The Role of Codes of Ethics and the Prevention of Conflicts of Interest in the Fight Against Corruption
end , there is a growing trend toward giving central purchasing management functional authority over buyers in operating units .
A posteriori control : when the prevention of corruption in purchasing is only ensured by preventive control of conflicts of interest , a periodic ex-post control carried out by a general inspectorate or internal audit department on a sample of contracts may be set up .
Alert : when one wishes to encourage individual responsibility , a regulatory provision can be adopted that specifically transposes for public procurement the provisions of the Sapin II law of December 9 , 2016 on the protection of whistleblowers .
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If , as Jean-Jacques Rousseau asserts , “ freedom is obedience to the law that one has prescribed for oneself ,” the implementation of codes of ethics and instruments to prevent conflicts of interest is a good compromise to control the risks of corruption while ensuring the autonomy and trust of the actors .
The signing of a code of ethics and the filing of declarations of interest and assets solemnize the ethical responsibility of the public authority ’ s representative and constitute an aggravating factor in the event of the production of a false declaration . These procedures “ raise the stakes ” for those who may be tempted to become guilty of corruption . They are ineffective in deterring premeditated and resolute bribery , but they are truly effective in limiting acts of corruption committed out of weakness , inadvertence , or cultural habit , which still remain , on a global scale , an all too common category of corruption .
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