The Mediator of the French Republic proposes reforms.
As a privileged observer, the Mediator of the French Republic identifies poor administrative practices and recurrent injustices caused by the application of statutes and regulations.
He is fully entitled to assume a role of agitator of ideas!
He therefore proposes reforms to help ensure that regulations are adapted to developments in society.
The Mediator of the French Republic's power to propose reforms is the logical and indissociable complement to his mission to assist citizens in settling their disputes with a government office
While he attempts to settle the dossiers submitted to him on a case-by-case basis, the purpose of his power of proposal is to prevent the situations analysed from being repeated.
• The legislative framework
The initial remit of the Mediator in terms of reforms was extended in 2000. Henceforth physical persons or corporate bodies may directly submit reform requests to the Mediator of the French Republic, and the law of 12 April 2000 also gives the Mediator the right to make such referral requests himself.
• Processing of requests: According to his assessment, the Mediator of the French Republic draws up a reform proposal which he addresses to the relevant ministers.
• Follow-up of reform proposals:
The Mediator tries to move his reform proposals forward by chasing up the relevant ministries, notably when there are any new developments that reinforce his request. The officers and inspection authorities at the ministries and all public authorities are bound to respond to the Mediator's questions, investigation requests and any requests to appear before him.
He may also call upon the heads of the central government offices designated as "Mediator contacts" at their ministry. The Mediator's ministerial meetings also allow him to argue for the reform proposals he has put forward.
He may also judge it necessary to inform deputies and senators about his reform proposals by writing to them and meeting them. Conversely, the Mediator may be consulted by members of parliament, who need to call upon the analytical capabilities of his services.
The Mediator's reform proposals must be attentively processed by the competent ministries. These ministries must also inform the Mediator of their observations. If the position expressed does not appear to be satisfactory, or when the reform concerns several ministerial departments, an interministerial meeting may be called by the minister in charge of state reform, with an agenda proposed by the Mediator.
The interministerial committee may meet several times a year. It offers the Mediator's co-workers and the ministry representatives the opportunity to assess the progress of the proposals put forward and to debate their validity; above all, it gives rise to arbitration by its president, the head of staff of the minister in charge of state reform, which is imposed on the ministries. In cases where disagreement persists, the Mediator has the power to request arbitration by the Prime Minister.
