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The Office of The
Ombudsman developed in 1995 the Administrative Fairness
Checklist which, though by no means exhaustive, has
served as a basis for assessing standards of a fair and
reasonable public administration.
The community and individual citizens of Hong Kong
expect that all public officers, in providing a fair and
reasonable public administration, will always perform
their public duties to the highest possible standard. In
this connection, certain good ethical administrative
practices are necessary for observation by public
officers. The purpose of this checklist is to provide,
in a ready though by no means exhaustive form, general
guidance on the good administrative ethical practices
that are considered important by The Ombudsman. Most of
these practices should be nothing new and should have
already been practised by the public officers in
addition to the legal provisions and administrative
guidelines that are in force in their own organisation.
Decision makings and actions are assessed by two
ethical extremes: those based on impartiality, fairness
and transparency and the others on results, such as the
cost benefit analysis, efficiency ratio, usefulness and
flexibility. Rules and procedures must be adopted in
such a way that they will promote citizen welfare rather
than government convenience. The checklist also aims at
changing some of the old public service culture through
a stimulating code of ethics but care must be taken not
to over-standardize lest the public officers'
responsibility might be stripped and thus make a victim
out of the citizens.
It is hoped that the checklist will assist public
officers in the best performance of their public duties
and the public administration in conducting good human
resource management at a historical time when Hong Kong
will shortly become the Special Administrative Region.
organisations are encouraged to issue their own code
drawing reference from the checklist. In this regard, a
Code of Conduct developed for this Office is reproduced
at the Annex for general reference. |
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| 1. Sense of
Responsibility and Accountability |
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Are you performing your
public duties to the best of your ability in accordance
with the law, policy, goals, objectives, performance
pledges, administrative procedures, instructions and
orders of your organisation? |
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Have you made good and adequate
supervision of the work of your subordinates and that
you are accountable for their work? |
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Do you carry out promptly the legitimate
instructions of your supervisors? |
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Are you accountable to your supervisors
in respect of your work? |
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Do you act within your delegated
authority or power? |
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| 2. Making of
Decisions |
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Do you avoid undue delay in taking actions
or making decisions? |
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Will your decision serve the legitimate interest of
your clients or the public interest at large? |
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Do you ensure that your decision will not hinder or
even harm someone, be it a client, a colleague or a
third party? Are you reasonably satisfied that the
people involved have been treated fairly, both now and
in the long term? |
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Can you justify your decision before your clients,
colleagues and the public, and can you explain it
fairly, with the conviction that you have acted properly
under the circumstances? |
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Do you allow people to use judgement, acknowledge a
human does err, and consistently question the purpose
and logic of your actions? |
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| 3. Honesty and
Integrity |
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Are you acting with honesty, integrity and
good faith? |
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Are you not afraid of admitting your mistakes and do
you take positive steps to prevent their recurrence? |
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Will you never try to gain any improper or undue
advantage (money, interest of any kind, privileged
information, etc.) or influence, either directly or
indirectly for you, your friends, family members or
relatives with your public position and duties? |
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Do you always avoid explicit or potential conflicts of
interest which might cause deviations from the good
principles of honesty and integrity or bring your
organisation into disrepute? |
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| 4. Professionalism
and Public Interest |
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Are you committed to the service of others
and in the public interest ahead of your personal
interest? |
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Are you in constant search and gain of knowledge and
expertise to enable you to perform your public duties to
the best of your ability? |
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Have you always learned from actual working
experience, that of yours and others, so that you can
grow and develop through reflection on such experience? |
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Do you observe the ethical practices of your own
profession? |
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Have you always considered a client's dissatisfaction
as a possible means of improvement and not mere
criticism? |
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Do you abide to the organisation's code of secrecy? |
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| 5. Courtesy, Equality
and Equity |
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Do you treat your clients and colleagues with respect,
courtesy, consideration and reason? |
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Do you avoid to discriminate or handle unfairly your
clients and colleagues on grounds of race, sex, age,
marital status, language, health, physical appearance,
social status, religion, education, occupation,
political belief, ability and sexual orientation? |
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6. Loyalty and
Dedication |
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Do you understand the vision and mission
of your organisation? |
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Do you act with loyalty and dedication to your job and
your organisation? |
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Do you enjoy a sense of pride and dignity in your
duties in serving the community? |
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Do you present yourself in the dress, appearance act
and speech appropriate to your work? |
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Do you avoid conduct or behaviour which will damage
the reputation or work of your organisation? |
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| 7. Economy and
Environmental Consciousness |
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Are you mindful of avoiding the waste, abuse and
misuse of public resources? |
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Are you conscious of the need and importance of
preserving the environment? |
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| Preface |
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The establishment of the Office of The
Ombudsman is to provide a channel for independent
investigation of public complaints against
administrative conduct, decisions and actions. The
essential features of the Office are its independence,
flexibility, credibility and accessibility.
The mission of The Ombudsman is to redress grievances
and address issues arising from maladministration in the
public sector by way of recommendatory oversight to
bring about improvements in the standard and quality of
services and to promote fairness in public
administration. It is this prime obligation which
demands the performance of the Office and the conduct
and integrity of its staff to be of standards no less
high than what its seeks on the part of the public
sector in pursuit of this mission.
This Code of Conduct will be subject to a review on an
annual basis. |
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| Introduction |
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This Code of Conduct applies to The
Ombudsman and all his staff. The Code is intended to
provide general guidance to all staff who are expected
to perform their duties to the highest level of
integrity and professionalism. It is important that all
efforts made by individual staff should adhere to the
mission, vision and values of the Office and contribute
towards its established goals and objectives.
