Project overview

The national system of fighting corruption - the National Integrity System (NIS) - is an all-encompassing method of fighting corruption in any country that has been formulated by Transparency International, a leading international organisation specialising in fighting corruption. The system consists of eleven "pillars" upon which fighting against corruption rests: the executive and legislative power, the judiciary, the Public Prosecutor's Office, the police, public services, the Auditor General, anti-corruption agencies (commissions), the ombudsman, the MEDIA and civil society. An efficient anti-corruption strategy and policy can be defined only after the state of the supporting pillars has been established.

Hence the first step in formulating an all-encompassing anti-corruption strategy is to assess the state of the above-mentioned pillars. Following this, concrete measures are defined and deadlines set for the results these measures are expected to produce. Logically enough, the anti-corruption policy will tend to rely on the strongest pillars in the first phase. At the same time, the weaker pillars will gradually be strengthened so that, with time, the burden of fighting corruption could be more evenly distributed.

Assessment studies of the pillars of integrity based on the methodology of Transparency International have been conducted in 19 countries so far. They have proved to be a good foundation for building efficient national anti-corruption strategies everywhere.

An analysis of the pillars of integrity in Serbia and FR Yugoslavia has been conducted by an independent expert team commissioned by the European Movement in Serbia and Transparency International Serbia. The resulting study consists of two parts.

The first part is a questionnaire in which the experts provided answers to questions formulated on the basis of the Source Book 2000, published by Transparency International. In the second, narrative part, the authors elaborated on the answers provided in the questionnaire (for each of the 11 sectors), highlighting the main findings and giving specific recommendations at the end.

National Integrity System (NIS) elements:

Objectives
ACTIVITIES
Pillars, i.e. institutions and sectors involved in delivering the NIS

NIS objectives

Curbing corruption
Fair and efficient government
Raising standard of living

NIS ACTIVITIES

Clear commitment by leaders
Emphasis on preventing corruption and changing systems, not witch hunts
Adoption of an efficient national anticorruption strategy and policy
Reform of legal and administrative procedures
Implementation of the rule of law
Ensure adequate salaries for civil servants and political leaders
Create a partnership between government and all elements of civil society
Making corruption a "high risk/low profit" undertaking

NIS pillars

Civil society, public awareness, public participation
Parliament
Executive
Judiciary
Public service
"Watchdog" agencies
Auditor General
Ombudsman
MEDIA
Private sector
International actors and cooperation

ACTIVITIES > national integrity system: serbia and yugoslavia > project overview