Standards Board for England meeting

Manchester, United Kingdom, 4 June 2009

Presentation by Keith Whitmore, President of the Institutional Committee of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

Mr Chairman,

Members of the Board,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The ongoing expenses’ scandal in the United Kingdom, which has been “enjoying, if I may say so, wide international coverage has brought to the forefront, and not only in this country, the question of ethics in governance. The importance of this issue is clear as there is a strong link between the behaviour of elected representatives – its ethical component – and the quality of governance and therefore its efficiency.

It is indeed the matter of trust between constituencies and their elected representatives, the trust that the latter will be defending the interests of the former and will follow the same rules by which their constituencies are expected to abide. Ethical governance also means making sure that the ancient Roman maxim “Quod licet Jovi, non licet bovi”  - what is permitted to Jupiter, not permitted to the ox – does not apply in a democracy.

For us in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, a representative body of more than 200,000 territorial communities in 47 European countries, the question of ethics relates first and foremost to local and regional governance. We have been dealing with improving the quality of governance in order to ensure good governance at local and regional level for quite some time now, mainly within the Congress’ Institutional Committee of which I am President and which has initiated many proposals that have been taken up at European level.

Today, I would like us to look first at the reasons why the issue of ethical governance is taking on a growing importance especially for local and regional level; and then at the specific proposals made so far to introduce a system of certain checks and control which can be applied to all levels of government.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The need for better ethical standards for territorial authorities is on the rise today due to the increasing prominence of territorial self-government in the political architecture of European societies. This process in itself is not new; we can trace it indeed back to the end of the Second World War, when our predecessors embarked on the path for European integration.

The importance of local democracy and efficient local self-government as a cornerstone of any democratic system has been long recognised by national governments; this recognition was already included in the Statute of the Council of Europe in 1949. However, the strong movement of mayors in the 1950s-60s and then the regional movement in the 1970s brought to the fore the importance of and the need for an effectively autonomous self-government, sufficiently independent to manage on its own public affairs at local and regional level. Without such independence, it was argued, there can be no effective self-government and therefore no efficient democracy at grass-roots level.

To sustain this momentum, the European Conference of Local Authorities was created and held its first session in 1957; over the decades, it has evolved first into the Conference of Local and Regional Authorities, incorporating the regional dimension, and then the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, which now monitors the situation of local and regional self-government across 47 European countries.

The growing complexity of the tasks faced by governments forced them to share responsibilities for tackling these tasks with lower levels of governance. Gradually, governments recognised that they can no longer cope alone with all issues at hand, and that a large portion of the problems can be dealt with more efficiently by those authorities who enjoy proximity to the citizens and have better knowledge of the needs and expectations of communities, and of what practically works on the ground. The principle that public services can be delivered more efficiently at the level closest to the citizen became known as the principle of subsidiarity, and the consequent transfer of competences and financial means to that level is underlying the decentralisation of power which we are witnessing in Europe today.

To put local governance on legal footing, the European Charter of Local Self-Government was adopted in 1985, the first and cornerstone international treaty for local democracy, which is still inspiring minds around the globe. It laid down the core principles of local governance and common standards for protecting and developing the rights of local communities and their authorities. The Charter’s entry into force in 1988, and its ratification by 44 European countries to date, gave a major boost to the devolution of power on our continent, releasing the potential of communities and empowering them to take up the many challenges facing our society.

Allow me to look closer not only at the legal implications unleashed by the Charter but also at the philosophy brought with it.

The Charter set out, for the first time in history, that local self-government is a legal right of communities which must be protected by law, and that the responsibility for public services should be transferred to the level where they can be delivered most efficiently, the level closest to the citizen. It also stipulated that local authorities should have their own administrative structures and finances matching their competences, and that local elected representatives should exercise their duties without interference from any other authority, national or regional.

But beyond the recognition of the need for decentralisation, the Charter represented an evolution of our understanding of democracy, reflecting the conviction that local democracy was a constituent element of democracy itself, not just a tribute paid to the growing power of local authorities.

This new understanding acknowledged that the devolution of power towards local communities would release their potential and stir up action involving numerous actors at all levels of governance, which would make it possible to take up the great challenges of today. Thus local authorities became the first line of response to the issues of concern to our citizens.

Governments today recognise that solutions to even the most taxing problems require the necessary involvement of territorial communities and their authorities. Global challenges facing society today – climate change, migration, social and economic upheavals, demographic change – all call for responses from local and regional level.

Tackling climate change and global warming, for example, necessitates building adaptive capacities of local and regional communities and finding ways for optimal use of local resources, be it water management, waste disposal, optimisation of public transport networks, sustainable use of energy sources or industrial applications. It also means introducing innovative approaches, because new problems require new solutions, and here local and regional authorities have been showing remarkable ingenuity experimenting with what fits best in their communities. With their wealth of experience, territorial communities have much to share with their counterparts and, yes, with national governments which have no other way than to take them on board – because, after all, it is the communities that bear the brunt of the consequences of the governments’ decisions.

