Cover; Acknowledgement; Content; Abbreviations; Figures; Tables; A Introduction; B Current state of research; I. The ombudsman as a concept; 1. Short history; 2. Double function; 3. Features; 4. Practice; 5. Expectations; a) positive; b) negative; 6. Categorization; a) Public and private sector; b) Traditional, classical, parliamentary, legislative, executive; c) Organizational, corporate, advocate; d) General, specialty, single subject; e) Multiple-mandate, hybrid; 7. Definition; a) Existing definitions; b) New definition; II. Prison Ombudsmen; 1. Demand; a) Internal grievance channels.

Aa) Administrationbb) Prison boards; cc) Inmate councils; b) External grievance channels; aa) Parliamentarians; parliamentary committees; monarchs and other heads of state; bb) General ombudsmen; cc) NGOs, pastoral caregivers and the media; dd) European and international authorities; ee) Courts; c) The prison ombudsman as an alternative solution; 2. Legal basis; 3. Remit; 4. Investigations; a) Reactive; b) Proactive; 5. Expectations; a) Positive; b) Negative; 6. Existence; III. Learning processes in between legal systems; 1. The possibility of knowledge transfer; a) Negated; b) Accepted.

2. The perspectives3. The two step process; 4. The driving factors; C Methodology; I. Method selection; 1. Grounded theory; 2. Qualitative instead of quantitative research; 3. Research materials and sources; a) Literature; b) Experts; 4. Data collection; a) Qualitative content analysis; b) Partially-structured, explorative, guided interviews; aa) Definition, advantages, disadvantages; bb) Selection of specific interview form; cc) Design; dd) Analysis; c) Integration; 5. Selection of two examples; 6. Influence of the researcher; II. Method execution; D Analysis.

I. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales1. Country survey; a) Current state of research; b) Brief history of imprisonment in England and Wales; c) Inmate population and characteristics; d) Legal basis of imprisonment; e) Current prison organisation; f) External and internal grievance channels; 2. How was the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales implemented?; a) The process of implementation: History of the Prisons andProbation Ombudsman for England and Wales; aa) Brief history of institution.

Bb) The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales as a product of cross-fertilizationb) The outcome of implementation: Structures of the Prisons and robation Ombudsman for England and Wales; aa) Legal basis and categorization; bb) Role and remit; cc) Execution; II. The Justizvollzugsbeauftragter des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen; 1. Country survey; a) Current state of research; b) Brief history of imprisonment in North Rhine-Westphalia; c) Inmate population and characteristics; d) Legal basis of imprisonment; e) Current prison organisation; f) External and internal grievance channels.