Agency for Prevention of Corruption

APC prepared an Analysis of regulations at the level of state administration in order to improve the solution for prevention of conflicts of interest

March 2, 2022

As a commitment from the Dynamic Plan of Activities leading to the fulfillment of the provisional criteria in Chapter 23 - Justice and Fundamental Rights, the Agency for Prevention of Corruption has prepared an Analysis of regulations at the state administration level in order to improve conflicts of interest prevention.

In this phase, the regulation of the area of ​​conflict of interest of civil servants and employees was processed.

The aim of the Analysis was to provide guidelines for upgrading of the legal framework governing the prevention of conflicts of interest at the state administration level, so that the final implementation of this policy would strengthen integrity and increase public confidence in public administration.

Recognizing the risks that threaten the integrity of both institutions and civil servants, as well as identifying situations in which there may be potential and actual conflicts of interest, is important for affirming the integrity of institutions and their officials, and thus meeting the strictest public control. Although public officials and civil servants to be aware of possible conflicts of interest, institutions are responsible for the effectiveness of the implementation of policies governing conflicts of interest. Therefore, procedures for identifying and managing conflicts of interest must be clear and awareness and understanding of conflicts of interest policy provided. In this way, employees would know what is expected of them when recognizing and reporting conflicts of interest, while misdemeanors imposed with a specific sanction, including disciplinary measures, would have a dissuasive effect on such behavior.

In addition, there must be competent bodies that will monitor both the consistent decision-making process and the efficiency of their implementation, because unresolved conflicts of interest have as a direct consequence the abuse of the office.

Due to all that, the Agency assessed that it is necessary to analyze the regulations governing this area, with special reference to all those groups of employees in risk areas, as well as areas that are the subject of special attention of the public and the media.

The subject of the Analysis are the texts of the Labor Law, the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, the Code of Ethics for Civil Servants and Employees, the Law on Public Procurement, the Rulebook on Records and Methodology of Risk Analysis in Public Procurement Control, the Rulebook on Simple Procurement on Internal Affairs, Code of Police Ethics, Law on Defense, Law on Army of Montenegro, Decree on List of Military Equipment and Products, Procedure and Manner of Conducting Public Procurement in the Field of Defense and Security, Law on Customs Service, Law on Tax Administration and Law on inspection.

The analysis was submitted to the Parliament and the Government of Montenegro, as well as to the ministries responsible for the monitoring and implementation of the analyzed regulations.

The Agency for the Prevention of Corruption expects them to improve legal texts when preparing and adopting regulations, bearing in mind the recommendations, and thus contribute to the rule of law and strengthening of the integrity of public administration.

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