The Role of Codes of Ethics and the Prevention of Conflicts of Interest in the Fight Against Corruption
Illegal interest |
Contradiction between |
|
private and public interest |
|
Embezzlement |
Stealing public money |
Corrupt |
Source : Hervé Boullanger
As can be seen , this offence always relates a public benefit ( public contract , subsidy , tax relief ) awarded , with a pass ( distorted call for tenders , non-compliance with award or relief criteria ), to a private interest ( company , individual ) in exchange for a benefit , in kind or financial , for the public official making the decision . The two levels of corruption — grand corruption at the political level and petty corruption at the administrative level ( for example to obtain a permit , a contract , a subsidy , etc .)— are of the same nature .
1.2 Codes of Ethics : An Affirmation of Commitment to Integrity
Even if the word deontology is relatively new ( it is attributed to the utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham 3 ), the antiquity of professional codes of ethics is attested to as early as the Middle Ages . These first codes already transcribed , for this or that corporation ( goldsmiths , money changers , skinners ), the common virtues and obligations applicable to the world of work and transmitted since antiquity , such as the loyalty of goods , the fairness of exchanges , personal integrity , and the non-appropriation of social goods . The current rise in power ( mainly from the 1990s ) of this regulatory tool is due to more recent phenomena :
1 . Phenomena due to the evolution of ethical perceptions in society :
the complexity of the economic interactions that multiply exchanges , and therefore the risks of conflicts of interest between economic , political , and social actors ;
the collapse in the West of the spiritual foundations of ethics , which requires the display of values that “ take the place left vacant by the foundations to provide an intrinsic transcendental reference that would make ethics self-sufficient ”; 4
the disintegration of long careers with the same employer , evident in companies but also in certain national administrations where status regimes are questioned . This evolution distends the spontaneous bond of loyalty between employer and employees , which must therefore be reinforced by ethical rules ;
the rise of cognito-behavioral therapies that consider that one can act
3 Sauve , Jean-Marc , Conflits d ' intérêts et déontologie dans le secteur public , AJDA 2012 p . 861 . 4 Morin , Edgar , La méthode . 6 . Éthique , Points Seuil 2014 .
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