferred by statute and whom the governor appointed, should be established to serve the public, deal with complaints related to the operation of public service referred only by members of the Legislative Council, and to recommend remedies.The so-calledoffice of the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints became operational in March 1989, following the enactment of the COMAC Bill.

The job of the Ombudsman could be roughly summed up in four words, “responsible for high weight.” Specifally, the duty involves redressing individual grievances against mal-administration in the public sector, making bureaucracy more humane, lessening the gap between the government and the public,acting as the people’s watchdog, preventing abuses, righting individual wrongs, indicating the facts when public officers are unjustly accused, improving the efficiency and quality of service in the public sector and protecting human rights.

“In 1994, when I was appointed as the ombudsman, the misgivings about me were quite loud, ’ He is not a judge, doesnot have the doctor degree and is not even a lawyer; how could a person like that be trusted to perform a good job in the position of Ombudsman?’ However, whenever the governor confronted those doubts, he would response that, ‘ but he has the nobility of honesty.The ombudsman system is not a law institution, which preferably highlights a person’s judgement and belief toward justy and equility, and Mr Andrew is apt to this job, for his experiences in 12 committees, and the fact that he knows precisely how the big clock of Hong Kong ticks.’”

In his speech, Mr. Andrew elaborated on his Five-Year Plan during his tenure. The first year was one of consolidation and development, in regard of the widening of his power and jurisdiction; the second year was a time for strenghtening and improving the services and establishing his credibility; the third year was for refining the quality of his service to the community and further improving the standards of public service; in the fourth year, he would continue his efforts in the furtherance of his mission to ensure the smooth transition of Hong Kong back to China; in the last year, he hoped that the Ombudsman’s office through independent, objective,and impartial investigation would improve and enhance fairness and efficiency in public administration, and the office would helpto develop a public service culture characterized by dedication, commitment, accountability, openness, professionalism, quality service, and performance.

If you thought that the duty of the Ombudsman was only to monitor the administrative unfairness, you would have to think again. Actually, the Ombudsman office plays a very important, central role in the protection of human rights in numerous other countries as well as in Hong Kong. Needless to say, the protection of human rights goes hand-in-hand with the monitoring of administrative unfairness. In Hong Kong, the Ombudsman acts as a deterrent against the misuse and abuse of public power to deny basic human rights by upholding the diginity of the individual and giving people the opportunity to question irregulartiy and unfairness in public administration. It also allows the public to challenge the appropriateness of officials’ behavior and action.

In his five-year’s dedication, he has made the role of the Ombudsman truly blend into the life of the Hong Kong people, which runs as a kind of weather service for the standard of public response to existing procedures. And he pinpointed many flaws in the exsiting procedures and highlighted the human rights of the citizens, leading the government to a more democratic, and more equal path.

We are delighted to see that the Ombudsman, represented by Mr Andrew, has made a great contribution to the decrease ofadministrative unfairness, has increased the protection of the human rights of the citizens and has constructed an honest and efficient administrative operation. The Ombudsman office, the once new position, has become an integral part of the life of Hong Kong. In the 2011 report, it had received 5,339 complaints and 12,227 enquiries. This office has truly become a democratic organization, independent of the administration, representing the just, offering proper advice and melting down the disputes between the government and the people. Because of all of this, it has been crownedas “The Fist of the People” by the public.

Mr. Andrew’s address was met withmany positive responses and successfully aroused sympathy from the audience.The audience was eager to raise questions and Mr. Andrew patiently gave step-by-step answers to their inquires such as the tough issuses he met during his tenure, how to cope with the intervene of the government, where the standard stands, how to regulate the behavior of the government and so forth. With the rapturous applause, the meeting reaches its closure.

Exercitation reporter: Wang Fei