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FOURTH ROUND EVALUATION REPORT on the United Kingdom

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FOURTH ROUND EVALUATION REPORT on the United Kingdom F O U R Adoption: 19 October 2012 Public T Publication: 6 March 2013 Greco Eval IV Rep (2012) 2E H E FOURTH EVALUATION ROUND V A Corruption prevention in respect of members of L Parliament, judges and prosecutors U A T I O EVALUATION REPORT N UNITED KINGDOM R O U Adopted by GRECO at its 57th Plenary Meeting (Strasbourg, 15-19 October 2012) N D TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................... 2 I. INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................... 4 II. CONTEXT .................................................................................................................................................. 5 III. CORRUPTION PREVENTION IN RESPECT OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT .................................................. 6 OVERVIEW OF THE PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM ................................................................................................................... 6 TRANSPARENCY OF THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS .................................................................................................................. 6 REMUNERATION AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS ..................................................................................................................... 7 ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RULES OF CONDUCT .................................................................................................................. 9 CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................................ 11 REGISTRATION OF ASSETS, INCOME, LIABILITIES AND INTERESTS .......................................................................................... 11 PROHIBITION OR RESTRICTION OF CERTAIN ACTIVITIES ...................................................................................................... 16 Gifts ............................................................................................................................................................. 16 Incompatibilities .......................................................................................................................................... 16 Ban on paid advocacy .................................................................................................................................. 17 Contacts with third parties .......................................................................................................................... 18 Misuse of confidential information ............................................................................................................. 19 Misuse of public resources ........................................................................................................................... 19 SUPERVISION AND ENFORCEMENT .............................................................................................................................. 19 ADVICE, TRAINING AND AWARENESS ........................................................................................................................... 23 IV. CORRUPTION PREVENTION IN RESPECT OF JUDGES ............................................................................... 25 OVERVIEW OF THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM............................................................................................................................ 25 RECRUITMENT, CAREER AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE ...................................................................................................... 27 CASE MANAGEMENT AND PROCEDURE ......................................................................................................................... 31 ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RULES OF CONDUCT ................................................................................................................ 33 CONFLICTS OF INTEREST ........................................................................................................................................... 33 PROHIBITION OR RESTRICTION OF CERTAIN ACTIVITIES ...................................................................................................... 33 Incompatibilities and accessory activities .................................................................................................... 33 Recusal and routine withdrawal .................................................................................................................. 33 Gifts ............................................................................................................................................................. 34 Post-employment restrictions ...................................................................................................................... 34 Third party contacts, confidential information ............................................................................................ 34 DECLARATION OF ASSETS, INCOME, LIABILITIES AND INTERESTS .......................................................................................... 34 SUPERVISION AND ENFORCEMENT .............................................................................................................................. 35 ADVICE, TRAINING AND AWARENESS ........................................................................................................................... 36 V. CORRUPTION PREVENTION IN RESPECT OF PROSECUTORS .................................................................... 37 OVERVIEW OF THE PROSECUTION SERVICE .................................................................................................................... 37 RECRUITMENT, CAREER AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE ...................................................................................................... 37 CASE MANAGEMENT AND PROCEDURE ......................................................................................................................... 39 ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND RULES OF CONDUCT ................................................................................................................ 40 CONFLICTS OF INTEREST ........................................................................................................................................... 41 PROHIBITION OR RESTRICTION OF CERTAIN ACTIVITIES ...................................................................................................... 41 Incompatibilities and accessory activities .................................................................................................... 41 Recusal and routine withdrawal .................................................................................................................. 42 Gifts ............................................................................................................................................................. 42 Post-employment restrictions ...................................................................................................................... 42 Third party contacts, confidential information ............................................................................................ 42 DECLARATION OF ASSETS, INCOME, LIABILITIES AND INTERESTS .......................................................................................... 43 SUPERVISION AND ENFORCEMENT .............................................................................................................................. 43 ADVICE, TRAINING AND AWARENESS ........................................................................................................................... 44 VI. RECOMMENDATIONS AND FOLLOW-UP ................................................................................................. 45 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. The United Kingdom has taken important steps to strive for improvement in the prevention of corruption in all three sectors of activity subject to the present evaluation. These steps are in addition to the fact that Members of Parliament, judges and prosecutors do not have any general immunity from prosecution for criminal conduct. 2. In so far as Members of Parliament are concerned, in order to address inappropriate but non-criminal conduct, a developed system of rules on ethics and conduct has been adopted in both Houses. Codes of Conduct, supplemented by detailed guidance, are in place and reviewed at regular intervals. Conflicts of interest are primarily addressed through greater transparency of parliamentarians’ private interests and activities rather than through regulation or restriction of those activities. Parliamentarians are not, for example, prevented from having outside employment or engaging in most remunerated activity; but in turn, there is a registration system requiring them to disclose, in writing, their relevant interests, coupled with an additional requirement of ad-hoc oral declarations at the outset of parliamentary proceedings. Both the registers and the declarations of interests during debates are available for public inspection. There are specific rules banning paid advocacy or accepting any financial inducement for parliamentary influence. In so far as the enforcement of the rules is concerned the system relies on self-regulation, but Parliament has introduced a number of innovations to add an element of independence to the disciplinary process:
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