Ethics in Turkish Public Administration

Recurrent corruption scandals and misconduct within governments worldwide underline the pressing need for strong ethical frameworks. Instances of public officials misusing their authority for personal gain undermine the rule of law and weaken democratic values. When officials act unethically, the foundations of governance and public trust are compromised. In the fight against corruption, ethical standards and principles constitute a critical component. Thus, public service ethics has recently emerged as a critical pillar in ensuring accountability and transparency in a government. Thus, ethics laws and regulations are necessary for an accountable administration, ensuring that public officials act in accordance with principles of integrity, transparency, and fairness.

Before Law No. 5176, basic legislation addressed ethical behaviour and anti-corruption. The important ones are:

• The Constitution: The supreme law ensuring equality and rule of law.
• The Civil Servants Law (No. 657): Regulates the duties, responsibilities, and prohibitions for civil servants.
• The Turkish Penal Code (No. 5237): Penalizes corruption and unethical behaviours that are defined as crimes in the law.
• The Law on Declaration of Assets, Combating Bribery, and Corruption (No. 3628): Promotes integrity through compulsory asset declarations.

The giving or offering of anything of value with the intent to unlawfully influence an official in the discharge of duties; a public official’s receiving or asking for anything of value with the intent to be unlawfully influenced.

Corruption is the abuse of position or power—a violation of public trust—often for personal gain by an individual or institution in the public or private sector.

The international conventions Türkiye has ratified in the fight against corruption are as follows.

• OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions
• Council of Europe Civil Law Convention on Corruption
• Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption
• United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC)
• Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure, and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime
• Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO)
• Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

The key reforms Türkiye introduced since the early 2000s to fight against corruption are:

• The Law on Public Financial Management and Control (enacted in 2003)
• The Right to Information Law (introduced in 2004)
• The Council of Ethics for Public Service (established in 2004)
• The Ombudsman Institution (founded in 2012)

The establishment of the Council of Ethics for Public Service (CEPS) in 2004 with Law No.5176, a specific institution responsible for developing ethical principles and overseeing ethical practices within public administration was a major step toward institutionalizing ethics.

CEPS was tasked with establishing the ethical infrastructure of public administration by:

• Developing ethical behaviour principles for public officials.
• Monitoring the implementation of these principles.
• Fostering an ethical culture within the public sector.

The Council of Ethics for Public Service (CEPS) is comprised of 11 members, one of whom serves as the chairman.

Members are selected and appointed by the President of the Republic, and their composition is defined under Article 2 of Law No. 5176 as follows:

• One member who has served as a minister.
• One member who has served as a provincial municipal mayor.
• Three members who have retired from positions as members of the High Court of Appeals, Council of State, or Court of Accounts.
• Three members who have served as undersecretary, ambassador, governor, or chairman of an independent regulatory board.
• Two members who have served as rector or dean at universities.
• One member who has served as a top-level manager in public professional organizations.

Members serve a four-year term and may be reappointed by the President following the completion of their terms.

Ethics commissions within each public administration are required to be established by the regulation on the Principles of Ethical Behaviour of Public Officials, Application Procedures and Principles (Article 29).

CEPS’s structure, scope of authority, and administrative capacity are criticized based on the following:

1) leaving the determination of ethical rules and fundamental principles to regulations without establishing them in Law No. 5176,

2) restricting the scope of CEPS’s authority by excluding politicians, military, judicial, and academic personnel, as well as cases already referred to courts,

3) having weak relationships with disciplinary boards and institutional ethics commissions further undermines its effectiveness,

4) the lack of CEPS having the status of a distinct public legal entity and not having a sufficient budget and permanently assigned staff,

5) having a weak enforcement power which further hampers its ability to fulfill its intended role.

