Financial disclosure of public servants

Financial disclosure of public servants (asset declaration) is a disclosure of financial information by public servants. It is a requirement of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

History

Not counting states in the USA, the first country which made declarations available to public was United Kingdom in 1974,^[1] when the House of Commons introduced the Register of Interests. After few years, following the Watergate scandal financial disclosure of public officials were made required in the United States by its Ethics in Government Act of 1978.^[2] In 1980-th most of European countries disclosed public assets declarations. Italy in 1982,^[1] Portugal - 1983.^[1]

In Eastern European countries (exUSSR) declarations were gathered not before 1990th.

Purposes

Asset declaration servers the following purposes:

• increase transparency and the trust
• prevent and resolve conflicts of interest
• monitor wealth either to discourage from misconduct or to provide additional evidence

Conflict of interest control

United Nations Convention against Corruption states that the conflict of interest is a criteria which determines what information should be disclosed. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development defines conflict of interest as "a conflict between the public duty and private interests of a public official, in which the public official has private-capacity interests which could improperly influence the performance of their official duties and responsibilities".

References