Integrity agencies: the significance of the parliamentary relationship

One of the outcomes of the work of the global NGO Transparency International has been the development of the concept of the ‘national integrity system’, and within that context there is growing interest in a set of public agencies involved in the encouragement, establishment, protection and maintenance of such systems. Some of these agencies are now quite venerable, but their number has been increasing rapidly. In their work, however, they face a serious problem. Governments draw attention to them as accountability devices, but is that just window-dressing? In the performance of their work they will inevitably conflict with or embarrass governments from time to time, so the temptation is to starve them of funds or otherwise weaken them so that their threat potential is much diminished. It is important, therefore, that measures be put in place to protect THEM as they perform their duties. This article examines this proposition, explores the role of parliament as the obvious (but problematic) protector, and notes particularly the development of the notion of ‘officers of parliament’ as a special protective device.