Prevention of Public Sector Corruption: The Finnish Approach. Hannah East Fulbright Fellow

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1 Prevention of Public Sector Corruption: The Finnish Approach Hannah East Fulbright Fellow

2 Hidden Criminality

3 What is corruption Civil servants are subject to criminal law Finnish Penal Code Finnish Ministry of Justice: the misuse of a public office or other position of trust for personal gain. Finnish State Civil Servants Act (1994) : If a public official, in order to obtain benefit for himself/herself or for another or in order to cause detriment or loss to another The European Union/United Nations' Global Programme against Corruption, i.e. "abuse of power for private gain

4 Bribery Finnish Ethical Rule: A warm beer and cold sandwich is suitable for a civil servant but vice versa they are risky. 450 yr. old Olaus Petri Judicial Instruction What is neither just nor equitable, cannot be the law; it is for the equality in the law that it is accepted. The good of the common man is the supreme law; what is found useful for the common man shall be deemed the law even if the words of the written law would seem to order otherwise. He who acts against the purpose of the law acts against the law even if he seems to comply with the words of the law.

5 Other perspectives It has been claimed that the ancient Greeks had no word for bribe as they considered all gifts bribes. (reciprocation or favors to come) Athens 6 th century B.C. Aischorn or Shameful most powerful condemnatory adjective in Greek and was used in response to bribery.

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7 Finland: Bilateral Aid

8 Finland International Aid

9 Transparency International

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11 Citizens Trust in The Finnish Central Government Institutions correlation: high degree of trust among the members of a society and low levels of corruption (Harisalo & Stenvall (2001) Surveyed 2,000 Finnish Citizens )

12 Ombudsman institution Represent legal regulation and supervision of legality (corruption/integrity) Chancellor of Justice: supervise the legality of Gov. actions Process Ombudsman s duty ensure that public authorities observe the law, constitutional and human rights announcement of citizens Names of complaints are usually anonymous The control of corruption in Finland Ari SALMINEN, Professor Ph.D Olli-Pekka VIINAMÄKI, Researcher, Ph.D Rinna IKOLA-NORRBACKA, Researcher

13 No single body to investigate integrity violations Courts, Ombudsman and Media Citizen control system The control of corruption in Finland Ari SALMINEN, Professor Ph.D

14 Bribery in Finland

15 Finnish Media: 76 % of the population older then 10 reads a daily newspaper 1 st EU /3 rd World newspaper consumption 90% of Finnish newspapers politically unaffiliated Freedom of the Press Index 2013

16 Peer Pressure Finland is a small country Threat of a ruined reputation usually leads to resignation from office ex. Former PM Matti Vanhanen ( ) Gates to better jobs are closed Corruption cases are rare MEDIA SPOTLIGHT Value led-management (trustworthiness/expertise/openness/independence) The control of corruption in Finland Ari SALMINEN

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18 The Police Why Do the Finns Trust Police? 1) possible delay in the arrival of the police 2)negative experiences of personal contacts The police may choose to leak information to the media Citizens may report suspected public sector corruption to police. Trust is built through the experiences of citizens Public scrutiny/criticism (personal relationships, customer service) Lower levels of social inequality (Police Barometer 2005)

19 Citizen Reporting Offences in Office reports involving suspected offences in office Bribery crimes 2000s Average of 10 reports each year 2012, 20 reports involving suspected bribery offences police (highest recorded) (

20 Gender Equality World Bank correlation between women s representation in parliaments and top public posts and lower levels of corruption In 1906, Finland became the first country in the world to grant women the right both to vote and to run for elected office Women in Parliament- Sweden and Finland in the top ten This underscores the importance of gender equity in preventing corruption. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs April 2006)

21 Nordic Values Moderation, self control and the common good broad consensus regarding these values among the citizens Dangers in a consensus culture? Diversity?

22 It must be said that what is corrupt, i.e. the wrongful exercise of public duty in any community, will depend on what the correct duty is determined to be. That will be influenced by cultural issues and accepted behavioral standards within the community. There may be behavior that is right in one country and wrong in another. The very first step must always be to determine and clearly signpost the standards of behavior that are required to be observed by public officials. ICAC (New South Wales)