good governance

Ethics of a Public Administration Official in Poland: Prospects for the Development of Professional Deontology

Dr Dawid Kostecki

Catholic University in Lublin

English abstract: The development of modern civilization associated with the digital revolution poses entirely new challenges in terms of ethics for public administration. Whereas practical ethical instruments in the form of codes of best practice have already been developed for the profession of a lawyer or a doctor, the internal diversification of the profession of a public official (public authority officials, territorial self-government officials) as well as the transformation of public administration have not been conducive to the development of appropriate ethical standards. The author aims at providing an answer to the following question: on which axiological foundation should the code of a public official be based? On the one hand, historical background seems to be providing a definite answer, on the other, however, current depreciation of the profession of a public official as well as technological progress shed a new light on ethical reflections.

Models used in public administration until now, i.e. the model of ideal bureaucracy, the accountability model, and the new public manager model, have not proven to be effective. Nevertheless, according to the author, the organizational culture within the frame of the good governance model constitutes a unique solution which can prove successful in public administration. At this point, the process of restitution of public officials’ ethos can be a relevant factor. It is so especially due to the fact that public officials’ ethos embodies a development area for educating professional public officials and constitutes a premise for a good functioning of public administration at the same time.

Enumerating the drivers of growth for the public officials’ ethos in connection with a unique idea of the code of best practice based on the triad of integrity, benevolence, and accountability constitutes an axiological suggestion which is noteworthy for the deontology of the profession of a public official.

Keywords: ethics, public administration, ethos, axiology, values, good governance

Language: English

Published: Number 2(27)/2021, pp. 26-40.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36280/AFPiFS.2021.2.26

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This text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial – No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Lawyers’ professional roles in the light of the good governance model

Mgr Mariola Żak

University of Warsaw

English abstract: The aim of the present paper is to verify the thesis that the institutionalization of regulatory solutions promoted by the idea of good governance leads to a change in the way lawyers and their professional responsibility towards civil society are perceived. Considering the claims that the positivist paradigm of government is in crisis and the postulates of changing the legitimacy of the judiciary expressed in the governance concept, the way in which the social roles of lawyers are understood needs reinterpreting. In the first place, the role of concepts of governance and good governance in contemporary law is described. Then normative coordination models of collective actions by means of which the ideas of governance and good governance can be put into practice are characterized. Finally, the traditional professional roles of lawyers and their so-called accessory roles are presented. The considerations constitute a normative meta-analysis, referred to as meta-governance. The reflection is conducted according to the descriptive method. The article is a contribution to future research and an attempt to identify the major problems faced by lawyers in connection with the implementation of good governance.

Keywords: good governance, social steering, legal multicentrism, normative standard, lawyer’s professional roles, positive responsibility, professional competence

Language: Polish

Received: 06.06.2017
Accepted: 16.08.2017

Published: Number 1(16)/2018, pp. 103-120.

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Communicative rationality as the basis for the legitimacy of good governance

Mgr Mariola Żak

University of Warsaw

English abstract: The main aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the concept of good governance, based on the theoretical description and methodology of the sciences of organization, public management and economy, auxiliary extending to other reconstructive sciences (political science, sociology, psychology), has the cognitive dimension, referring to the practical reasoning of individuals. Through subjection of specific strategies to the communicative rationality, depending on the normative context, the different ways of public sector management may be selected by the public agencies to a specific area of social relations. This choice is made based on the rational consensus, concluded between the stakeholders and the so-called depositary of the law, by which is meant the professionals associated with the performance of the public service: the politicians, the lawyers and the law-applying officials. The article shows the application of the theory of the communicative ethics: the universal pragmatics of J. Habermas and the transcendental pragmatics of K.-O. Apel in order to explain and justify good governance model.

Keywords: good governance, networks, legitimacy, instrumental rationality, communicative rationality, universal pragmatics, transcendental pragmatics

Language: Polish

Received: 25.09.2016
Accepted: Załączniki 02.03.2017

Published: Number 2(15)/2017, pp. 98-114.

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Number of downloads: 124