The International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) in Ljubljana, Slovenia, regularly analyses events in the Middle East and the Balkans. Dr. Stane Vlaj, assistant professor at the Faculty of Public Administration, University of Ljubljana, Director of the Institute of Local Self-Government and member of the IFIMES International Institute, presents his views of local self-government in Slovenia focusing on public ethics and corruption at local level in Slovenia. His article entitled "Management of Slovenian municipalities and public ethics" is published in full.

Dr Stane Vlaj

Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Administration of the University of Ljubljana,
Director of the Institute of Local Self-Government and
member of the IFIMES International Institute

MANAGEMENT OF SLOVENIAN MUNICIPALITIES AND PUBLIC ETHICS

"In the long term, the only basis on which public trust can be maintained at a sufficiently high level is a cultural one: that is, an environment in which unethical behaviour is generally regarded as exceptional and taboo" (Walter Schwimmer, former Secretary General of the Council of Europe ).

Ethical principles and local self-government

Standards of ethical behaviour have a decisive influence on the power of democracy and public trust in it. Democracy can only be developed in an environment where those standards are respected and supported and where there is a sufficient level of public confidence in the integrity of elected representatives, efficient public management preventing unfair competition, subsidiarity with decentralisation and citizen participation in the decision-making on public issues at all levels. However, all that starts at local level.

Citizens play the key role in the political control of local authorities. However, this requires transparent activities and acts to be adopted in the interest of the community. Strengthening transparency reduces the need to use other forms of control, especially the administrative one. There are control mechanisms for local and regional authorities in each Council of Europe member country, which vary in their form and scope. Depending on their authority, procedures and possibilities for taking measures, those general mechanisms may strengthen public ethics.

Local self-government is a part of public administration. The ethical standards which apply to other parts of public administration such as state administration and holders of public authority are even more relevant for the activities of local bodies. People judge the whole public sector, which should be open and transparent, on the basis of what they experience on daily basis in the place where they live. Local (self)government in the municipality is the level which is the closest to the people who can monitor and control it and where they can most effectively implement their right to participate in decision-making on public issues. Ethical behaviour of public servants and elected local representatives is the pre-condition for an efficient local democracy.

Corruption is one of the forms of unethical behaviour which, as a rule, involves also unlawful activities and violation of fundamental legal principles, especially the principle of equality before the law. Corruption reduces trust into the legal system and opens door to other means to realise goals. The operations of municipalities are regulated with numerous legal regulations which lay down the principles and rules for implementing their authority. An analysis of the content of those regulations shows that they ensure all possibilities for preventing and fighting corruption provided they are consistently respected.

Our research has shown that in Slovenian municipalities corruption is present most frequently in the field of public contracts, followed by corruption in the field of public utility services and spatial planning and construction of buildings. Corruption is also present in other fields, including the financing of political parties and elections, while it is least frequent or not present at all in recruitment, municipal administrative procedures etc. The most noticed among the corruptive acts are offences related to bribery. It is interesting to note that in larger municipalities there are more corruptive acts, which shows that the volume of corruption is proportional to the size of the municipality, i.e. budgetary funds.

Council of Europe on sound management and public ethics in local communities

The Council of Europe acknowledges the essential importance of democracy at local and regional levels. High standards of public ethics at local level are vital in order to establish and strengthen local democracy. Local public servants should make decisions on the basis of public needs and not their personal interests. The public will loose motivation to participate in the local and regional self-government if it does not believe the management carried out by local and regional authorities to be honest, open and in the interest of all the citizens of local and regional communities. A real and effective democracy requires mutual trust between the citizens and their elected or appointed public servants. The latter have to work in line with the principles of objectivity, integrity, responsibility, openness and honesty, taking into account public interests and respecting ethical standards of public life.

One of the priorities of the Council of Europe in the field of strengthening local and regional self-government and democracy is promoting public ethics at local level and fighting corruption and other forms of financial crime in local bodies. Preventing corruption and other forms of financial crime is the main concern of all Council of Europe member countries and is attributed greater importance than penalising such acts.

