Topic Guide: Codes of Conduct

Comparative study on the public-service ethics on the EU member states. Moilanen, T. and Salminen, A., 2006. http://www.dgap.gov.pt/media/0601010000/finlandia/Comparative%20study.pdf  

Although now somewhat dated, this study offers a valuable overview of public service ethics regimes in 27 EU member states based on a 2005 survey. The report begins with a discussion of core values, ethical codes and the relationship between codes of conduct and the legislative framework. It then summarises the key ethics challenges and their extent across EU member states, and finds corruption and conflict of interest to be the main issue. The role of leadership and human resource management practices in implementing codes of conduct is highlighted.  

Two key findings emerge. Firstly, there is a clear disconnect between generally satisfactory codes of conduct and integrity management systems at central government level and the opaque ethics infrastructure at the local government level. Secondly, there are divergent interpretations of what actually constitutes a code of conduct; in some countries only legislation passed by parliament was considered to be an official code, whereas in other cases individual agencies' guidelines were accepted as de facto codes.  

More than writing on a wall: Evaluating the role that codes of ethics play in securing accountability of public sector decision makers. Kinchin, N., 2007. in The Australian Journal of Public Administration, vol.66 (1) pp.112–120 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8500.2007.00519.x/abstract  

This article argues that the essential factors of a public service code of ethics can be divided into five categories: fairness, transparency, responsibility, efficiency and conflict of interest. The author concludes that while ethics codes have the potential to be an extremely effective tool in ensuring accountability, it is the human element of the code (the internalisation of the ethics by the individual decision maker) that will ensure accountability.  

To improve outcomes, Kinchin stresses that codes of ethics must: (1) reflect the precepts of democratic accountability, (2) be framed in language which the public official relates to and can be tailored to individual government agencies, organisations and decision-making bodies and (3) be actively encouraged and exemplified by managers themselves.  

Codes of conduct for parliamentarians: A comparative study. King Prajadhipok’s Institute, 2009. http://knjiznica.sabor.hr/pdf/E_publikacije/Codes_of_conduct_for_parliamentarians.pdf  

This study presents a comparative examination of codes of conduct for parliamentarians in Australia, Canada, India, Japan, Laos, Pakistan, Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the USA and Vietnam. The study summarises existing academic work on codes of conduct for parliamentarians and civil servants, and uses this to differentiate national approaches in the Asia-Pacific region. Attention is paid to the regulatory foundations, organisational structures and enforcement mechanisms associated with codes of conduct. The efficacy and transferability of codes of conduct across different types of political systems, parliamentary structures and socio-cultural conditions is also discussed. Finally, the study presents a set of recommendations for governance practitioners in parliaments and civil society organisations on how codes of conduct might be usefully incorporated into democratic governance consolidation programme initiatives.  

Effectiveness of ethics codes in the public sphere: Are they useful in controlling corruption? Garcia-Sanchez, I.M., Rodriguez-Dominguez, L., & Gallego-Alvarez, I., 2011. in International Journal of Public Administration, vol.34 (3) pp.190-195 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01900692.2010.532184#.VR_nyPnF_n8  

This study aimed to determine the relationship between the implementation of a code of ethics and the existence of corruption in the public sector. Analysing 154 national administrations whose information on ethics codes is available on the UN’s website, the results show, contrary to expectations, that ethics codes do not have any discernible impact on the control of corruption in the public sector. The study found that the level of education and the public pressure exerted on elected politicians is the most important determining factor in the control of corruption, especially in developing countries. The authors nonetheless conclude that ethics codes can be useful as an a priori control mechanism to prevent potentially unethical situations.  

Codes of good governance: National or global public values? Jørgensen, T.B. and Sørensen, D.L., 2012. in Public Integrity, vol.15 (1) pp.71-96 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2753/PIN1099-9922150104#.VR_ro_nF_n8  

This study examines 14 national codes of good governance to try and establish whether there has been a convergence of public values. It identifies a set of apparently global public values—public interest, regime dignity, political loyalty, transparency, neutrality, impartiality, effectiveness, accountability, and legality— which match international model codes for public officials from the UN and the European Council and the conceptions of good governance launched by the OECD, IMF, World Bank, UN, and EU. Although values converge, they are balanced and communicated differently, and are translated into the national political cultures. The authors propose that these findings may be useful for the increasing number of public servants working in international administrative spaces.