53 · 为了公众的利益
In the Public Interest
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The Scandinavian countries are much admired all over the world for their enlightened social policies. Sweden has evolved an excellent system for protecting the individual citizen from high-handed or incompetent public officers. The system has worked so well, that it has been adopted in other countries too.
The Swedes were the first to recognize that public officials like civil servants, police officers, health inspectors or tax-collectors can make mistakes or act over-zealously in the belief that they are serving the public. As long ago as 1809, the Swedish Parliament introduced a scheme to safeguard the interest of the individual. A parliamentary committee representing all political parties appoints a person who is suitably qualified to investigate private grievances against the State. The official title of the person is "Justiteombudsman", but the Swedes commonly refer to him as the "J.O." or "Ombudsman". The Ombudsman is not subject to political pressure. He investigates complaints large and small that come to him from all levels of society. As complaints must be made in writing, the Ombudsman receives an average of 1,200 letters a year. He has eight lawyer assistants to help him and he examines every single letter in detail. There is nothing secretive about the Ombudsman's work, for his correspondence is open to public inspection. If a citizen's complaint is justified, the Ombudsman will act on his behalf. The action he takes varies according to the nature of the complaint. He may gently reprimand an official or even suggest to parliament that a law be altered. The following case is a typical example of the Ombudsman's work.
A foreigner living in a Swedish village wrote to the Ombudsman complaining that he had been ill-treated by the police, simply because he was a foreigner. The Ombudsman immediately wrote to the Chief of Police in the district asking him to send a record of the case. There was nothing in the record to show that the foreigner's complaint was justified and the Chief of Police strongly denied the accusation. It was impossible for the Ombudsman to take action, but when he received a similar complaint from another foreigner in the same village, he immediately sent one of his lawyers to investigate the matter. The lawyer ascertained that a policeman had indeed dealt roughly with foreigners on several occasions. The fact that the policeman was prejudiced against foreigners could not be recorded in the official files. It was only possible for the Ombudsman to find this out by sending one of his representatives to check the facts. The policeman in question was severely reprimanded and was informed that if any further complaints were lodged against him, he would be prosecuted. The Ombudsman's prompt action at once put an end to an unpleasant practice which might have gone unnoticed.
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整篇课文
The Scandinavian countries are much admired all over the world for their enlightened social policies. Sweden has evolved an excellent system for protecting the individual citizen from high-handed or incompetent public officers. The system has worked so well, that it has been adopted in other countries too.
The Swedes were the first to recognize that public officials like civil servants, police officers, health inspectors or tax-collectors can make mistakes or act over-zealously in the belief that they are serving the public. As long ago as 1809, the Swedish Parliament introduced a scheme to safeguard the interest of the individual. A parliamentary committee representing all political parties appoints a person who is suitably qualified to investigate private grievances against the State. The official title of the person is "Justiteombudsman", but the Swedes commonly refer to him as the "J.O." or "Ombudsman". The Ombudsman is not subject to political pressure. He investigates complaints large and small that come to him from all levels of society. As complaints must be made in writing, the Ombudsman receives an average of 1,200 letters a year. He has eight lawyer assistants to help him and he examines every single letter in detail. There is nothing secretive about the Ombudsman's work, for his correspondence is open to public inspection. If a citizen's complaint is justified, the Ombudsman will act on his behalf. The action he takes varies according to the nature of the complaint. He may gently reprimand an official or even suggest to parliament that a law be altered. The following case is a typical example of the Ombudsman's work.
A foreigner living in a Swedish village wrote to the Ombudsman complaining that he had been ill-treated by the police, simply because he was a foreigner. The Ombudsman immediately wrote to the Chief of Police in the district asking him to send a record of the case. There was nothing in the record to show that the foreigner's complaint was justified and the Chief of Police strongly denied the accusation. It was impossible for the Ombudsman to take action, but when he received a similar complaint from another foreigner in the same village, he immediately sent one of his lawyers to investigate the matter. The lawyer ascertained that a policeman had indeed dealt roughly with foreigners on several occasions. The fact that the policeman was prejudiced against foreigners could not be recorded in the official files. It was only possible for the Ombudsman to find this out by sending one of his representatives to check the facts. The policeman in question was severely reprimanded and was informed that if any further complaints were lodged against him, he would be prosecuted. The Ombudsman's prompt action at once put an end to an unpleasant practice which might have gone unnoticed.
斯堪的纳维亚各国因其开明的社会政策，在世界各地广受赞赏。瑞典建立了一套出色的制度，保护普通公民免受专横或不称职的公职人员侵害。这套制度效果很好，其他国家也相继采用。
瑞典人最早认识到，公务员、警察、卫生检查员和税务人员等公职人员，可能犯错，也可能自以为在为公众服务，实际却执法过度。早在1809年，瑞典议会就提出了一项保护个人权益的方案：由一个代表各政党的议会委员会，任命一名具备适当资格的人，调查个人对国家机关的不满。他的正式职称是“司法监察专员”，瑞典人通常简称他为“J.O.”，或称“Ombudsman”。监察专员不受政治压力左右，调查来自社会各阶层的大大小小的投诉。由于投诉必须以书面提出，他平均每年会收到1,200封信。八名律师助理协助工作，而每一封信，他都会详细审阅。他的工作没有什么保密之处，往来信件都可供公众查阅。公民的投诉若有道理，他就会代表投诉者采取行动。具体怎样处理，要看投诉的性质：可以是温和地训诫某位官员，也可以是建议议会修改法律。下面的案例，就是这项工作的典型例子。
一名住在瑞典某村庄的外国人，写信向监察专员投诉，说警方仅仅因为他是外国人，就粗暴对待他。监察专员立即致信当地警察局长，要求提供案情记录。记录中没有任何内容能支持这名外国人的投诉，局长也坚决否认指控，因此监察专员一时无法采取行动。可是，后来同村另一名外国人也提出类似投诉，他便立即派出一名律师调查。律师查明，一名警察确实曾多次粗暴对待外国人。警察对外国人怀有偏见，这种事实不可能体现在正式档案里，只有派人实地核查，监察专员才能发现。涉事警察受到严厉训诫，并被告知，再有人投诉他，就会遭到起诉。监察专员及时行动，立刻制止了这种本可能一直无人察觉的恶劣做法。
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介绍制度时，先说谁任命谁，再补资格与职责。
译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时、何景霖整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第188—191页，2022年2月第3版。