Conflicts of interest in public service is one of the main causes of corruption offenses. In order to prevent this situation and educate civil servants, special programs are being developed to resolve such conflicts.
Concept of conflict
Conflict is understood as a clash of several opposing opinions, beliefs, positions and worldviews. Conflicts arise in the process of social interaction and consist in the fact that the parties to the conflict take opposite positions, and the situation itself is often accompanied by negative emotions and behavior that goes beyond the accepted norms.
Depending on the situation, the conflict can be either destructive or constructive. In any case, it consists of several components:
- Bipolarity. A conflict is possible only if there is a confrontation in the situation at the same time, but there is also a connection that contains the opportunity to create a confrontation.
- Activity. Any situation develops into a conflict only if there is a certain impetus and activity on the part of the parties to the conflict.
- Subjects of the conflict. For a conflict, a conflicting party is needed that can create a conflict situation and influence the course of development of this conflict.
There are different types of collisions. Conflict of interest situations in the public service deserve special attention because they have their own psychological, political and legal elements.
What is a conflict of interest?
The concept of “conflict of interest in the public service” cannot be considered without interpreting the term “conflict of interest”. By this concept is meant a situation in which the personal interest of an employee of a state type can directly or indirectly affect the appropriate performance of his duties.
Quite often, such a procedure is accompanied by the fact that a contradictory situation arises between the personal interest of a person and the laws of the organization, society or state. A conflict of interest in the public service also leads to situations in which the legitimate rights and interests of the state, specific organizations or citizens can be harmed.
The concept of personal interest
Personal interest is understood as situations that may directly or indirectly affect the performance by employees of their duties. Personal interest directly affects the conflict of interest in public service. Examples of personal interest are the opportunity for a person who is in a public office to receive additional income in the form of money, valuables, and other property that is provided not only directly to the employee, but also to his family members, relatives, friends.
A civil servant due to his work, for example, in the performance of certain functions of state-type departments, may fall into situations that fall under the definition of personal interest. A conflict of interest in the state and municipal service in this case may be caused by the functions of the employee regarding the availability of authority to make decisions on technical, organizational, personnel, financial, material or other issues of the organization or the state.
Conflict of Interest Prevention and Resolution
Notification of a potential conflict of interest is the primary function of a public servant. Prevention and settlement of a conflict of interest in the public service lies with the responsibility of the employee, and if he has not taken any measures in this direction, then this is considered an offense that leads to the dismissal of a particular person from public office.
The investigation of the situation, during which the public servant did not take any measures to prevent and resolve the conflict of interest, is carried out by a special unit of the personnel service, which is responsible for the prevention of crime in the executive branch and the prevention of corruption situations. There are several types of procedures where there is a conflict of interest in the public service. Examples demonstrate that each similar situation has its own preventive measures and ways to resolve the conflict.
Conflict of interest related to specific employee functions
If there is a situation of personal interest, the civil servant is obliged to provide information to the tenant in writing. In this case, conflicts of interest in the public service are situations that are resolved by the employer.
In the event of such a conflict, the employer must remove the employee from those specific functions that lead to a situation where friends, relatives or other persons with whom the employee is involved to some degree are involved. For example, if a civil servant is on a competition commission where one of the candidates is his relative, the employer must replace the employee with another person.
Conflict of interest related to employee having other paid work
According to the law, a public servant can engage in other paid work if this does not entail a conflict of interest. In the event that a position at another job will contribute to the employee's personal interest and, consequently, a conflict situation, he must notify his supervisor about this, and also refuse another paid position.
If the employee has not taken any measures in order to resolve the conflict of interest in the state civil service, the head of the organization must protect him from performing official duties. Information about the current situation is submitted to the appropriate personnel department.
Conflict of interest related to bank investments and securities
In the event that a state-level employee has the securities of the organization in which he works and for which he performs some of his duties, as well as if he performs managerial functions in relation to various credit organizations or banks, he must inform his supervisor writing, as well as transfer all securities to a trust management.
Even if the public servant himself does not own securities and deposits, but his relatives and friends possess them, he is also obliged to notify his superiors about this. In addition, he should also recommend that his relatives, friends, or other interested parties transfer all securities and contributions to trust management or refuse them altogether. In this case, conflicts of interest in the civil service are situations that are directly regulated by the head of the organization. Until the conflict of interest is resolved, the employee must be removed by the manager from performing his duties that are related to personal interest.
Conflicts of interest related to the provision of additional services and receiving gifts
An employee of state bodies, as well as his relatives and friends, should not accept gifts in any form from individuals and organizations in respect of which some functions of a state nature were performed by public servants. Also, the employee and his relatives are not recommended to accept gifts, regardless of their value, from subordinates of a particular public servant.
If the head of the state organization found out that the employee or one of his relatives received a gift, he should conduct an investigation and find out how this gift was related to the employee's performance of his public duties. The prevention of conflicts of interest in the public service in this case takes two forms. If the employer has found out that the gift received is directly related to the functions and duties of the employee, disciplinary measures must be taken against this person. The measure of punishment depends on the severity of the corruption offense, its size and obligations, in which a conflict of interest has arisen. If the gift received is not related to the employee performing his duties and functions, the employer must notify the employee that receiving gifts from interested citizens and organizations may adversely affect the professional reputation of the employee himself, as well as the reputation of the organization in which he works. The best solution would be to return a gift to employees, or to compensate for its value.
Conflicts of interest related to litigation and property obligations
If the employee or his relatives have any property obligations or legal proceedings, it is recommended to resolve these problems in the most expeditious manner. If for certain reasons this is not possible, the employee must notify his supervisor.
The employer in this case must remove the employee from the performance of his duties until the moment when all property and judicial situations are resolved. The employer performs similar actions in the event that the specified obligations are the friends and relatives of the employee.
Conflicts of Interest Related to Employment
If in the process of fulfilling his duties and functions a public servant encounters an organization in which he worked as a manager or employee, he must notify his employer in writing.
The head of the organization must assess the situation and decide whether the employee’s previous working relationship will affect his or her duties. If such a situation is likely, then at the time of this process, the civil servant should be removed from his duties.
Processes related to employee bans violations
In accordance with the law, a civil servant is prohibited from doing the following without the permission of the employer:
- Accept awards and titles from international organizations, political parties and other organizations.
- Engage in other paid activities that are fully funded by foreign countries or international organizations.
- Disclose confidential or proprietary information.
If the employer becomes aware that a public servant has violated one or more of these prohibitions, he should consider applying disciplinary measures against this employee. It depends on the gravity and size of the corruption offense, as well as on the circumstances in which it was committed.
Conflicts of interest in the public service is a special type of conflict that arises between a public servant having a personal interest and fulfilling his functions and duties. Different types of such conflicts require special precautions when resolving.