[Originally published in February, 2002]
In this first edition of the Journal we set out, borrowing from the examples in the Citizen’s Guide, broad responsibility areas for which public answering is missing or inadequate. The purpose is to stimulate readers to identify others; to identify more specific important responsibilities within areas that the Journal maps; and to propose the public answering needed, from whom, for the responsibilities identified.
- National policy responsibilities
- protection of a country’s sovereignty over its core policies
- fairness in medical care and its effective operation
- full and fair assessment of the implications of privatization/deregulation
- compliance with the precautionary principle in regulatory responsibilities
- environmental, water and species protection, to the standard citizens have the right to see met
- policy-making (explicit ot tacit policy) that does not unfairly affect the rights, aspirations, well-being and environments of citizens in other countries
- Governance responsibilities
- executive government compliance with the law and with established policy set under contract with the citizens (a Canadian example would be Medicare)
- discharging government’s responsibilities diligently and fairly (i.e., economically, efficiently and effectively)
- effective scrutiny and control over executive government
- ensuring that statutory powers and duties have the public answering obligation attached
- exacting full and fair executive government answering in legislative assemblies
- effective standards for ethics and performance for elected representatives, including:
- standards for their self-informing (including ensuring that the implications of intended government action — for example international agreements — are understood by the legislators and public
- upholding the precautionary principle
- elected representatives’ public answering
- full and fair answering by executive government officials and legislators outside the legislative assemblies ( as prompted by journalists and public interest organizations)
- reduction of public deception and deceptive language (especially statements by officials being nothing more than unsupported “decrees”)
- public identification of barriers standing in the way of elected representatives’ control of government
- Justice responsibilities in the processes of the law
- ensuring an effective legal justice system, which includes prevention of wrongful convictions — judges, legal profession and responsible ministers
- in public inquiries:
- ensuring justice through public inquiries
- ensuring the adequacy of Inquiries Acts and inquiry mandates
- decisions, by jurisdiction, on whether audit will be the first option
- limiting legalistic obstruction to the inquiry purpose
- understanding the concepts of preventive management control, self-informing by directing minds, and the public answering obligation
- the usefulness to the public of inquiry commissioners’ reports
- useful, diligent and honest action on commissioners’ reports
- Health and safety responsibilities
- control ensuring safe foods and drugs
- control ensuring safe workplaces
- control ensuring safe water5. Performance of civil servants
- proposing and meeting effective ethics, performance and answering standards for themselves
- proposing reasonable standards for public answering by executive government6. Governance of organizations
- adequate self-informing by the organizations’ governing boards (directing minds) to discharge their responsibilities
- gaining reasonable learning from outcomes and applying it diligently
- ensuring that the intentions of the organization’s directing minds serve the public interest before (corporate and public sector, including universities and research institutions)
- upholding the precautionary principle
- adequate independent audit (validation) of answerings given 7. Responsibilities of military top command
- setting visible performance standards for top command, for both management control in operations and prevention of deception in public statements of their responsibilities and performance
- fairness to all members of the Forces
Readers are invited to help fill in and expand the accountability map.
