Public officials represent the state in its interface with the private sector and civil society. The centrality of their position to the effective functioning of the state implies that public officials at all levels can take actions and make decisions which can have significant effects on the lives of ordinary citizens. In this role, public officials are expected to perform their functions lawfully, honestly and fairly. In particular, public officials are expected not to abuse the powers or resources available to them, and to avoid conflicts between their personal interest and official duties.

Codes of ethics or conduct can be an important guide to making decisions on complicated ethical issues, and can provide the basis for an environment where citizens are aware of the basic standards of behaviour to be expected from public sector employees.

This Resource Page provides an overview of the main issues arising in relation to public sector codes of conduct as a means for curbing corruption. They provide guidelines to the successful design and implementation of such codes, and contain a selection of resources and good practice for further study.

Expectations as to the way civil servants should fulfil their duties - with responsibility, probity, equity and legality - are shared across cultures and administrative traditions.

Most of the more mature civil services have established written, formal codes of behavioural standards to record these expectations. They can set out in broad terms those high-level values and principles that define the professional role of the civil service - such as impartiality, integrity, fairness and responsibility - or they can focus on the application of such principles in practice. They can apply to the entire public sector of a country or be tailored to reflect the ethics challenges of specific public agencies only, and may set out procedures and sanctions to be applied in cases of non-compliance. Codes that support public sector statutes and criminal laws can add to the national legal framework.

Independently of their status, scope and style, codes of conduct for public administrations can play an important part in an anti-corruption programme. Essentially preventive in nature, codes of conduct have the potential to avert corruption and administrative misconduct before they occur. Good codes will not only clearly identify standards of behaviour, including consequences to apply in case of breach, but also lay out a framework for removing or making transparent potential conflicts of interest, thereby reducing the number and scope of opportunities for public officials to enrich themselves at the expense of their public office. At the same time, codes of conduct provide a powerful statement of intent, directed both within and outside the public service, that unethical behaviour will not be tolerated.

Codifying standards of behaviour is not by itself, however, sufficient to ensure ethical conduct by public officials.

The implementation of effective ethics standards in civil service organisations can be hampered internally by the failure of managers to communicate values and to institutionalise ethical decision-making among their staff, as well as by value conflicts to which civil servants may be subject. It can also be hampered by the failure of other institutions to support an environment of integrity, and by inadequate accounting mechanisms.

Institutionalisation of ethically competent decision-making
A high standard of ethical behaviour is not something that "happens" to an institution. Rules and guidelines, or statements of principle and values, will not contribute to the public sector ethos if the values underlying them are not understood. As well as having access to codified standards and guidelines, public officials therefore need to have the technical expertise to understand and appreciate ethical frameworks and their implications, and to identify personally and professionally with the values and procedures they set out. Staff need to receive regular training on ethics issues, and operate in a supportive environment, with encouragement from administrative and political leaders alike.

Value conflicts
Standards of behaviour expected of public officials can be challenged in a variety of ways. Problems can arise when professional values conflict with other expectations. For example, the provision of friends and family with jobs and other favours, while not consistent with the integrity obligations of the public sector, is still accepted in some contexts.

Problems can be caused as well by complex situations where the "right" ethical decision is not easily identifiable, as may be the case when law and the interpretation of "fairness" seem to require different courses of action.

Where the role and function of public servants becomes heavily influenced by expectations and management styles common in the private sector, traditional public sector values may be difficult to reconcile with the new approach. Conflict of interest concerns may, for example, be perceived to clash with a plan for commercial sponsorship of a public function.

Getting the institutions right
A code of ethics will achieve little if it is applied in an isolated fashion. Institutions whose integrity is challenged by corruption on a daily basis, will struggle to sustain their honesty. An ethics initiative is likely to fail if it lacks political commitment or suffers from an inappropriate legal framework, ineffective accountability mechanisms and a lack of enforcement. Public officials are more likely to breach rules where incentives for ethical behaviour, such as adequate levels of remuneration and career development prospects, are lacking and where the risks of detection and punishment are low. In short, the absence of holistic institutional tools and processes that support and promote integrity within the public service - sometimes referred to as an "ethics infrastructure" - threaten the sustainability and effectiveness of codes of conduct.

A planned and co-ordinated approach to enhancing ethics in the public service, including the active encouragement of ethical conduct from within and outside the public sector, is essential to yield long term results.