INTEGRITY PLAN IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION - ANTI-CORRUPTION MEASURE IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION

Abstract

The article deals with the development, implementation and results of the implementation of the integrity plan in the public administration of the Republic of Serbia as a preventive anti-corruption measure. By interpreting the results of the characteristic three cycles through which the implementation of this measure has passed, from the decision of the legislator for its introduction to the present day, the essential importance of preventive action in general can be seen, not only directly in the area it is aimed at, but also indirectly, in the development of the awareness of the entire society about the necessity of building one's own value system, strengthening personal and professional integrity and behavior in accordance with desirable ethical and moral values. In order to achieve such a goal, we will note, a clear position of the state expressed through precise and unambiguous legal norms regulating the very procedure of drafting and implementing the integrity plan, determining the authority responsible for supervising its implementation as well as prescribing penalties if acting contrary to the law is necessary. In addition, a great deal of effort has been put into creating model integrity plans that are adapted to each institution to facilitate their production. It went a step further, so for each area that makes up the content of the integrity plan, answers were offered that the institution could decide on, or ignore them and define the answer itself. However, it seems that such modernization and improvement of the integrity plan preparation methodology brought more harm than good, since the institutions and their employees are still not objective in assessing the risk of corruption nor creative in proposing measures to solve the perceived problems. The correction of these irregularities should be given more attention in the coming period, and if the results are absent, an option may be to prescribe misdemeanor liability for cases of non-objective self-assessment without adapted argumentation. It is also desirable to have greater participation of citizens, as users of public administration services, in the mapping of risks for the emergence of corruption, so it should be considered to extend this mandatory measure to the private sector as well.