Ethics And Lessons

ETHICS CODES AND CODES OF CONDUCT AS TOOLS FOR PROMOTING AN ETHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE: Comparative Successes and Lessons

By

Stuart C. Gilman, Ph.D.

Prepared for the PREM, the World Bank Washington, DC Winter 2005

I Introduction:.............................................................................................................................. 3 Preface........................................................................................................................................ 3 Why Ethics Codes?..................................................................................................................... 3 II. Characteristics of Codes: ........................................................................................................ 6 The Purpose of Codes:............................................................................................................... 6 What are ethics codes for?......................................................................................................... 8 The Role of Principles and Values:......................................................................................... 10 Ethics
Ethics codes are as old as antiquity. Religious traditions and civic cultures have codes as their foundations. The Mosaic Decalogue (Ten Commandments) is the keystone for Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Pericles made the Athenian code the underpinning of ancient Greek politics and culture. In each case codes carry general obligations and admonitions, but they are far more than that. They often capture a vision of excellence, of what individuals and societies should be striving for and what they can achieve. In this sense codes, which are often mistaken as part of law or general statements of mere aspiration, are some of the most important statements of civic