Ethics regulation: Norms, supervision and enforcement

Abstract

In the wake of growing corruption scandals and as a response to private sector developments, ethics regulation has been gathering mounting salience among scholars, policy makers, practitioners and civil society activists. Regulators have been enacting policies to foster public integrity, touching many sensitive areas, such as political financing, conflicts of interest, revolving doors, financial disclosure or gifts and hospitality. Governmental and civil society organisations along with think tanks have been issuing recommendations and creating review mechanisms to evaluate progress in this domain – e.g., GRECO, Transparency International, the OECD. Yet, research systematically assessing hard and soft law mechanisms governing ethical standards in democratic institutions is still scant, and constrained to regional accounts (Demmke et al. 2020; Bolleyer et al. 2020), specific institutions (de Sousa, Sanches and Coroado 2022; Coroado and de Sousa 2022), or sources of risk (Silano 2022). Casting light on institutional settings spanning from political parties and parliaments, to cabinets and executive agencies, this panel’s objective is twofold: (i) to systematically identify and describe the current regime addressing public integrity risks, and (ii) assess its adequacy and effectiveness in dealing with a constantly evolving socio-economic environment. The overarching purpose is twofold: to provide qualitative and empirical evidence steering policymakers through the ongoing process of modernising ethics regulation; and to gather policy insights paving the way to the creation of a transnational cooperative ecosystem adapting regulations to global challenges pari passu. In detail, this panel aims to deepen knowledge over the following questions: (i) what are the common features of ethics policies across jurisdictions and institutional contexts? (ii) Is the regime adequate and effective in championing ethics principles and fostering compliance? (iii) Are the rules effectively implemented, overseen, and ultimately enforced? And, (iv) how should transnational ethics agencies look like? Answering these questions, this panel welcomes comparative works set across areas of risk, jurisdictions and/or institutional contexts, as well as case studies inductively advancing knowledge over the afore-listed areas of inquiry. Papers are free to draw on qualitative and quantitative methods interchangeably. Describing ethics regulations, researchers shall ideally rely on comparative law and, proposing amendments or new rules, on a cost-benefit approach. Measuring implementation and enforcement quality, the creation of unique data sets accompanied by indexes and measurements is highly encouraged. Envisioned as an inter-disciplinary forum, this panel aims not only to establish synergies among scholars in ethics regulation but also in the broader realm of regulation, governance, political science, public policy and political economy.

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