Criticism of the then head of administration in Vellinge Municipality for sending an email that could be construed as an attempt to pressure a member of the municipality to refrain from appealing against the municipality’s decisions

Summary of the decision: The then head of administration in Vellinge Municipality sent an email to a member of the municipality who had on several occasions appealed against the municipality’s decisions. In the email, he proposed a meeting to discuss how they might communicate in a better way. He described legal proceedings as very arduous, resource-intensive and slow and suggested that both of their time and resources could be put to better use.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman states that a public official must ensure that her or his statements and actions cannot be interpreted as an attempt to pressure an individual into refraining from exercising their statutory right of appeal. This also applies to contact regarding matters that are not related to a specific case.

Even if the head of administration’s intention were to provide a service, there was clearly a risk that the email might be perceived as an attempt to exert pressure on the member of the municipality to refrain from appealing against the municipality’s decisions. The head of administration cannot therefore avoid criticism for their action.