Corruption and disrespect for ethical standards are harmful to public life. The Council of Europe stresses personal responsibility of all individuals who are elected or appointed to perform public functions or services SE in confronting corruption and following high standards of behaviour in the context of the legal, administrative and institutional environment to which they serve and their task to promote such behaviour among their colleagues.

Fighting corruption and preserving the culture of integrity at all levels of authority require special efforts on the part of local and regional authorities in line with their competences, as well as the measures on the part of central authorities in line with local and regional autonomy. The culture of public life is affected also by groups of civil society and the media who influence the public perception of behavioural standards of those who are active in public life.

European democracies are increasingly aware of the fact that the standards of ethical behaviour should be actively promoted in order to prevent the power of democracy to falter and the trust into public authorities to diminish. The Council of Europe took up the challenge and prepared a series of initiatives to strengthen co-operation between member states in fighting corruption, preserving ethical standards and encouraging the culture of honesty and transparency among all those who perform a public service. The Council of Europe member countries should follow the high standards of behaviour in their public life and develop administrative and institutional frameworks in order to promote high ethical standards and the culture of integrity at all levels of authority.

The key notions of this topic – ethics and corruption – are closely interrelated: corruption namely depends on ethical values in the society both at local and national level.

Corruption at local level appears in forms such as nepotism, conflict of interests, clientelism, acting to the detriment of municipal property, abuse of position and trading with influence.

There are elected representative bodies in all European municipalities. While the strategic decision-making is within the competence of the representative body, it is the mayor who ensures that the adopted general decisions are implemented. In this the mayor is assisted by the municipal administration which is often headed by the director or manager.

It is vital for the democratic organisation of local authority that the executive body answers to the municipal council. Direct elections of the executive body are becoming the most widespread form. Existence of two poles with identical levels of democratic legitimacy within a local community may jeopardise the fundamental principle of the supremacy of the municipal council and cause blockades within the municipal system. It would be therefore appropriate to introduce a system which would minimise this risk e.g. by providing the possibility for the municipal council to propose a referendum on the dismissal of the executive body (mayor) or by introducing a system enabling the council to decide on such dismissal under certain circumstances.

Sound management of local and regional communities

At the last international conference of European ministers competent for local and regional democracy held in February 2005 in Budapest, the Council of Europe stressed that sound local and regional management must take into account the acquis and the Council's information database in the field of local and regional democracy.

Disseminating sound local and regional management is the key goal to be pursued by member states in order to face the challenges of their societies and fulfil the legitimate expectations of their citizens.

One of the greatest challenges is ensuring ethical behaviour of local and regional authorities, elected representatives and officials who should respect the local and regional self-government as well as the individual rights and legitimate interests.

The Council of Europe decided to promote the handbook of good practice on public ethics at local level as well as the preparation, where possible, of handbooks adapted to specific circumstances in the Council of Europe member countries etc. It should be ensured that all the actors in the municipality – citizens, bodies, municipal administration – assume the rights and obligations in the local management system. To this end codes of ethics (on the basis of the Council of Europe's handbook on public ethics at local level) should be drawn up separately for each municipality (region).

The Council of Europe's handbook

The handbook of good practice covering six thematic fields contains recommendations for various communities and persons: central and local authorities, elected representatives, employees in local community administration and political leaders.

The handbook should serve as guidance to local actors (elected representatives and public servants) on how to act in certain circumstances.

Local authorities are fully responsible to the voting body, public opinion, administrative and civil courts or, in certain cases, criminal courts.

The central and local authorities will select those cases of good practice which they find appropriate in view of their specific situation. For example in case of locally elected representatives the state should ensure a simple and uniform legal framework on their rights and obligations, accountability, guarantees and protection, remuneration and working conditions, supervision, disqualifications, termination of office and suspension. This legal framework is laid down by the central authorities in consultation with the associations of local elected representatives. The state should also prepare the code of conduct for local authorities which should contain obligatory provisions which the local authorities should include in their code adopted at local level as well as the provisions which the local authorities could adapt, where necessary, and include into the local code.

The activities which the local authorities may carry out are the adoption of the code of conduct for local elected representatives and the distribution of the code among the local elected representatives as well as central authorities, other interested bodies and the public using appropriate means including information technology.

