chisinau 28/03/2008 discipline of civil servants, conflict of interest and ethics peter reinberg...
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Chisinau 28/03/2008
Discipline of civil servants, conflict of interest and ethicsDiscipline of civil servants, conflict of interest and ethics
Peter REINBERGAustriaPeter REINBERGAustria
2page
Discipline of civil servants, Peter Reinberg, 28/03/2008
Introduction
Transparency International (TI) – Global Corruption Barometer• Austria 15th
Austrian federation – examples of corruption:• Austrian consular officials – grants for issuing visa• former head of the Federal Criminal Office (our FBI) – accused cabinet
members of partisan politics
political investigation comittee
3page
Discipline of civil servants, Peter Reinberg, 28/03/2008
Introduction
Upper Austria – examples for corruption:• head of district administration and his secretary• head of guest house and three of her staff
All convicted by criminal courts
contractual public employees – dismissal possible
civil servants – transferred to other posts
disciplinary proceedings – independent disciplinary board
4page
Discipline of civil servants, Peter Reinberg, 28/03/2008
Statutory rules in Austria
Penal Code
Abuse of power• up to 5 years imprisonment
Acceptance of gifts• in breach of duty – up to 3 years imprisonment• in accordance with duty – up to 1 year imprisonment• acceptance of gifts – without connexion to concrete official transaction (so-
called feeding)
5page
Discipline of civil servants, Peter Reinberg, 28/03/2008
Statutory rules in Austria
Civil Servants Act 1979
Acceptance of gifts• excepted are only small gifts of little value
Secondary occupation• forbidden when
- prevents from duties- suspicion of bias
(Im)partiality• To abstain from matters in which relatives are involved
6page
Discipline of civil servants, Peter Reinberg, 28/03/2008
Statutory rules in Austria
Offical secret
Civil servant and instructions:• may (=has to) refuse to observe an instruction
- from a position not competent or- if observance would violate criminal law
• regards the instruction as unlawful obliged to tell his objections to his superior
• HR authority decides whether the instruction is to observe or not
7page
Discipline of civil servants, Peter Reinberg, 28/03/2008
Code of Conduct
UN Convention against CorruptionGRECO conventionFederal Government of Austria – government program 2007-2010Code of Conduct – working group• USA-Standards of Ethical Conduct for the Employees of the Executive
branch• Canada – Values and Ethics – Code for the Public Service• European Parliament – Guidelines for the duties of the civil servants and
employees• Germany – Guidelines for the prevention of corruption in the federal
administration• City of Vienna – A question of ethics – handbook for the prevention of
corruption
8page
Discipline of civil servants, Peter Reinberg, 28/03/2008
Code of Conduct
code is neither law nor decree or regulationguideline, standard of good practice, "soft law"Values underlying the conduct of civil servants:• democracy• transparency• participation• quality• respect• diversity and non-discrimination• impartiality and integrity• accountability
9page
Discipline of civil servants, Peter Reinberg, 28/03/2008
Code of Conduct
Critical points for conflicts of interest
Small gifts maintain a friendship• Recommendations
- make clear to your client- inform your superior- be careful against invitations
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Discipline of civil servants, Peter Reinberg, 28/03/2008
Code of Conduct
Sponsoring in Public Administration• no sponsoring for core tasks• sponsoring must remain the exception• sponsoring must be transparent• clear contracts, receipts
Public Procurement• detailed national laws and rules• competitors have sufficient legal ways
11page
Discipline of civil servants, Peter Reinberg, 28/03/2008
Code of Conduct
Secondary occupation• CS – neglects official duties• occupation – creates danger of bias• CS has to inform superiors and the HR department• Upper Austria: approval by HR in advance
Official secret vs. Transparency• conflicting interests• protection of personal data• contacts to the media• media secret privilege
12page
Discipline of civil servants, Peter Reinberg, 28/03/2008
Implementation
Responsibility of leaders
• creating codes of conduct• training and supervising their collaborators• being role models themselves: verba movent, exepmla trahunt• giving clear competence by delegation• putting the right person in the right place• rotating officials in sensible positions
13page
Discipline of civil servants, Peter Reinberg, 28/03/2008
Implementation
Violations of the Code of Conduct – measures• talk and admonition in lesser cases• interdiction of a secondary occupation• transfer to another post• disciplinary measures by the HR authority• disciplinary measures by the independent disciplinary board:
- appeal is possible to the independent superior disciplinary board• termination to the next possible term or immediate dismissal of a contractual
- appeal is possible to the labour and social courts• report to the Public Prosecutor
- disciplinary proceedings are interrupted• CS can be suspended or transferred
14page
Discipline of civil servants, Peter Reinberg, 28/03/2008
Implementation
Internal and external control
• Internal review- central unity- review plans
• Courts of Auditors - Federal Court of Auditors- 9 Regional Courts of Auditors
15page
Discipline of civil servants, Peter Reinberg, 28/03/2008
Implementation
Internal/external publication of the code • directed primarily to the civil servants• reflects to the general public• folder
General code/adaptations or appendices• 3-level-code
- Level 1 – concise preamble - folder- Level 2 – guidelines for the different chapters- Level 3 – voluminous annex
• style – shortlist similar to the 10 biblical orders
16page
Discipline of civil servants, Peter Reinberg, 28/03/2008
Conclusion; Acknowledgements
Discipline and ethics – a permanent concern in public administrationsculture of honesty and transparency, of justice and integritysuperiors – good example
Working groupTIFrancisco Cardona
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