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Legal security in public administration is one of the prerequisites for a legal state. It can be promoted through supervision by public authorities. The need of supervision has increased due to the development of public administration. EU law has also had a clear impact on the development of supervision and its regulation. Supervision can be of special value where formal decisions are rare and the individual has limited access to courts in order to gain access to justice.

The study examines how legal security in supervision relating to the rights of the individual has developed since the middle of the 20th century in five different areas: social services, health care, discrimination legislation, data protection and the general supervision of public administration carried out by the Parliamentary Ombudsman. The study also examines the purpose and function of supervision as a constitutional control tool in relation to the rights of the individual.

Effective supervision from a rule of law perspective should combine monitoring on a systematic level with investigation of individual complaints and well-functioning levels of supervision. The investigation of individual complaints can build trust and legitimacy and help supervisory authorities to detect relevant misconduct. Active participation by individuals can contribute to the implementation of supervision as a constitutional control tool, which may favour the individual, indivuals collectively and the legal state.