The Council of Ethics for Public Service (CEPS) is entrusted with several critical duties and powers aimed at fostering public service ethics. Its main responsibilities include:

• Determining Ethical Behaviour Principles: Establishing the principles of ethical behaviour that public officials are required to comply with.
• Investigating Ethical Violations: Conducting investigations and inquiries into alleged violations of ethical principles by senior public officials at the level of general manager or their equivalents or higher level. The results are reported to the relevant authorities.
• Advising Public Institutions: Providing guidance and opinions to public institutions regarding ethical principles and addressing issues related to their implementation.
• Regulating Gift-Taking Ban: Defining the scope of the prohibition on gift-taking. CEPS may also request an annual list of gifts received by senior public officials, at least at the level of general manager or their equivalents or higher levels, when necessary.
• Examining Asset Declarations: Reviewing the asset declarations of public officials when deemed necessary.
• Promoting an Ethical Culture: Encouraging the development and promotion of an ethical culture within public administration and supporting initiatives and activities aimed at achieving this goal.

Ethical principles act as a guidance tool for institutional policies, setting a standard for conduct and decision-making. They are not merely directives; they also carry potential sanction implications. While rules emerge from principles and include explicit sanctions, principles themselves provide a foundation for ethical administration. The ultimate goal of ethical principles is to eliminate behaviours that foster distrust in society by cultivating an ethical culture in public administration. By doing so, ethical principles aim to strengthen public trust in public administration.

"In public administration, there is a hierarchy of levels of ethics, each of which has its own set of responsibilities.

1. Personal morality: the basic sense of right and wrong.
2. Professional ethics: public administrators increasingly recognize a set of professional norms and rules that obligate them to act in certain “professional” ways
3. Organizational ethics: every organization has an environment or culture that includes both formal and informal rules of ethical conduct. Public organizations typically have many such rules.
4. Social ethics: members of a given society to act in ways that both protect individuals and further the progress of the group as a whole. Social ethics are formal to the extent that they can be found in the laws of a given society, informal to the extent that they are part of an individual’s social conscience.”

Integrity means acting in agreement with the relevant moral values, standards, norms, and rules.

The Regulation on the Principles of Ethical Behaviour of Public Officials identified 18 ethical principles that public officials must comply with while performing their duties.

1. Public service consciousness in fulfilling duties (Art. 5).
2. Awareness of serving the community (Art. 6).
3. Compliance with service standards (Art. 7).
4. Commitment to the purpose and mission of the public agency (Art. 8).
5. Integrity and impartiality (Art. 9).
6. Prestige and trustworthiness (Art. 10).
7. Courtesy and respect (Art. 11).
8. Notification to authorities (Art. 12).
9. Avoidance of conflict of interest (Art. 13).
10. Prohibition against misuse of duties and powers for personal gain (Art. 14).
11. Prohibition of receiving gifts and benefits (Art. 15).
12. Proper use of public property and resources (Art. 16).
13. Avoidance of extravagance and waste (Art. 17).
14. Avoidance of unauthorized or false statements (Art. 18).
15. Transparency and participation (Art. 19).
16. Accountability of administrators (Art. 20).
17. Restrictive relations with former public officials (Art. 21).
18. Declaration of assets (Art. 22).

CEPS investigates allegations of ethical violations by public officials who serve in general manager positions or equivalent to or higher than general director in specified public institutions. The law specifically excludes certain groups from the Council’s scope: The President of the Republic, members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, deputy Presidents, and ministers, members of the Turkish Armed Forces, the judiciary, and universities.

Council of Ethics for Public Service (CEPS) does the following to establish and promote an ethical culture within public administration: 

• Conducts and commissions studies, research, surveys, and public opinion polls.
• Publishes materials on ethics.
• Organizes scientific meetings, conferences, and similar events.
• Designs, coordinates, and delivers training programs for public officials.

Professional ethics refers to a set of principles and rules established by a professional institution to regulate the behaviour of its members, ensuring adherence to standards that are compatible with the responsibilities of the profession and the common good.

The following professional institutions in the public sector have established their codes of ethics under the guidance of the CEPS:

• Law Enforcement including General Command of the Gendarmerie, the General Directorate of Security, the Coast Guard Command, and the General Directorate of Customs Enforcement, and the law enforcement officers working in these organizations
• Ministry of National Education
• Council of Higher Education.
• The Court of Cassation (High Court of Appeal)
• Council of Judges and Prosecutors
• Local Governments