The Code rests on ten basic principles which all
staff should follow. It also sets out specific conduct
in areas central to the exercise of The Ombudsman's
functions and powers.
The Code in its present form is by no means exhaustive.
It should be read in conjunction with The Ombudsman
Ordinance, operational policy/procedures/guidelines and
office instructions and general circulars that are in
force or promulgated from time to time. It is the
responsibility of individual staff to familiarize
themselves with all of them as appertain to their
duties. |
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| Basic Principles |
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| The public are entitled to bring their
grievances to The Ombudsman for redress. It is
reasonable for them to expect a high quality service
from The Ombudsman which is characterised by - |
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vigorous pursuit of truth, without fear or
favour |
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timely response and quality reporting in plain and
simple language |
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equity and ease of access |
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procedural simplicity and fairness |
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attending to the public and organisations with
courtesy and respect |
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absence of prejudgement, prejudice and
private interests |
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faithful, diligent and professional discharge of
duties and responsibilities |
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promotion of fairness in public administration |
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advancement of good administrative practices and
ethical principles |
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efficient and effective use of resources |
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| Compliance with the Law,
Instructions and Policies |
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You are obliged to act in accordance
with the provisions of The Ombudsman Ordinance and
comply with the Office's administrative and operational
policies, procedures, delegations and instructions in
relation to complaint and human resource management. You
are also subject to Government circulars and
regulations, the applications of which are relevant to
the efficient and effective operation of this Office.
You are to make yourself fully conversant with the
enabling ordinance, manuals, circulars and instructions
promulgated from time to time.
You should promptly carry out the legitimate
instructions of your supervisors and give adequate
guidance and support to your subordinates. |
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Personal Conduct |
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You are expected to act responsibly,
and you will be held responsible for your own acts and
omissions.
You should be honest, courteous, just and fair to
colleagues, complainants and complainee organisations
and treat them with respect. You should conduct yourself
in a manner consistent with your position and refrain
from engaging in conduct and/or behaviour that might
bring discredit or embarrassment to the Office.
You must not discriminate against any colleagues,
complainants and complainee organisations on grounds of
race, nationality, sex, age, marital status, language,
health, social status, religion, education, occupation,
ability and political beliefs.
The Office has a prior call at all times on your
abilities, efforts and attention. You should endeavour
to do your utmost to achieve the highest possible
standards in the performance of your duties. As a rule,
no paid outside work is allowed without prior consent.
You should strive to avoid waste and misuse of
resources. You have an obligation to help preserve the
environment. |
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| Professional Conduct |
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You have a duty to maintain a high
level of professional competence and ethical practices
commensurate with your profession. You should be
committed and dedicated to the work of the Office and be
in continuous search for improvements in your
performance.
You should discharge your duties and responsibilities
with care, diligence and thoroughness in accordance with
the relevant legislative provisions as well as policies,
procedures, instructions and practices issued by The
Ombudsman from time to time with special attention to - |
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honesty and integrity |
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timeliness, accuracy and completeness |
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constructiveness and reasonableness |
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impartiality and procedural fairness |
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equity and natural justice |
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accountability and professionalism |
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conflicts of interest |
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confidentiality of information |
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| Dress, Demeanour and Appearance |
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| You are expected to maintain professional
standards and demeanour and conform to the formality of
duties in both dress and appearance |
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Information Security and
Secrecy Provision |
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The success and integrity of the
ombudsman system is built on public confidence and
trust. Strict confidentiality must be maintained in
respect of all information that come to your actual
knowledge concerning complaints, complainants, enquiries
received and investigations undertaken, in accordance
with the secrecy provisions of The Ombudsman Ordinance. |
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Conflicts of Interest |
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Conflicts or potential conflicts of
interest, which may be seen to improperly influence the
impartial exercise of your duties, must be declared at
the first available opportunity.
You may be relieved of your personal involvement in
handling the complaint. General guidance on the
definition of conflicts of interest, whether real or
potential, and the declaration procedure are set out in
the Office's General Circular. |
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| Acceptance of Advantages, Gifts
and Benefits |
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The soliciting and/or acceptance of
advantages, gifts and benefits is subject to the
prevailing Government circulars/regulations in force. As
a general rule, you must not accept any advantage, gift
or benefit that might be seen to have an impact on your
work or could lead to an actual and apparent conflict
between your private interests and your official
position.
As a general rule, such offers should be declined
unless it would be offensive to refuse. In such a case,
you should report them and seek approval from The
Ombudsman for their retention. |
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| Media Enquiries and Public Comment |
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The Office is committed to an open
policy for easy access to information by the media
subject to the secrecy provision. All media enquiries
should be referred to officers tasked with such
responsibilities unless you are the officer designated
to handle media enquiries in relation to certain
specific issues.
You must not disclose any information unless it is
normally given to the public seeking that information or
it is already knowledge made public by way of its
publication in the Office's annual reports, anonymised
investigation reports, the monthly "OMBUDS News" and/or
through speaking engagements, media interviews or other
form of releases. |
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Breaches of the Code and Other
Instructions |
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The Ombudsman attaches great importance
to the full compliance of this Code of Conduct and the
basic principles upon which the Code is developed. If a
staff member is found to be in contravention of the Code
(including any provisions of The Ombudsman Ordinance,
regulations and circulars mentioned in this Code), be
unsatisfactory in the performance of duties or be
involved in behaviour that would bring this Office into
disrepute, he/she may be liable to disciplinary actions.
(April 1997) |
