Transparency
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Transparency
"Transparency is the best weapon in the fight against corruption."
Kjell Kristian Dørum
(Norwegian Auditor's Office)
The introduction of broad disclosure of asset declarations would primarily aim to achieve a high degree of transparency in public life, as well as to increase public scrutiny of the actions of those holding public office. Transparency acts as a preventive mechanism, reducing the areas for abuse and fostering public trust.
Transparency in anti-corruption is about making procedures transparent, setting clear rules and enabling public oversight. With regard to anti-corruption, it enables easier access to the detection of corrupt activities, as processes are transparent and decisions and transactions are visible to the public, media and relevant control bodies.
Transparency in public life is one of the highest values to be protected by the legislator. It is also one of the basic determinants of the existence of a viable democratic system. Unjustified restrictions on such openness result in a situation in which citizens are subjected to objectification. They are not treated as sovereigns with supreme power in the state in their hands, but as obliged to comply with specific directives emanating from the legislator, whom, after all, they elected to implement representative democracy. The idea of civil society, understood as a community with a certain level of social awareness and pursuing certain goals, is then shaken[1].
[1] B. Opaliński, Dostęp do informacji publicznej jako emanacja zasady jawności życia publicznego, „Przegląd Prawa Publicznego” 2019, nr 7–8, LEX/el., s. 35–43.