Let me take another example – the global financial crisis. Who is, or will be suffering from it the most, and who has to find immediate remedies to buttress its consequences in communities? Whereas people have little control over the government’s borrowing and spending, they can certainly hold their municipal or regional councils, mayors or governors accountable for managing local resources. It comes as no surprise that local and regional authorities, which in the European Union alone control two thirds of all public investments, have shown over the years a far better management of assets than their national counterparts. And yet, until now they have little or no say in the international financial system, which is waking up today to the need for their greater involvement.

Today, even if the good health of local democracy and the quality of local governance still varies in Europe, even if there is much room for improvement – and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is there to ensure that this room is getting smaller, by monitoring the implementation of European Charter of Local Self-Government – local democracy is an accepted fact, and it is the object of strong consensus in our member states. The immense movement of decentralisation is underway; it still has some way to go, but it is unstoppable.

However, power brings responsibility and opens doors for possible abuse, while being shielded from interference also means making tough decisions on your own. The question of the quality of governance and the capacity for governing at local level has been therefore becoming increasingly important and reached the top of the political agenda. Improving governance and public services is interdependent on awakening people’s interest in local democracy, motivating them and involving them more in the democratic decision-making, which is key to making them feel empowered and thus committed to the affairs of their communities.

Citizens’ involvement is essential for ensuring good governance, because public control is a prerequisite for greater transparency and accountability in governing processes. However, it is a two-way street. The political will of elected representatives for greater transparency and accountability, their commitment to principles and adherence to high ethical standards are key components of good governance. Ethics is a necessary element for building trust between the electorate and their representatives, and such trust is in turn a prerequisite for efficiency. As long as it starts at grassroots level, the whole democratic edifice will stand firm: a hurricane can wipe off the roof, but the house won’t collapse unless the foundation is rotten.

The Congress has taken up the issue of ethical governance more than ten years ago. In 1999, it already adopted a recommendation putting forward the European Code of conduct for local and regional elected representatives. The Code sets out general principles governing public duties and specific obligations of elected representatives during the taking, holding and relinquishing of office. It also deals with means of supervision and relations with local government staff and the media.

More recently, the Congress has reaffirmed the main principles of good and ethical governance in its new vision – a new philosophy; if you wish – of urban living and governance, that we launched by adopting the European Urban Charter II: Manifesto for a new urbanity, in May 2008. The Charter offers a model of urban communities that are centred on the residents and their needs, that are cohesive and sustainable, that capitalize on their advantage as centres of culture and science, and that are driven by knowledge and innovation.

This implies involving society at grassroots level to mobilise citizens and to base our future development on a fruitful dialogue between citizens and their representatives at local, regional and national level. This is also the best way to ensure that our governance is ethically clean because, as I said earlier, citizens’ control is the best antidote to corruption. This is why in the new Urban Charter we call on all actors involved in urban development to take on board the citizens’ participation in implementing the principles of ethical governance, sustainable development and greater solidarity in their public policies.

For its part, the European Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR), an intergovernmental arm of the Council of Europe in this field, has, for its part, elaborated the Handbook on public ethics at local level, which first appeared in 2004. The abridged version of the Handbook was published in 2006, and the Committee is currently working on its revision, to be completed in early 2010.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let us now look at the specific proposals contained in the Code of conduct and the Handbook.

The drawing up of the Code of conduct in the 1990s took place against the background of several important initiatives of the Council of Europe, the European Union, OECD and the United Nations on fighting corruption and organised crime and promoting ethical values. It was in this period when the Council of Europe adopted its Programme of Action against Corruption, launched the drafting of criminal law and civil law conventions against corruption – both are now open for signature – and was convening European conferences of specialised services in the fight against corruption, in particular on trading in influence and the illegal financing of political parties.

It was also at the same time that the OECD Council adopted twelve ethical principles of conduct in the public service, and the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers twenty guiding principles for the fight against corruption, particularly encouraging elected representatives to establish codes of conduct and rules for the financing of political parties and election campaigns.

The Congress, for its part, set up a working group on political integrity of local and regional representatives, of which I had the privilege to be a member and which elaborated the very Code of conduct as a European reference tool.

In adopting this Code in 1999, the Congress reasserted that all local and regional elected representatives keen to comply with the terms of the mandate given to them by the electorate have a duty to identify with the ethical values intended to govern their conduct in the performance of their functions.

We were then and remain convinced today that, besides introducing criminal law provisions against corruption, it is essential at European level to promote minimum ethical standards common to all local and regional elected representatives, both to reduce the risk of corruption and to boost the public's confidence in local and regional policy-makers. Any failure to comply with these standards is liable to undermine not only the credibility of local and regional elected representatives but democracy in general and thus erode the very foundations of the rule of law.

The Code set out as general principles the primacy of law and of the public interest in the exercise of the electoral mandate, and the acceptance by elected representatives to perform their functions with diligence, openness and a willingness to account for their decisions. In other words, the pursuit of any private interest and the desire to conceal the reasons for one’s action can bear prejudice to the exercise of the mandate.

