Within the institution referred to in Article L. 5312-1, a national ombudsman shall be set up to receive and deal with individual complaints relating to the operation of this institution, without prejudice to existing means of appeal. The National Mediator, who reports to the Director General, coordinates the activities of the Regional Mediators, who report to each Regional Director and receive and process complaints within the territorial jurisdiction of the Regional Directorate. Complaints must be preceded by approaches to the departments concerned.
The national ombudsman is the correspondent of the Défenseur des droits.
Each year, he submits a report to the Board of Directors of the institution mentioned in Article L. 5312-1, in which he makes any proposals he feels are likely to improve the service provided to users. This report is sent to the Minister for Employment, to the National Council for Employment, Training and Vocational Guidance mentioned in article L. 6123-1 and to the Human Rights Defender.
Apart from those involving the institution mentioned in Article L. 5312-1, complaints that fall within the remit of the Human Rights Defender in application of Organic Law No. 2011-333 of 29 March 2011 relating to the Human Rights Defender are forwarded to the latter.
Referral to the Défenseur des droits, within its remit, terminates the complaints procedure.