Ethics codes and codes of conduct were considered esoteric luxuries for public service
only a few decades ago.
Today most international anticorruption agreements include them as an
essential ingredient in corruption prevention measures.
Effective codes and the ethics regimes
that support them are now recognized as an essential part of a modern public administration.
Codes and values are the glue that holds all of these systems together. Without integrity it is
impossible for public programs to be effective, much less efficient and fair.
If the role of multi-national organizations is to help in the development of transitional
societies, then effective code development must be one essential part of a long term strategy.
This paper provides the concepts, tools and engines that are necessary to move this process
forward.
But the next step is to provide the engineering to see how all of these parts fit together.
This is an opportunity to get at corruption at its roots and in the most efficient manner.
Successful codes are one of the keys. As Victor Hugo wrote
Mightier than the tread of great armies, is an idea whose time has come.