Fighting corruption – General principles of political responsibility
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Text
adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of
the Assembly, on 26 November 2021 (see Doc. 15403, report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human
Rights, rapporteur: Mr Sergiy Vlasenko; and Doc. 15404, opinion of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy,
rapporteur: Ms Marietta Karamanli).
1. The fight against corruption is
one of the priorities of the Council of Europe. The Parliamentary Assembly,
the Committee of Ministers and Council of Europe monitoring bodies
such as the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) and the Committee
of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and
the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) have underlined the negative
effects of corruption, money laundering and offshore schemes on
democratic institutions, the rule of law and human rights.
2. Large-scale scandals such as the “Panama papers”, “Paradise
papers”, “Laundromats” and, most recently, the “Pandora papers”
have involved allegations that politicians and other politically
exposed persons used offshore schemes to evade taxes and conceal
assets, raising suspicions of involvement in corruption and money
laundering. In its
Resolution
1881 (2012) “Promoting an appropriate policy on tax havens”,
the Assembly already expressed its concerns about the extent of
the offshore financial system and its negative impact on the economy
and society at large. It expressed further concerns in
Resolution 2130 (2016) “Lessons from
the ‘Panama Papers’ to ensure fiscal and social justice” about the
involvement of public personalities in such offshore schemes, noting
that such persons should display the highest standards of ethical
behaviour.
3. The Assembly considers that fighting corruption, money laundering
and tax-related offences is an obligation for all member States
of the Council of Europe. Any suspicion against a politician of
being involved in such offences requires a prompt response from
the criminal justice system, whatever the rank of the perpetrator
or the gravity of the accusations – everyone should be equal before
the law. Indeed, high-level corruption and offshore scandals risk
bringing the very system of democracy into disrepute and require
a particularly effective and expeditious investigation. Criminal
and administrative procedures for preventing corruption and addressing
allegations of corruption should correspond fully to international
standards and be applied rigorously, regardless of an individual’s
status. The systems in place should reduce to a minimum the margin
within which acceptance of responsibility depends on the individual
discretion of the person concerned.
4. The Assembly considers that even in member States that allow
assets to be legally held offshore, politicians should always include
such assets in their declarations of interest. A failure to do so
should immediately engage political responsibility, since it may
raise suspicions of concealment of unlawful activity and undermine
popular trust in democratic institutions.
5. The Assembly, recalling its
Resolution 1950 (2013) “Keeping
political and criminal responsibility separate” and
Resolution 2216 (2018) “Follow-up
to the report of the Independent Investigation Body on the allegations
of corruption within the Parliamentary Assembly”, believes that
political responsibility implies an ethical duty to bear the consequences
for breaching public trust. Where the alleged misconduct is sufficiently serious
and the allegations are sufficiently credible, politicians should
resign from elected public office, at least until the investigations
against them are completed. It is their duty to refrain from using
offshore schemes in order to conceal revenues abroad and evade paying
taxes in the country where they were elected. This would help to
avoid the loss of public trust in democratic institutions.
6. The Assembly considers that political parties and national
parliaments must also contribute to preserving public trust in the
democratic system when confronted with credible allegations of corruption.
Following the large-scale offshore scandals raising serious suspicions
of corruption, money laundering and tax-related offences, political
parties and national parliaments must not remain silent and should
take appropriate action against politicians who are credibly accused
of having been involved in these or similar scandals.
8. In this context, the Assembly calls on:
8.1 the member States of the Council of Europe to ensure that:
8.1.1 the criminal justice system responds promptly, independently
and effectively to allegations of high-level corruption, money laundering
and tax evasion, including through the use of offshore schemes,
and that any trials are concluded in a reasonable period of time;
8.1.2 bodies responsible for the investigation and prevention
of corruption, money laundering and tax evasion are protected against
political interference;
8.1.3 measures for preventing corruption, money laundering and
tax evasion include provisions requiring all public officials to
declare their income and assets, including those held offshore,
with mechanisms for verifying such declarations;
8.1.4 national governments adopt and/or update codes of ethics
for all holders of public office, whatever the rank, with mechanisms
for sanctioning and/or impeachment;
8.1.5 the prosecution and the courts use legal means to suspend/bar
politicians from holding public office in cases where there is clear
evidence of corruption or related offences;
8.1.6 whistle-blowers who play a key role in the revelation
of corruption scandals are protected in law and in practice against
any form of reprisals in line with
Resolution 2300 (2019) and
Recommendation 2162 (2019) “Improving
the protection of whistle-blowers all over Europe”;
8.1.7 the recommendations and standards of the relevant bodies
of the Council of Europe, such as GRECO and MONEYVAL, are fully
implemented;
8.1.8 measures to raise awareness of the harm of corruption
are implemented through training, workshops and other information
and education measures with the participation of civil society;
8.1.9 fighting corruption at the national level is carried out
according to international standards and relevant national legal
and constitutional norms, with full respect for the rule of law;
8.2 national parliaments to update or adopt new codes of ethics
for their members and to establish effective mechanisms to sanction
politicians credibly suspected of involvement in corruption, tax evasion,
asset concealment or money laundering with automatic dismissal,
lifting of immunity or impeachment on grounds of breach of public
trust, as appropriate;
8.3 political parties to exert internal pressure on politicians
suspected of involvement in corruption, tax evasion, asset concealment
or money laundering, with the aim of inducing them to step down
from their public functions when credible allegations become known.
9. The Assembly also invites GRECO and MONEYVAL to encourage
examples of good practice among member States concerning sanctions
available against politicians and public officials who are suspected
of breaching public trust through involvement in corruption, tax
evasion, asset concealment or money laundering.
10. For its part, the Assembly could envisage appointing a General
Rapporteur on fighting corruption, money laundering and offshore
schemes, in line with its relevant rules.
