SIGMA ministerial conference: roundtable 3

Developing a transparent, predictable and accountable approach in public governance to contribute to the rule of law in practice 

Ensuring rule of law in practice requires constant effort and it cannot be taken as a ‘given’ or considered to be ‘completed’ because the appropriate legal framework is in place. How can a wide consensus and political commitment be ensured to strengthen institutional capacity, so that necessary reforms are implemented? What are the best ways to involve the private sector and civil society in promoting and strengthening the rule of law?

Speakers

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Sylwia Spurek, Deputy Human Rights Commissioner for Equal Treatment, Poland

Dr. Spurek, Doctor of Law, legal counsel and legislator was appointed Deputy Human Rights Commissioner for Equal Treatment in 2015. She is co-founder of the Foundation Governance Clinic. Dr. Spurek is a university lecturer of Gender Studies at the University of Warsaw and post-graduate studies of Gender Mainstreaming at the Polish Academy of Sciences, and is a certified expert in helping victims of domestic violence (National Emergency Line for the Victims of Domestic Violence “Blue Line”). Dr. Spurek is a member of the Polish Society of Anti-Discrimination Law and the Polish Legislative Society. 

Calliope Spanou, Professor of Public Administration at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens; former Ombudsman of Greece

Professor Spanou has been teaching at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece since 1989. She holds a Doctorat d’Etat en Science Politique – Science Administrative. From 2011-2015 Professor Spanou was the National Ombudsman of Greece and served as Deputy Ombudsman from 2003-11. Professor Spanou maintained that public institutions perform better when they encounter a society that holds them to hight standards regarding predictability and accountability.

Josip Grubeša, Minister of Justice, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Tetyana Kovtun, Deputy State Secretary, Cabinet of Ministers, Ukraine

Mohammed Diyer, General Secretary, Cour des comptes, Morocco

Moderator

Lech Marcinkowski, Senior Adviser, SIGMA, OECD

Key points 

• Legal and institutional checklists have their place, but gains are easily reversible.