Anti-corruption legal education: Conflict of interests in the public civil service and the procedure for its settlement (part 10)
Typical situation:
Conflict of Interest in Receiving Gifts and Services.
Description of the situation:
A civil servant carries out certain functions of state administration in relation to individuals or organizations that have provided or are providing services, including paid services, to a civil servant, his relatives or other persons with whom the personal interest of a civil servant is associated.
Prevention and control measures:
The civil servant should notify the employer's representative and line manager in writing of the personal interest.
The representative of the employer should assess whether the relationship of the civil servant with the specified individuals and organizations may lead to biased performance of his official duties. If the likelihood of a conflict of interest is high, it is recommended to remove the civil servant from the performance of official (official) duties in relation to individuals or organizations that have provided or are providing services, including paid ones, to the civil servant, his relatives or other persons with whom there is a personal interest. civil servant interests.
The resulting benefit can negatively affect the performance of his official duties and the objectivity of the decisions made. In addition, such actions may raise reasonable doubts among citizens about the impartiality of a civil servant, thereby damaging the reputation of the state body and the civil service in general.
The same applies to gifts received from the interested organization by the relatives of the civil servant. The current legislation does not establish any restrictions on the receipt of gifts and other benefits by the relatives of civil servants. Despite this, it should be borne in mind that in most cases, such gifts are motivated by a desire to circumvent existing regulatory restrictions and influence the actions and decisions of a civil servant.