FRAMEWORK WITHIN WHICH HUMAN RIGHTS ARE PROMOTED AT NATIONAL LEVEL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS I. THE OFFICE OF T HE OMBUDSMAN 60. The Constitution of the Republic of Mauritius provides at Chapter IX for the Office of the Ombudsman. The mandate of the office is to investigate any action taken by any officer or authority in the exercise of administrative functions of that officer or authority, in any case in which a member of the public claims, or appears to the Ombudsman, to have sustained injustice in consequence of maladministration. The Office is a public Office and the services provided by the Ombudsman are free of charge. 61. An annual working trip is also undertaken by both the Ombudsman and the Senior Investigations Officer to promote and educate the inhabitants of Rodrigues Island on their rights. The Ombudsman has a duty to make an Annual Report to the President concerning the discharge of his functions, a copy of which Report is also laid before the Assembly. 62. A total of 2,236 complaints were received for the period of January 2016 to June 2019. Of the total number of complaints received, 1,340 were against Ministries/Departments, Local Authorities and Rodrigues Regional Assembly. Remaining complaints were Miscellaneous/copies of letters (i.e cases which were either outside the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman or simply trivial/frivolous allegations). Table 5: Breakdown of complaints received Details 2016 2017 2018 As at June 2019 Total Complaints Received 620 669 586 361 2236 722 771 741 493 2727 355 417 360 208 1340 Pending for previous year 102 102 155 132 - Cases Finalised 363 364 383 169 1279 Pending for current year 102 155 132 171 - Miscellaneous & Copies 265 252 226 153 896 Cases Dealt pending cases) Case Intake (Including Source: Office of the Ombudsman 25