Accountability

 

Having an accountable public administration means that:

• The organisation of the central government is rational, so that every public organisation is answerable for the planning, reporting and justifying of its actions to the parliament, the government or a ministry, and to the public.

• Legislation guarantees that the public has access to information on what public institutions do and how they perform, but also on how they may serve citizens or businesses.

• A person who feels that his or her right to fair and effective treatment by the administration has been violated should be able to uphold these rights in practice. If any wrongdoing by the administration has taken place, compensation or redress should be guaranteed.

SIGMA assists countries in enhancing their accountability practices through:

• Helping governments to review, diagnose, re-organise and streamline their public administration organisations.

• Assisting countries in setting up or monitoring the implementation of laws on transparency and access to information.

• Supporting oversight bodies, such as parliaments, ombudsmen and anti-corruption agencies, in better fulfilling their functions.

 

	Get in touch with our team leader Lech Marcinkowski Senior Policy Advisor Accountability Tel: +33 (0) 1 85 55 44 92 lech.marcinkowski@oecd.org  Browse our publications on this area of expertise Data portal: accountability
Credit to the TEN network and WeBER project