The law speaks clearly of maintaining “high standards in public life”. The people expect and deserve no less, particularly as they continue to learn about the disdainful manner in which politicians and senior civil servants can behave.
The main responsibility to ensure these high standards are maintained falls squarely on the shoulders of the commissioner for standards in public life.
In late 2019, the office issued a document themed ‘Towards higher standards in public life’, authored by the present commissioner, George Hyzler, and his director-general, Charles Polidano.
In its introduction, the report notes that although the constitution supports ethical standards in public life it does not spell out such standards in detail but shapes them and shores them up through the general principles it sets out and the safeguards by which it seeks to uphold them.