The Parliamentary Ombudsman of Malta, Judge Emeritus Joseph Zammit McKeon, welcomed the Ambassador of Spain to Malta, His Excellency Jose Maria Muriel, at the Office of the Ombudsman in Valletta.
In his welcome address, the Ombudsman referred to two special events that marked the Spanish calendar for October of the current year : the 12th day of October being the national day of Spain, and the 31st day of October being the day when Princess Leonor of Asturias on her 18th birthday was officially declared as heir to the Spanish throne following her oath of allegiance before the Cortes.
Ambassador Muriel expressed his appreciation.
In the course of the meeting, the Ombudsman highlighted the crucial role that the Office of the Ombudsman has when it defends the rights of persons vis-à-vis acts or omissions of the public administration, in particular in the cases of people who do not have a voice and who have no one to turn to for support and redress.
His Excellency Ambassador Muriel expressed his support for all initiatives that help better the lives of those persons that need most help.
As regards the international dimension, the Ombudsman laid particular emphasis on the importance that the Office has put when in the past week it hosted, together with the Association of Ombudsmen of the Mediterranean, the international conference that placed under the spotlight the right to good administration and its concrete application for domestic law purposes.
Ambassador Muriel identified similarities between the Ombudsman institution in Malta and the Defensor del Pueblo of Spain. He augured that the institutions in both countries would co-operate in order to promote reciprocal exchanges of knowledge and practices for mutual benefit. The Ombudsman fully endorsed this way forward.
The Ombudsman confirmed the Malta institution`s support to Spanish nationals living or working in Malta should they require assistance in any matter that comes within the remit of the Office of the Ombudsman.
