Events & Issues
New Delhi, 13 April 2015
Conflict of
Interest
RULE OBSERVED IN
BREACH
By Dr S Saraswathi
(Former Director,
ICSSR, New Delhi)
The enormous clout of the tobacco industry is suspected to
be the force behind the Government’s decision to defer action on the proposal
to increase the size of pictorial warning against smoking. The parliamentary committee on subordinate
legislation looking into the rules regarding sale of tobacco products includes,
according to press reports, some members having links with the tobacco trade.
Hence, a strong objection is raised to the presence of conflict of interest influencing
the recommendations of the committee.
The member heading the committee has stated that there is no
India-specific study proving that tobacco consumption causes cancer. Another MP
has asked the Government to hold back its decision to increase the size of
pictorial warnings from 40% to 85% as proposed.
Cancer experts are shocked and view these statements as an
affront to the numerous studies and immense body of work in India
establishing a direct link between various forms of cancer and tobacco use.
They think that holding back the decision to enlarge pictorial warning is a
retrograde step medically.
But, the tobacco lobby is sticking to the argument that
there is no conclusive proof against the use of tobacco to merit enlarging the
size of warnings. In their own commercial interest, it assumes a posture of
championing the interests of tobacco farmers and insists that a cut on tobacco
would lead to more suicide of farmers.
Apparently, this lobby is believed to be so powerful that
some even remark that it succeeded in shifting a popular Union minister from Health
to Science and Technology for his anti-tobacco stand. As a doctor, he is a firm
believer that tobacco is a cause of cancer.
Insofar as the rules of procedure in the Lok Sabha go, any MP
may object to inclusion of any member in
a parliamentary committee on the ground that “he has personal, pecuniary, or
direct interest” in the matter under its consideration. The Speaker has to
resolve the issue and give a ruling. Till then that MP cannot vote in the
committee and has to quit the panel if the ruling goes against him.
The Rajya Sabha rules further prescribes that before
participating in a debate in Parliament or its committee, members should
declare their personal interest if any, in the matter under consideration of Parliament
or its committees.
In the meantime, strong anti-tobacco views come from many
leaders including both Prime Minister and Finance Minister. Opinion seems to be more in favour of
discouraging tobacco use.
Apart from the issue of medical findings on tobacco, efforts
in fighting cancer, the state of tobacco farmers, etc., the controversy has more
political significance. There is plenty of scope for people with personal
interests in a matter taking part in official decision-making bodies pertaining
to the same matter. It creates a “conflict of interest”, which in recent years has
grown as big as corruption and nepotism. This phenomenon is seen repeatedly and
proving to be an inconvenient factor between lobbyists and decision-makers.
Conflict of interest is a term used to describe the
situation in which a public official or fiduciary, who, contrary to the obligation
and absolute duty to act for the benefit of the public or a designated
individual, exploits the relationship for personal benefit, typically,
pecuniary. Any situation in which an individual or corporation is in a position
to exploit a professional or official capacity in some way for personal or
corporate benefit denotes “conflict of interest”.
It may be present even without the occurrence of any
impropriety or biased decisions. To establish a conflict of interest, it’s not
necessary to establish a positive link between a decision or a deed and
personal interest of decision-making body or any of its members. The original
definition of Dennis Thompson states: “A conflict of interest is a set of
circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgement or actions
regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary
interest”. The argument that personal interest has not guided one’s viewpoints
or the final decision is not valid. The presence of individual interest is
enough to indicate a conflict.
For instance, a lawyer cannot act for and against the same
client in the same case. A judge cannot sit in judgement over a case in which his
own son is involved. It is indeed difficult to explain conflict of interest. It
appears in infinite variety of situations and works in several forms. One can
know it when it is present.
In many western countries, there are laws to prevent
intervention of personal interests in discharging one’s professional
duties. Statutes define what constitutes
“conflict of interest” and prescribe sanctions against it. Professional bodies
apply the rules to maintain professionalism and professional conduct. Any
person involved in a conflict of interest may be subject to disciplinary
proceedings.
The Government of Canada has adopted the Conflict of
Interest Act in 2006 under which a public office holder is said to be in
conflict of interest when he/she exercises an official power, duty, or function
that provides an opportunity to further his/her private interests or those of
relatives or friends or to improperly further another person’s private
interests. Ministers must follow “Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment
Code” that outlines ethical standards as well as public and private interests,
and prohibits use of information obtained officially for private purpose.
Ministers cannot engage in outside professions or business. Certain posts
cannot be held by a person simultaneously. The Ethics Commissioner conducts
enquiry into breaches of the code.
In Britain,
MPs have to declare their past and potential interest before joining a debate
on a matter. Detailed Code of Conduct provides guidelines to prevent conflict
of interest.
In India,
the Rajya Sabha includes several members having commercial and business
interests, professional assignments, and even remunerative positions that may
influence independent thinking on an issue before Parliament or its
committees. Therefore, there may arise
many occasions of conflict of interest, as in the case of tobacco warning.
A committee set up by the Government of India in 1954, the
Bhargava Committee, which recommended enacting Prevention of Disqualification
Act was primarily motivated by the principle of averting conflict of interest
in one’s personal interest and public interest in policies and programmes that
may come before Parliament.
Prevention and Management of Conflict of Interest Bill was
introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2012. It provided for a Conflict of Interest
Commission with nine members including six from civil society organizations.
They were to be persons of eminence known for ability and integrity from
various fields of activity like education, public health, food and nutrition,
employment and livelihood, agriculture, environment, natural resource
management, economics, law, etc.
An organization called Alliance Against Conflict of Interest
(AACI) has been formed in various sectors to expose such cases and bring them to the notice of affected
parties, the government, and media.
Regulating conflict of interest in government is one of the
major objectives of ethics in politics. It is a tough job due to multiple
interests of office holders and inter-connection of many fields. Self-discipline more than external
regulations is required to check breach of any code of conduct.----INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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