Codes of Conduct as Preventive Strategy

The adoption of codes of conduct in the public sector, the private sector, the professions and civil society organisations is increasingly becoming recognised as a key step in the development of national integrity systems. They provide a way in which to develop preventive strategies against unethical behaviour.
Some codes provide complex detailed rules, others merely state fundamental ethical principles. Other codes do both.

In the public sector, codes of conduct can cover ministers, legislators, the whole of the public service, or individual departments and agencies within the public service.
The need to foster and sustain high levels of ethics in the public sector has come into focus worldwide, with citizens on every continent demanding accountability of their leaders, elected representatives and public servants.

In the private sector, codes of conduct are important to set the tone for all employees and to indicate to other stakeholders the standards to be expected from the company.

In the third sector, efforts are increasingly underway to foster adoption of codes of conduct by non-profit organizations to help meet growing demands that they be run democratically and accountably.