The code of ethics of the ombud profession consists of a shared set of professional ethical principles: independence, neutrality, impartiality, confidentiality and informality. Of course, these principles, which are set out on the Ombud’s website, must be rigorously put into practice.

Today, I’d like to talk to you about the principles of neutrality and impartiality*.

• The Ombud is neutral – indeed, is often referred to as a “designated neutral” – and must therefore avoid expressing personal opinions.
• The Ombud is impartial, approaching all cases without any hint, whether real or perceived, of prejudice or preconceptions and working without fear, favouritism or bias.

Visitors to the Ombud’s office give their own account of the conflict situation in which they find themselves, setting out the information they have, their own perceptions, the emotions the situation triggers and the impact it’s having on them. They receive the Ombud’s full attention and empathy.

However, the Ombud never forgets that only one side of the story is being told. To remind me of this, I always place a third chair at the table to represent the absent party, whether it’s a person, a group of people or an entity.

Neutral and impartial, the Ombud does not seek to determine who’s right and who’s wrong or to establish the facts. The Ombud’s main role is to listen actively to you and gain a full understanding of your situation.

The Ombud then endeavours to describe the situation to you from a different point of view – that of the “occupant” of the third chair – and helps you to see your concerns as part of a bigger picture by suggesting possibilities that you may no longer be able to see if the conflict looms too large in your daily life.

Finally, so that you can make progress, the Ombud explores with you all the possible ways in which you might solve the problem, examining the advantages and disadvantages of each option with you without expressing a personal preference for any of them. It’s up to you to decide what you want to do. This may take some time and require another visit to the Ombud.

When you’ve decided what to do, the Ombud can help you by providing all information on the procedures you’ll need to follow. At your request, the Ombud can also contact a third party to help you to clarify a situation, but will not plead your case.

Visiting the Ombud requires a lot of trust on your part. In return, the Ombud offers a neutral and impartial point of view – the main value of a visit to the Ombud’s office – which facilitates conversations that might otherwise not happen.

The principle of neutrality and impartiality is one of the greatest challenges for the Ombud, who is, after all, only human and has personal values, sensitivities and history. But the Ombud is everyone’s Ombud and must consider the points of view and concerns of all parties, whoever they may be.

It’s by being neutral and impartial that the Ombud can be most helpful to you.

*These are the definitions (translated from the French) of neutrality and impartiality provided by the Association des Ombudsmans et Médiateurs de la Francophonie (Association of Ombuds and Mediators of the French-speaking World, AOMF).

Laure Esteveny

I want to hear from you – feel free to email ombud@cern.ch with any feedback or suggestions for topics you’d like me to address.