Oversight bodies

The oversight bodies deal with the tools that guarantee the effectiveness of the previous detection and management tools.

In the area of prevention of conflicts of interest, the function of the oversight bodies is to detect breaches of the rules of risk of conflicts of interest incurred by a public servant and, where appropriate, correct them. Therefore, they guarantee the application and effectiveness of the different tools for the prevention of conflicts of interest currently regulated (declarations of interests, regulation of second occupations, postcàrrec limitations or duty of abstention). In addition, given the specialization and experience in this area, the supervisory bodies can offer advice on this matter.

In the contingent scope, the oversight bodies also investigate the partial actions of the public servant, that is, influenced or biased by a particular interest (acts of corruption).

Independence is one of the essential characteristics so that the oversight bodies can carry out their functions effectively and without undue influence. In this sense, independence is not an end in itself, but a guarantee of position at the service of the impartiality with which the assigned functions are to be fulfilled.

These bodies fulfill their functions inserted in the same organizations (internal control) or from outside (external control), linked to the executive or legislative branch, as the case may be. The institutional location of these bodies is a determining factor for the independence and effectiveness of the fulfillment of the assigned functions, but not the only one. Thus, the system of choice and the possible removal of those responsible and the organizational and budgetary autonomy with which they have been endowed (specialized material and human resources) are also determining factors.

The perception of effectiveness of these bodies in the control of compliance with the tools of prevention of conflicts of interest and the certainty of a sanctioning response deter the breach.