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REINFORCING PUBLIC SECTOR INTEGRITY, RESTORING TRUST lic
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Preface e
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Executive summary v
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Chapter 1. Restoring confi dence in sustainable growth w
s RESTORING TRUST FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
Chapter 2. Strengthening integrity in the Italian public sector
Chapter 3. The new anti-corruption law
Chapter 4. Institutional co-ordination
Chapter 5. Codes of conduct
Chapter 6. Whistleblower protection
Chapter 7. Integrity risk management
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OECD Public Governance Reviews
OECD Integrity Review
of Italy
REINFORCING PUBLIC SECTOR INTEGRITY,
RESTORING TRUST FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
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3
FOREWORD –
Foreword
Well-functioning democracies rely on the trust and confidence of citizens and
businesses, which legitimise the decisions taken by government officials and create the
conditions for effective policy making and implementation. In turn, trust and confidence
in government depend on integrity and transparency, to the extent that they set high
standards of conduct in the public sector.
With the approval by the Italian Parliament of Law No. 190 in November of 2012, on
“Provisions for the prevention and prosecution of corruption and illegality in public
administration”, Italy is investing in trust by strengthening integrity in the public sector.
The Law provides a welcome paradigm shift towards a comprehensive corruption
prevention approach in Italy’s public sector due to its focus on planning, coordination and
evaluation. It complements existing performance management provisions and broadens
internal control mechanisms, addressing important gaps in Italy’s integrity framework,
and advancing the implementation of international standards and commitments from the
United Nations, the Council of Europe and the G20.
This OECD Integrity Review provides evidence-based guidance to help Italy advance
towards full implementation of the core elements of the Law, including institutional
coordination, codes of conduct, whistle-blower protection and integrity risk management.
Together, these elements are essential components of a solid integrity framework: an
independent national anticorruption authority, tasked with coordinating and assessing a
national integrity plan, and shared ownership and responsibility with public agencies and
public sector employees, to whom the Law provides both the mandate and the means to
prevent, monitor and report corruption.
The Review highlights the need to underpin coordination with clearly defined roles
and responsibilities, and effective mechanisms to plan, monitor and assess
implementation of the future anti-corruption plans and strategies, especially at the sub-
national level. Further strengthening the capacity for integrity management – particularly
arrangements for internal audits, information-sharing, and clear reporting channels –
would facilitate continuous institutional learning. Proactive support mechanisms, through
awareness building and training, will be also important to achieve full implementation of
the new code of conduct and whistle-blower protection legislation. Likewise, fully
leveraging integrity risk management as a tool to prevent waste, fraud and corruption in
public administration will require capacity building and a strong effort of alignment with
broader internal control mechanisms.
OECD INTEGRITY REVIEW OF ITALY: REINFORCING PUBLIC SECTOR INTEGRITY, RESTORING TRUST FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH © OECD 2013
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– FOREWORD
Italy’s tomorrow depends on the actions it takes today. Decisive implementation of
the Law, and continued efforts to embed the public sector with a renewed culture of
integrity, both at national and sub-national level, will be critical for restoring trust in
government and strengthen the viability and sustainability of the economic recovery
efforts. The OECD stands ready to continue working with the Italian government in
strengthening the capacity of its public sector to design, promote and implement better
policies for better lives.
Angel Gurría,
OECD Secretary-General
OECD INTEGRITY REVIEW OF ITALY: REINFORCING PUBLIC SECTOR INTEGRITY, RESTORING TRUST FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH © OECD 2013
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS –
Acknowledgements
Under the guidance of Rolf Alter and Janos Bertók, this review was led by Paloma
Baena Olabe and Julio Bacio Terracino. Sana Al-Attar, Nicholas Bian, Ahmet Coskun,
Ulrika Kilnes and James Sheppard also drafted sections of the report. The review
benefited from contributions from Emma Cantera, Giorgio Fraschini, Lorenzo Segato and
Giulio Nessi. The report was edited by Ken Kincaid, editorial and administrative
assistance was provided by Sarah Michelson and Kate Lancaster.
The OECD expresses its gratitude to the Italian Government, particularly the Ministry
for Public Administration for the open and constructive dialogue. Special thanks go to
Filippo Patroni Griffi, Minister of Public Administration; Antonio Naddeo, Head of
Department for Public Administration; Roberto Garofoli, Chief of Staff of the Minister
and Co-ordinator of the Committee on Analysis and Design of Proposals in the Field of
Transparency and Anticorruption; Pia Marconi, Director General for the Modernisation of
Public Administration; Stefano Pizzicannella, Director of International Affairs in the
Simplification Unit; Romilda Rizzo, President, Luciano Hinna, Commissioner, and
Carlotta Fiumara fom the Independent Commission for the Evaluation, Integrity, and
Transparency of Public Administration (CIVIT). Special thanks are also attributed to
Ermanno Granelli and Alessandra Pomponio, Court of Auditors; Pietro Tramuto; Magda
Bianco, Head of Law and Economics Division in the Bank of Italy; Sergio Gallo,
Counsellor in AVCP; Veronica Nicotra, Under Secretary-General of the National
Association of Italian Local Governmnents; Carlo La Rotonda, Confindustria; and Anna
Maria Buzzi, president of the informal association of Heads of Independent Performance
Evaluation Units (OIVs).
Finally, this review benefited from invaluable input provided by OECD peers, in
particular those who participated in the High-Level Forum in Rome on 29 October 2012.
They are Sue Gray, Director, Office of Propriety and Ethics Team, Cabinet Office, the
United Kingdom; Jane Ley, Deputy Director, Office of Government Ethics, United
States, and Rok Praprotnik, Deputy Chief-Commissioner, Commission for the Prevention
of Corruption, Slovenia. Mary Anne Stevens, Director, Policy and Legislation (Values
and Ethics), Canada, chaired the peer review discussions at the OECD Public Sector
Integrity Network on 20-21 November 2012 and also provided invaluable comments on
the draft report.
