Ethics and Accountability in Public Administration
Administrative ethics is the application of moral standards to the conduct of officials in the discharge of their public duties. Terry L. Cooper's The Responsible Administrator makes it the central preoccupation of contemporary PA: officials wield discretion daily, and how they exercise it determines whether the public interest is served or betrayed. Accountability is the institutional flip side — the obligation to render an account of one's actions to recognised authorities and ultimately to the citizen.
The standards of behaviour expected of public officials in the exercise of their duties — encompassing integrity, impartiality, honesty, transparency, professionalism, and a commitment to the public interest above private gain.
Why ethics matter in PA
- Public officials exercise coercive power (police, tax, regulation) over citizens.
- They spend public money under conditions of asymmetric information.
- Their decisions affect rights, livelihoods and dignity.
- Trust in government — the bedrock of democratic legitimacy — depends on perceived integrity.
Approaches to administrative ethics
| Approach | Core idea |
|---|---|
| Deontological (Kant) | Duty, rules, universal principles |
| Utilitarian (Bentham, Mill) | Greatest good of the greatest number |
| Virtue ethics (Aristotle, MacIntyre) | Character traits — honesty, courage, prudence |
| Justice as fairness (Rawls) | Maximin: maximise minimum welfare; equal basic liberties |
| Public-interest theory | Acting impartially for collective welfare |
| Stewardship theory | Public officials as trustees of public assets |
Codes and instruments
- Athenian Oath of Citizenship (5th cent. BCE) — earliest ethical pledge.
- International Code of Conduct for Public Officials (UN Resolution 51/59, 1996).
- OECD Principles for Managing Ethics in the Public Service (1998).
- United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC, 2003) — ratified by Pakistan in 2007.
- ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management Systems.
Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, 1964 (Pakistan)
A still-binding set of rules issued under the Civil Servants Act 1973, prohibiting:
- Acceptance of gifts beyond nominal value.
- Engagement in trade or private employment without permission.
- Lending or borrowing money from subordinates or clients.
- Speculation in stocks.
- Unauthorised media communication.
- Sexual harassment (since the 2010 Act).
Officers must also submit annual asset declarations to the Establishment Division under the Civil Servants Act.
- UN Convention against Corruption (2003) — Pakistan ratified in 2007.
- Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, 1964 still govern civil-service conduct.
- NAB Ordinance 1999 is the principal accountability law.
- The Right of Access to Information Act 2017 (federal) and provincial RTI Acts open public records to citizens.
- The Wafaqi Mohtasib (Federal Ombudsman) Order 1983 addresses maladministration.
Concepts of accountability
Andreas Schedler distinguishes three pillars: information (access to facts), justification (giving reasons) and enforcement (consequences). Mark Bovens classifies accountability by:
- Forum: political, legal, administrative, professional, social.
- Actor: individual, hierarchical, collective.
- Subject: financial, procedural, performance.
Vertical accountability runs upward through hierarchy to political authority; horizontal runs sideways between branches of government (judiciary, audit, ombudsman); social runs to citizens, media and civil society.
Mechanisms of accountability in Pakistan
Political
- Parliament — Question Hour, debates, motions, committees.
- Public Accounts Committee — Article 88; scrutinises AGP reports.
Constitutional and legal
- Judicial review — Article 199 (High Courts), Article 184(3) (Supreme Court).
- Service tribunals — Article 212.
- Election Commission of Pakistan — Article 218.
Administrative
- Establishment Division — service rules, discipline (E&D Rules 2020).
- Federal Ombudsman (Wafaqi Mohtasib) — created by Order No. 1 of 1983; handles citizen complaints of maladministration.
- Tax Ombudsman, Banking Mohtasib, Federal Insurance Ombudsman, Mohtasib for Protection against Harassment of Women.
Anti-corruption agencies
- National Accountability Bureau (NAB) — under the NAO 1999; amended multiple times (most recently 2022 and 2023). Empowered to investigate and prosecute corruption, asset-recovery and "wilful default".
- Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) — FIA Act 1974; cyber, financial, immigration crimes.
- Anti-Corruption Establishments (ACE) in each province for provincial officials.
Transparency
- Right of Access to Information Act 2017 — federal.
- Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013.
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa RTI Act 2013 — widely considered the strongest.
- Information Commissions in each jurisdiction.
International comparators
| Mechanism | Origin |
|---|---|
| Ombudsman | Sweden, 1809 (Justitieombudsman) |
| CAG model | UK; replicated in many Commonwealth states |
| Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) | Hong Kong 1974; New South Wales 1988 |
| Office of Government Ethics | USA, 1978 |
| Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission | South Korea |
Whistleblowing
Whistleblower protection is uneven globally. Pakistan enacted the Whistleblower Protection and Vigilance Commission Act 2019 (federal) and Punjab Whistleblower Protection and Vigilance Commission Act 2019, although operationalisation remains limited.
Contemporary challenges
- Perception of selective accountability ("political engineering of NAB").
- Weak coordination between FIA, NAB, ACE, FBR.
- Underuse of RTI laws — public records often denied citing "third-party privacy" or "national security".
- Frequent transfers used to punish independent-minded officers.
- Need to operationalise integrity management beyond mere rule compliance.
Theoretical heritage worth recalling
- Carl Friedrich vs Herman Finer debate (1940s) — Friedrich saw accountability as internal (professional ethics); Finer insisted on external (political) controls. Modern systems combine both.
- John Rohr — regime values, Constitutional ethics.
- Dennis Thompson — "problem of many hands" in democratic responsibility.
A high-scoring CSS answer on accountability links Bovens' typology (political, legal, administrative, professional, social) to specific Pakistani institutions: Parliament/PAC, High Courts (Article 199), Wafaqi Mohtasib, FPSC service tribunals, NAB, RTI, media.