Gagnsæi calls upon Iceland’s prime minister and his cabinet to adopt code of ethics

The board of Gagnsæi calls upon the newly appointed prime minister and the government of Iceland to immediately adopt a code of conduct for ministers, pursuant to Article 24 of Act No. 115/2011 on the Government Offices of Iceland. In light of the recent events, the importance of taking such rules seriously should be self-evident.

Furthermore, the board of Gagnsæi recommends to the prime minister that the government exercise the authority inherent in the code of conduct to require ministers to report additional information regarding their finances. In addition to the mandatory conflicts-of-interest reporting to the Althing, ministers need to provide information concerning their personal assets and liabilities, as well as the assets and liabilities of their spouses.

In its recommendations to the Icelandic authorities of March of this year, GRECO – the Group of States against Corruption of the Council of Europe – specifically stressed the importance of disclosing such financial information in order to reduce the risk of corruption.

Questions concerning this declaration can be directed to Jón Ólafsson, member of the board of directors of Gagnsæi, at jonolafs@hi.is