Model code of ethical management of Slovenian municipalities

Written rules laying down the behaviour of individuals within certain group or organisation can be gathered in a code of ethics. The public administration employees also need their code of ethics which:

- guides the activities and promotes ethical behaviour;

- regulates the actions of public servants and prevents unethical behaviour;

- defines the principles and values to be followed by public servants;

- as a means of resolving doubts and dilemmas reduces uncertainty on how to behave;

- lays down sanctions in cases of unethical behaviour.

The aim of the code is to raise the repute of municipal council, the mayor and municipal administration as well as to strengthen public trust in their work. In addition to the legislative provisions such code of ethic could be, in the long-term, one of the instruments for fighting corruption in the efforts to develop a modern democracy at local level. Municipal functionaries as well as municipal public servants must have a clear vision of how they are expected to behave in realising their functions and tasks by the municipal council, mayor, citizens and other stakeholders. Functionaries and servants must be aware of their responsibilities and should realise them in accordance with the positive human and administrative values.

Code of ethical behaviour contains especially the moral, ethical and anticorruption principles and standards for municipalities such as the demand that in the period from the beginning of the election campaign until the establishment of new municipal bodies the functionary should not assume new obligations unless they are of vital importance for the current operations of the municipality.

The model code is designed to stimulate synergic functioning of functionaries and public servants at municipal level. It is advisable that it is formed as a uniform code which applies to municipal functionaries and public servants in the municipal administration, since as such it would encourage co-operation between the politics and the profession, i.e. between the functionaries and public servants regardless of their political orientation. Functionaries and public servants are guided to adopt such general ethical behaviour, actions and conduct in performing their functions and tasks which help to preserve and strengthen the positive values of municipal management.

The municipalities will be able to adopt the model code to their needs and to transpose those provisions which may be regarded as the standard for all municipalities.

In Slovenia as well as in other countries corruption is widely spread at local level. Sound management is the first step to preventing corruption. Local bodies' decisions must be adopted in accordance with the general interest and not guided by personal interests.

The model code stresses the strengthening and encouraging all kinds of activities resulting in the prevention of corruption, acting in favour of indirect or direct personal interests and other forms of negative behaviour. The principles and standards of behaviour personally apply to an individual civil servants and public functionaries (mayors, deputy mayors, members of municipal council). The adopted code is also binding on the local public utility providers.

Conclusion

Lack of ethics and standards of management in public administration is a problem all Council of Europe member countries are facing. The public is increasingly concerned due to corruption, various affairs and diminishing ethical behaviour in realising administrative tasks. The citizens only trust those institutions with act correctly. Lack of trust leads to populism, absenteeism and other negative effects.

Citizen participation in public life at local level is the way to assert democratic values (especially in countries in transition) and increase public support to local bodies. Further decentralisation, institutional dialogue, modernisation of administrative structures and practices, efficient provision of local public services and fighting corruption are all means for achieving the above goal.

The reasons for increasing corruption at local level in Slovenia may be lax regulations, lacking internal and external control and insufficiently developed level of responsibility and ethical culture coupled with disrespect for the European principles of local self-government regulating the formation of local communities, their mutual relations as well as their relations with the citizens, citizen participation in local public life, sound management of local community etc.

Slovenian municipalities are facing some serious management problems. The interest of inhabitants for an active participation in public life in their municipality is decreasing, the role of municipal council is not realised, members of municipal councils are much more attentive to their political centres in Ljubljana than to concrete demands, needs and interests of people in a concrete municipality etc.

Public ethics is not implemented at municipal level. Mayors of Slovenian municipalities and local leading coalitions often monopolise the right to local self-government. Nobody asks the citizens of individual municipalities for their opinion so they are losing their interest in active participation in the local public life. Corruption at local level is on the increase while the fight against it is much too weak or not present at all.

The efficient ways to fight corruption at municipal level are the implementation of ethical standards in municipal management and adoption of the code of ethics for public servants and functionaries. The code of ethics guides the target actors to adopt appropriate moral behaviour and ethical values. It sets the moral and anticorruption principles and goes far beyond the mere rules of good manners.

Ljubljana, 14 May 2007

International Institute for Middle-East

and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) – Ljubljana

Directors: Bakhtyar Aljaf, Zijad Bećirović, M.Sc.