OECD INTEGRITY REVIEW OF ITALY: REINFORCING PUBLIC SECTOR INTEGRITY, RESTORING TRUST FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH © OECD 2013
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TABLE OF CONTENTS –
Table of contents
Executive summary ......................................................................................................................... 11
Structural reforms require trust to be successfully restored .......................................................... 11
Trust can be restored by strengthening public sector integrity ...................................................... 11
Comprehensive public sector integrity reform: The challenge of institutionalisation .................. 12
Key findings and recommendations .............................................................................................. 12
Chapter 1: Restoring confidence in sustainable growth .............................................................. 15
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 16
Key facts and data about Italy ....................................................................................................... 17
Revenue, expenditure and debt ..................................................................................................... 18
Public procurement ....................................................................................................................... 19
Integrity and transparency ............................................................................................................. 21
Italy hit hard by the economic and financial crisis ........................................................................ 22
Restoring trust vital for sustainable economic growth .................................................................. 23
Restoring trust in the public sector calls for more integrity, less corruption ................................. 24
Notes ............................................................................................................................................. 26
Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 27
Chapter 2: Strengthening integrity in the Italian public sector .................................................. 29
Earlier efforts to enhance transparency, accountability and openness .......................................... 30
Notes ............................................................................................................................................. 35
Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 36
Chapter 3: The new Anti-Corruption Law ................................................................................... 37
History of the Anti-Corruption Law .............................................................................................. 38
The content of the Anti-Corruption Law ....................................................................................... 40
Notes ............................................................................................................................................. 45
Chapter4: Institutional co-ordination ........................................................................................... 47
Key elements for effective anti-corruption bodies ........................................................................ 48
The need to co-ordinate bodies with anti-corruption mandates in Italy ........................................ 52
Anti-corruption bodies’ political independence critical to their effectiveness .............................. 58
Resources key to sustainable, effective anti-corruption institutional set-up ................................. 59
Proposals for action ....................................................................................................................... 59
Notes ............................................................................................................................................. 60
Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 62
Chapter 5: Codes of conduct .......................................................................................................... 63
Towards a culture of integrity in the civil service: Values and standards of conduct ................... 64
Building consensus on values and public employees’ ownership of codes of conduct................. 70
Towards high standards of conduct: Educating public servants in codes of conduct ................... 72
OECD INTEGRITY REVIEW OF ITALY: REINFORCING PUBLIC SECTOR INTEGRITY, RESTORING TRUST FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH © OECD 2013
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– TABLE OF CONTENTS
Monitoring the implementation of codes of conduct .................................................................... 74
Enforcement and compliance: Incorporating ethics into the management framework ................. 75
Proposals for action ....................................................................................................................... 76
Notes ............................................................................................................................................. 77
Annex 5.A1. Australian public service values .............................................................................. 78
Annex 5.A2. The Canadian Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service ................................ 79
Annex 5.A3. The Austrian Code of Conduct to Prevent Corruption: the responsibility
rests with me.................................................................................................................................. 80
Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 81
Chapter 6:Whistleblower protection ............................................................................................. 83
Whistleblower protection as an integral part of integrity frameworks .......................................... 84
Whistleblower protection in Italy .................................................................................................. 86
The Anti-Corruption Law’s provision on whistleblower protection ............................................. 88
Gap and mitigation analysis of whistleblower protection in the Anti-Corruption Law ................ 90
Clear, comprehensive legislation .................................................................................................. 92
Mechanisms for protection ............................................................................................................ 94
Clear procedures and channels for reporting wrongdoing ............................................................ 96
Enforcement mechanisms ............................................................................................................. 97
Proposals for action ....................................................................................................................... 98
Notes ........................................................................................................................................... 100
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 103
Chapter 7: Integrity risk management ........................................................................................ 105
A continuous, integrated process that increases value, prevents corruption, restores trust ......... 106
Provisions in Italy's new Anti-Corruption Law related to risk management .............................. 109
Issues to consider in support of the effective implementation of risk management .................... 111
Implement risk management in incremental steps and learn by doing ........................................ 118
Allocating resources to determine risk thresholds....................................................................... 120
Supporting lessons learned across public organisations .............................................................. 123
Proposals for action ..................................................................................................................... 126
Notes ........................................................................................................................................... 127
Annex 7.A1. Integrity gap analysis: Implementing peer recommendations would strengthen
provisions of the new Anti-Corruption Law ............................................................................... 128
Notes ........................................................................................................................................... 148
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 150
Tables
Table 1.1. Transparency in public procurement, 2010 .................................................................. 20
Table 1.2. E-government building blocks and e-procurement, 2010 ............................................ 20
Table 1.3. Disclosure of public sector information, 2010 ............................................................. 21
Table 1.4. Level of disclosure of private interests in the three branches of government by
country, 2010 ................................................................................................................................. 22
Table 2.1. Disclosure of public sector information in Italy ........................................................... 31
Table 2.2. E-government building blocks ..................................................................................... 34
Table 4.1. The main corruption prevention actors in Italy ............................................................ 56
Table 7.1. Comparative analysis of whole-of-government policy elements ............................... 110
Table 7.2. Internal audit’s role in risk management .................................................................... 117
Table 7.3. Risk management template ........................................................................................ 122
Table 7.4. Risk reporting ............................................................................................................. 122
OECD INTEGRITY REVIEW OF ITALY: REINFORCING PUBLIC SECTOR INTEGRITY, RESTORING TRUST FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH © OECD 2013