The Code then suggested rules governing election campaigns, introduced bans on favouring, on exercising authority to one’s own advantage and, evidently, on active or passive bribery, as well as principles of abstaining in conflict-of-interest cases and limiting the concurrent holding of two or more political appointments. The need for transparency and objectivity in the exercise of discretionary powers and in the observation of budgetary and financial discipline was also emphasised, as was the ban on securing lucrative appointments while in office with a view to taking them after the mandate expires.

The Code also proposed certain means of supervision, including the declaration, on request, of election campaign expenses, of personal interests or other functions, as well as the establishment of internal and external supervisory measures and the competent authorities to implement them, and subsequent full compliance with supervisory procedures.

The Code requires transparency in exercising the public duties, including by making public decisions and grounds for decisions, responding to any request from the public concerning the performance of duties, and promotes measures fostering openness. Finally, the Code makes proposals concerning relations with local government staff, in particular with regard to their appointment, performance and career development. 

The Congress encouraged national associations of local and regional elected representatives in the Council of Europe member states to draw up similar codes of conduct in consultation with their national governments, using the Code of Conduct as a model, or to adopt the Code of Conduct as proposed by the Congress. We also encouraged setting up bodies responsible for ensuring the application of the codes and ruling, where applications are referred to them, on whether the conduct of individual elected representatives complies with the standards set out in the code.

The Congress recommended in particular that local and regional ombudsmen, where they exist, could be empowered to carry out investigations and make recommendations to the bodies set up by national associations. The Congress’ Institutional Committee was charged to deal with issues relating to the political integrity of local and regional elected representatives.

The best practices in respect of public ethics in local government, compiled from contributions from across the member states of the Council of Europe, were published in the Handbook on Public Ethics at Local Level, prepared by the Council of Europe’s Committee on Local and Regional Democracy and adopted by a high-level international conference which took place in Noordwijkerhout (the Netherlands) on 31 March – 1 April 2004.

These practices suggest ways in which local, regional and central governments can work together to improve public ethics at local level and to bolster public confidence in local officials by rendering the political process more transparent. Taking account of the complexity of the Handbook and in order to ensure an appropriate level of promotion of its main findings, CDLR decided to prepare a shorter document presenting only short summaries of the six sections of the Handbook to allow potential users to have a first glimpse of its most important ideas. In November 2005, CDLR adopted the abridged version of the Handbook, published in 2006.

One could regard the Handbook as complementary to the Code of Conduct. Whereas the Code sets out general principles of ethical governance for local and regional elected representatives, the Handbook puts an emphasis on the overall legal framework and model codes of conduct for the rights and obligations of local government officials, which the central government should provide in consultation with local authorities. These rights and obligations should be publicised and monitoring procedures should be implemented. The framework should also spell out any legal sanctions clearly but should not be so restrictive as to infringe on local authorities’ independence.

In practical terms, the Handbook contains model initiatives relating to:

the status of local elected representatives;

the funding of political parties, political associations and individual candidates at local level;

the control and audit of local authorities;

the status of local public servants;

transparency, access to information and administrative procedures; and

local authorities’ relations with the private sector.

The Handbook creates no legal obligations; instead it offers detailed examples of how to construct a comprehensive and effective public ethics regime at local level. Member countries and their respective local and regional authorities are encouraged to consider the Handbook’s suggestions for reform, both separately and jointly with other sections of the handbook. Several member states have already found the Handbook useful in this way, but all municipalities, regions and countries could find benefit in using the Handbook as a resource, tailoring its recommendations to their own particular situation.

It has already been translated in a majority of the languages used by Council of Europe member states. It has inspired legal reforms in several countries, and in several others it has been included as such or has led to the preparation of training modules to be used in the curriculum for training local staff. Some countries have already prepared or are preparing national handbooks on public ethics at local level, adapting the Council of Europe handbook to their specific situation and aiming at offering help to the local representatives, both elected and appointed, in their day to day activity.

This document is mainly aimed at policy makers in local authorities, and offers them for consideration a set of good initiatives, practices and solutions which appear in the Handbook. Like the Handbook itself and in order to offer a full picture of the various practices and give local authorities a list of initiatives and conditions they could expect, this guide also contains examples of initiatives to be taken by other authorities, but mainly the central government.

This document can also be very useful for other audiences such as central authorities, but also universities, political parties and structures in charge of training local and regional civil servants and elected representatives.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is the work that has been carried out so far by the Council of Europe and its Congress in an effort to ensure high ethical standards and therefore a better quality of governance at local and regional level. This work will certainly be pursued because, as the expenses’ scandal in this country reminded us, we are still far from the set objectives. However, this scandal also showed that, whereas there is never a foolproof guarantee for preventing abuse of power, the democratic system based on public supervision gives guarantees for the exposure of such abuse and penalty for it. Quod non licet bovi, non licet Jovi.

Thank you.