constitutional architecture. Opposition Leader Pamela Gordon calls it a waste of taxpayers' money.

Forget the massive debate on redrawing electoral boundaries and reducing the number of MPs. According to Arlene Brock, the most significant of all constitutional changes being mooted right now may have more to do with the peoples' right not to be jerked around by Government bureaucracy.

Opposition Leader Pamela Gordon remains unimpressed while Premier Jennifer Smith's proposal to create an Ombudsman's office has won definite support from some voices in the community.

The Ombudsman will be to the civil service what the consumer relations department is to the private sector. But, while it will submit reports to the legislature, it will have no enforcement powers and will operate independently.

The office of the Ombudsman first originated in Sweden or Denmark in the early 19th Century. But it wasn't until the late 1960s, when about ten countries had an ombudsman office that the idea began to spread. By 1999, according to a Commonwealth Secretariat report, more than 100 countries had an ombudsman office.

It has grown particularly rapidly in the developing world or in countries with emerging democracies. In South Africa the office is titled The Public Protector.

Most observers agree that the proposal, first recommended by the UK government's civil service review last year, is not as fundamental a constitutional issue as electoral reform. But, they say, it is an important mechanism which reaches into every aspect of government's day to day interaction with the people.

But they disagree on how fundamental a constitutional change it represents.

"It is not a fundamental constitutional change,'' said political scientist Walton Brown. "But it is an important and necessary thing to have.'' Arlene Brock in a column last October, however, wrote that the ombudsman proposal "may well be the most important''.

"It really is a place for disgruntled citizens to go to complain about maladministration,'' said Deputy Governor Tim Gurney. "If you feel they have screwed up and are not dealing with you properly, then you can go to the Ombudsman.

"It's a really good mechanism because sometimes we get the run-around from Government departments.'' Mr. Gurney cautioned that his comments were based on the experience of the United Kingdom.

"I know that government departments (in the UK) do not like to get named by the Ombudsman so there's a huge embarrassment factor,'' he said.

"It's an idea whose time has come,'' said Stuart Hayward who has long believed that Bermuda needs an Ombudsman.

In a 1989 column, Mr. Hayward pointed out that an Ombudsman could be crucial in protecting the human rights of prisoners, for example, as provided for by the Ontario Ombudsman Act.

"The Ontario Act contains a provision which requires that any letter written by an inmate of a correctional or psychiatric facility and addressed to the ombudsman `shall be immediately forwarded, unopened, to the ombudsman','' he wrote.

Mr. Hayward said that a similar provision in Bermuda would go a long way towards protecting prisoners here from abuse by prison authorities.

Prison rules allow ingoing and outgoing mail to be opened by staff, and intercepted if found "objectionable'', he said.

Under such a regime, an inmate attempting to alert others of maltreatment within the prison walls might find it difficult to get his story out and leave himself open to further abuse.

The official UBP position is that Bermuda could do without an ombudsman but since the UK has already indicated their support for the proposal, the Opposition has been focusing on making sure it is not, as Premier Jennifer Smith is proposing, entrenched in the Constitution.

"It's an unnecessary cost to the taxpayer,'' Ms Gordon told The Royal Gazette .

"One has to read that in the context of a partisan political climate,'' said Mr. Hayward of Ms Gordon's criticism.

Ms Gordon also said "there has not been a hue and cry...for an Ombudsman'' adding that the office should be governed by legislation only.

"Legislation can be repealed, if found to be unnecessary,'' she said.

Changing the Constitution is not that easy.

At a public meeting in November last year, Premier Jennifer Smith lamented the fact that there had been very little public discussion on the ombudsman proposal.

"This community is fairly new to the idea that there is an entitlement to a standard of treatment at the hands of government officials,'' Mr. Hayward said.

"It may be that for many people not having had such, the value may not be appreciated.