Development of Codes of Conduct for Local Government Officials in Serbia: A Beginner’s Case

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present the current state of affairs in the process of adoption of codes of conduct for local government officials in Serbia. On the basis of a model drafted under the auspices of the Serbian local government association, 130 Serbian municipalities (out of 167) have adopted such codes. The paper tries to picture the environment in which the codes are being adopted, i.e. anti-corruption efforts on the national level, the framework in which Serbian local governments function, process of drafting of the model code and consequent adoption in municipalities. Finally, it attempts to present as critical as possible an evaluation of this process in Serbia, as well as recommend or project further steps necessary for internalisation and full implementation of these codes. To achieve the abovementioned, the paper refers to Serbian legislation and adopted codes of conduct, empirical data collected from municipalities, results of surveys and opinion polls conducted in Serbia in the period from 2001 to 2005, data on other countries available in English, as well as academic texts.