The Significance of the Integrity System
The Original Law Review, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 39-47, 2008
23 Pages Posted: 5 Apr 2011
Date Written: October 24, 2007
Abstract
The maintenance of integrity in government requires a detailed institutional response. This paper suggests that the institutions formed for this purpose, considered collectively, deserve acknowledgment as a fourth branch of government. It discusses the trade-off between the adequate funding of such institutions and other governmental objectives, noting that continued efforts to improve institutional and personal integrity can be considered as an investment in social capital. Further, it notes that one aspect of the integrity branch of government is the scope for judicial review of the executive branch. Such review is quite distinct from examining the simple legality of executive action; rather, it extends to ensuring that powers are exercised for the purpose, broadly understood, for which they were conferred and in the manner in which they were intended to be exercised. The paper discusses the ways in which judicial review has evolved in civil and common law systems to be a means by which integrity in public life is preserved.
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