Civil servants’ irresponsibility as the prime mover of corruption

Bribery (see The Day, November 16) really is a vital component of the system of interaction and corruption that exists in Ukraine. However, the situation with corruption in general is considerably more complicated because its power to ruin is not bribery in itself but in the professional deformation of civil servants.

The problem of fighting corruption is currently aggravated by substantial malfunctions in the socioeconomic and moral- ethical systems of this society, thus facilitating steadily mounting psychological and emotional tensions and professional deformity in practically every individual involved. The said professional deformity manifests itself primarily by negative changes in the individual and professionally required qualities, affecting the public servant’s professional orientation and professional thinking. Professional deformity emerges as the result of repeated negative typical situations over a lengthy period. The most dangerous personality change is found in the civil servant, in that it leads to legal nihilism and premeditated violations of the law. Here I mean not only the individual transgressions of individual statutes but also acting contrary to the legally established guidelines.

This deformity could be defined as a manifestation of the civil servant’s legal nihilism and acting unlawfully, distorted view of his/her performance as a public servant, simplification of professional stereotypes, along with weakening the reliability of the official’s morals and will. The main cause of such legal nihilism and unlawful conduct is the impunity and lack of public control over the bureaucrat’s performance. While accumulating professional experience, public employees find themselves increasingly apt at determining which elements of law can be violated without much risk to oneself.

An important sign of professional deformity is psychological instability. This is manifest in one’s inability to resist negative influences in the line of duty. These negative influences include unlawful pressure from law enforcement authorities, ranking officials (one’s immediate superior, business people, etc.) to make illegal decisions, and complicated external working conditions.

The third sign is the trend to distort requirements in terms of unbiased reflection of circumstances existing within the state: ignoring realities, weakened self- criticism, as well as an inability to view one’s work and external circumstances critically. Here it is not so much one’s inaptitude as the reluctance or loss of the ability to assess circumstances in an unbiased manner. Thus professional deformity consists not in the initial absence of qualities or lack of professional training but in their transformation or atrophy. The absence of professional qualities or inadequate professional training can only serve as a nutrient medium for professional deformity.

All this makes it possible for the public servant to retain confidence in the correctness of his actions and regard errors as an inevitable possibility, caused by external factors — hence considering them harmless. Among typical techniques of self-justification are constant references to inadequate legislation and the pure formality of its requirements; biased entourage; objective circumstances and hardships, such as overloaded schedule, constant shortage of time; unlawful decisions motivated by national interests, instructions from above, the complexity of one’s duties, etc. Total self-justification under any circumstances is the main symptom of civil servants’ professional deformity.

All these changes are determined primarily by the imperfect organization and bad conditions of professional activity. Such changes emerge and manifest themselves at various levels — processes, status, and personal qualities, conscious and subconscious. Often, the most important changes come down to the hypertrophy of vital professional traits. Thus, vigilance turns into suspiciousness, confidence into self-confidence, contentment into indifference, being demanding into nit-picking, diligence into pedantry, and so on. Secondly, it means the emergence and development of negative traits: particularly cruelty, vindictiveness, rudeness, permissiveness, and cynicism. A certain mental state like disillusionment, boredom, or irritability emerges and becomes dominant. Naturally, this cannot help effective professional performance. Thirdly, it is the suppression and subsequent atrophy of certain traits that become objectively assessed as being of minor importance, or even unnecessary. There is a loss of confidence in fellow citizens’ law-abiding conduct and in the effectiveness of struggle against lawbreaking, especially corruption. It should be noted that certain characteristics become specifically distorted. This is especially true of such most important sphere of legal conscience as quantitative concepts of the goal and professional means and methods.

Proceeding from all this, the apparent conclusion is that bribe- taking is only one of the signs of professional deformity in civil servants. Thus fighting corruption requires a more skillful and systemic approach, whereby its causes and conditions facilitating abuse of office could be eliminated, primarily within the social category of civil servants.

INCIDENTALLY

To take or not to take bribes is not the question. Of course, bribery belongs to the double standard category, and not only in Ukraine. Remember all those sensational trials involving top-level officials in Japan?

In Ukraine, 50-60% of what little progress we have takes place in the shadow economy. Here doing anything without feathering someone’s nest looks totally incredible, unthinkable. We have all given bribes at least once, like when you need a new passport in an hour, not in a month or 45 days which is standard procedure. Or you want something else arranged for yourself quickly and effectively. And it is not necessarily an envelope slipped into one’s pocket or passed under the table. It can be arranged as a pay rise, royalty, sponsorship, donation, investment, a book published on a priority basis, or an act of perfectly selfless aid, say, to a court of law, like a shipment of stationery and office equipment. After all, there is a note warning of their shortage attached to every courtroom or office door.

They say the only way to get something done is by greasing palms, that it was always there. And, of course, that is true.

Or take the history of legal punishment. What was the main cause, say, in the last century? Murder? Burglary? No, 90% of the legally tried cases involved “secret theft” — bribe-taking... Yes, our people are simple-hearted, but not that much. Moreover, bribery is punishable under law: a term of 3-8 years and 7-15, with confiscation of property, for a repeat offender (Article 170 of the Criminal Code). And the tenderer and solicitor are meted out almost equally harsh punishments (ibid., Article 169), for any type of bribe or for any non-performance in the bribe- giver’s interests (Article 168). It looks tough.

Perhaps, but practice shows that not too tough, because in the presence of sufficiently harsh punishment the causes remain, enough and to spare. For example, the irresistible urge to steal among the psychological factors. Often what is stolen does not actually matter, even a trifle. Then there are the hateful traditions of the recent past and the latter-day mentality. Add to this the great temptation an investigating officer has to sustain, having to live on a meager salary (UAH 150-200 plus inflation plus the possibility of delayed payment), handling a case spelling millions of dollars. Or a business-registering bureaucrat processing a company with hundreds of thousands in turnover and having that same salary of a couple hundred hryvnias or even less. Talking of bureaucrats, I would suggest further protecting their rights and raising their salaries (perhaps by means of personnel reductions) but simultaneously to enhancing their personal legal liability many times over. A single transgression entailing a term in prison and total exclusion, meaning that after serving his term this bureaucrat will never get another job in a similar capacity, and also meaning that he will never get the nice pension otherwise due him.

This is how things are done in the civilized world. And this approach proves remarkably effective. Offices are changed the apparatus remains. This is a perfectly normal and gratifying practice, because such jobs are held there by true professionals. If one is caught stealing it means one had it coming. So before stealing one will think not twice but a hundred times, for they also have unemployment, and the unemployed are treated with a definite degree of condescension, but that’s all. Thus why take the risk, considering that staying on the right side of the law really pays off? This way one can earn enough for one’s family and secure oneself a pleasant retirement.

Bribery is indeed a vital component of the system of interrelationships and corruption existing in Ukraine. Yet the situation with corruption is much more complex than meets the eye, because its prime mover is not bribe-taking and giving but the public servant’s professional deformity.