Conflicts of interest in the civil service - is ... Conflict of interest in the public service

Conflicts of interests in the civil service are one of the main causes of corruption offenses. In order to prevent such a situation and educate civil servants, special programs are being developed to resolve such conflicts.

The concept of conflict

Conflict is understood as the collision of several opposing opinions, beliefs, attitudes and worldviews. Conflicts appear in the process of social interaction and consist in the fact that the participants in the conflict occupy opposing positions, and the situation itself is often accompanied by negative emotions and behavior that goes beyond accepted norms.

Depending on the situation, the conflict can be both destructive and constructive. In any case, it consists of several components:

• Bipolarity. Conflict is possible only if there is a confrontation in a situation at the same time, but there is also a link that contains the opportunity to create a confrontation.
• Activity. Any situation develops into a conflict only if there is a certain momentum and activity from the parties to the conflict.
• Subjects of conflict. Conflict is needed for the conflict, which can create a conflict situation and influence the course of development of the conflict.

There are different types of collisions. Situations of conflict of interest in 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 interests in the civil service" can not be considered without interpreting the term "conflict of interest". This term implies a situation in which the personal interest of a public servant can directly or indirectly influence the proper performance of his duties.

Quite often, such a procedure is accompanied by the emergence of a contradictory situation between the person's personal interest and the laws of the organization, society or state. Conflict of interests in the state civil service also leads to the situation that may cause damage to the legitimate rights and interests of the state, specific organizations or citizens.

The concept of personal interest

By personal interest understand the situation, which directly or indirectly can affect the performance of employees of their duties. Personal interest directly affects the conflict of interest in the civil service. Examples of personal interest are the possibility of obtaining additional income in the form of money, valuables and other property that are provided not only directly to the employee, but also to members of his family, relatives, friends, by a person who is on public office.

The civil servant, by virtue of his work, for example, in the performance of certain functions of state-run offices, can fall into situations that fall within the definition of personal interest. Conflict of interests in the state and municipal service in this case can be caused by the functions of the employee regarding the availability of authority to make decisions on technical, organizational, personnel, financial, material or other matters of the organization or the state.

Preventing and resolving conflicts of interest

Notification of a possible conflict of interest is the main function of a civil servant. Preventing and resolving a conflict of interests in the civil service rests on the responsibility of the employee, and if they have not taken any measures in this direction, this is considered an offense that leads to the dismissal of a particular person from public office.

The investigation of a situation in which civil servants did not take any measures to prevent and resolve a conflict of interests is engaged in a special division of the personnel service, which is responsible for the prevention of violations 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 civil service. The examples demonstrate that each such situation has its own prevention measures and ways to resolve the conflict.

Conflict of interest related to the specific functions of an employee

If there is a situation of personal interest, the civil servant is obliged to provide information about this to the employer in writing. In this case, conflicts of interest in the civil service are situations, the settlement of which is carried out by the employer.

In the presence of such a conflict, the employer must remove the employee from those specific functions that lead to the presence of a situation where friends, relatives or other persons are involved, to which the employee is more or less related. For example, if a civil servant is on a tender commission, where one of the candidates is his relative, the employer must replace the employee with another person.

Conflict of interest related to the employee's other paid work

According to the law, a civil servant can engage in other paid work, if this does not entail a conflict of interest. In the event that the position in another job will facilitate the appearance of the employee's personal interest and, accordingly, the conflict situation, he must notify his manager about this, and also refuse from another paid position.

If the employee has not taken any measures to resolve the conflict of interests in the civil service, the head of the organization must protect him from performing his duties. Information about the current situation is submitted to the appropriate department of the personnel service.

Conflict of interest related to bank investments and securities

If the employee of the state level has securities of the organization in which he works, and for which he performs some of his duties, and also if he performs managerial functions with respect to various credit organizations or banks, he must necessarily notify his supervisor about this Writing, as well as transfer all securities to a trust management.

Even if the civil servant himself does not own securities and deposits, but their relatives and friends have them, he is also obliged to notify his superiors about this. In addition, he also must recommend to his relatives, friends or other interested persons to transfer all securities and deposits to the management of a confidential nature or to 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 interests is eliminated, the employee must be removed by the head from performing his duties, which are related to personal interest.

Conflicts of interest related to providing complementary services and receiving gifts

An official of state bodies, as well as his relatives and friends, should not accept gifts in any form from individuals and organizations in respect of whom certain functions of a public nature have been performed by public servants. Also, the employee and his relatives are not recommended to accept gifts, regardless of their value, from the subordinates of a particular civil servant.

In the event that the head of the state organization learned that the employee or one of his relatives received a gift, he should conduct an investigation and find out how much this gift was related to the performance by employees of their state duties. The prevention of conflict of interests in the civil service in this case has two forms. If the employer found out that the gift received is directly related to the functions and duties of the employee, disciplinary measures should be taken against this person. The penalty depends on the severity of the corruption offense, its size and obligations, under which a conflict of interest arose. If the gift received is not related to the performance of the employee's duties and functions, the employer must notify the employee that receiving gifts from interested citizens and organizations may have a bad effect on the professional reputation of the employee himself, as well as on the reputation of the organization in which he works. The optimal solution will be to return the employees of the gift, or to compensate for its value.

Conflicts of interest, which are connected with judicial proceedings and property obligations

If the employee or his relatives have any property obligations or legal proceedings, it is recommended that these problems be resolved in the most expeditious manner. If for some reason this is not possible, the employee must notify his superior about this.

The employer in this case must remove the employee from performing his duties until the moment when all property and judicial situations are resolved. Similar actions the employer performs in the event that the specified duties are friends and relatives of the employee.

Conflicts of interest related to employment

If, in the course of performing his duties and functions, a civil servant is confronted with an organization in which he worked as a manager, an employee, he must notify his employer in writing.

The head of the organization should assess the situation and decide whether the employee's previous working relationship will affect the performance of his duties. If such a situation is likely, then at the time of this process, the civil servant must be removed from his duties.

The processes associated with violations of employee bans

In accordance with the law, a civil servant is prohibited from doing the following without the permission of the employer:

• Take awards and titles from international organizations, political parties and other organizations.
• To engage in other paid activities, which are fully funded from foreign states or international organizations.
• Disclose confidential information or official information.

If the employer becomes aware that a civil servant has violated one or more of the said prohibitions, he should consider applying disciplinary measures against this employee. This depends on the severity and size of the corruption offense, as well as the circumstances under which it was committed.

Conflicts of interests in the civil service are a special type of conflict that arise between the presence of a public servant's personal interest and the fulfillment of his functions and duties. Different types of such conflicts require special precautions in the settlement.