High standards of parliamentary behaviour and ethics are vital to ensure public trust in democratic systems and how they work. They also help foster a culture of public service that favours public interest over private gain. 

The aim of this study is to identify the main concerns and possible obstacles that need to be considered while reforming, developing and designing parliamentary standards of conduct, including, but not limited to, codes of conduct. In the field of parliamentary integrity, marked by fast-changing ethical norms and citizens’ expectations, this publication favours a snap-shot approach of currently existing codes of conduct or ethics in the OSCE region over a rigorous cross-country analysis.

This resource updates the Background Study: Professional and Ethical Standards for Parliamentarians, published by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in 2012.