Government Information, Suggestions and Complaints Offices in Spain
| Published date | 01 December 1961 |
| Author | Antonio Fernandez Lopez |
| DOI | 10.1177/002085236102700409 |
| Date | 01 December 1961 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Summaries
of
Articles
published
in
French
and
Spanish
Government
Information,
Suggestions
and
Complaints
Offices
in
Spain
by
Antonio
FERNANDEZ
LOPEZ.
Introduction
The
Administrative
Procedure
Act
of
17
July
1958,
which
applies
the
principles
of
public
relations
to
the
preparation
and
peer-
formance
of
administrative
acts,
offers
the
citizen
three
essential
means
for
conferring
with
the
administration
and
co-operating
in
its
work :
information,
suggestions,
and
com-
plaints.
As
the
other
two
means
already
existed
in
practice,
the
only
novelty
is
sug-
gestions.
1.
INFORMATION
1.1.
Information
Of fices
In
compliance
with
article
33
of
the
Act,
these
offices
have
been
set
up
in
the
min-
isterial
departments,
independent
agencies
and
large
administrative
units.
At
the
pro-
vincial level,
apart
from
any
offices
that
may
be
attached
to
the
field
services
of
the
central
government,
they
are
part
of
the
Civil
Gov-
ernor’s
Office.
There
is
also
a
central
govern-
ment
service,
the
Administrative
Information
Centre
recently
set
up
in
the
Prime
Minister’s
Office,
which
is
generally
responsible
for
sup-
plying
information
about
the
administration
as a
whole
(organization
competence
of
or-
gans,
legislation,
etc.).
1.2.
Kinds
of
Information
A
distinction
should
be
made
between
1.2.1.
General
Information,
to
enable
all
citizens
to
know
through
the
appropriate
office
the
purposes,
powers
and
working
of
the
various
administrative
organs,
the
organ-
ization
of
the
departments,
the
location
of
their
offices,
and
when
and
under
what
con-
ditions
they
are
accessible
to
the
public.
1.2.2.
Special
inf ormation,
not
for
all
cit-
izens
but
for
those
interested
in
an
adminis-
trative
case.
They
alone,
under
article
62
of
the
Act,
have
a
right
to
be
informed,
at
any
time,
of
the
stage
reached
in
the
procedure.
1.3.
Characteristics
of
the
Information
These
are
provided
for
by
the
Order
of
22
October
1958 :
-
Inf ormality,
since
the
information
may
be
verbal
or
written
and
obtained
by
calling
personally
or
by
telephoning,
and
-
Prorrcptness
since
the
information
must
be
supplied
at
once
or
as
soon
as
possible.
1.4.
Personnel
and
Material
Shortages
of
staff
and
funds
have
to
be
overcome.
The
staff
must
be
carefully
re-
cruited
and
have
the
right
qualifications
for
the
work,
whic’h
are
an
understanding
attitude
towards
the
public
combined
with
sympathy
and
patience,
and
a
thorough
knowledge
of
the
different
fields
covered
by
the
centre
concerned,
because
inaccurate
or
vague
re-
plies
would
be
useless.
Arrangements
must
also
be
made
to
obtain
reference
material
in
the
shape
of
statute-books,
year-books,
news-
papers,
specialized
periodicals
and
other doc-
uments
in
the
field
affected
by
the
depart-
ment’s
work.
This
must
be
constantly
kept
up
to
date
and
may
be
consulted
by
the
public.
The
offices
also
prepare
booklets
and
or-
ganization
charts
and
organize
visual
means
of
information.
Moreover,
the
lay-out
and
furniture
of
the
office
should be
carefully
selected.
2.
SUGGESTIONS
This
is
a
new
and
effective
means
of
co-
operation
between
civil
servants
and
the
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