186
Implementation of Good Governance: National
One of the new elements is also the attention to the issue of integrity in relation to the concept of good governance. The literature on good governance often traces the origin of this concept to the international level. In the 1980s, we saw good governance applied by the IMF, the World Bank, and the United Nations in their relations with countries and dealing with the conditions which governmental institutions should have fulfilled. In their definitions of good governance, they incorporated their institutional aims. The consequence is that each international organization now has its own definition of good governance; therefore, it is useful to analyse and find the common elements of good governance on the international level. We will present more clearly the concept of good governance in its concrete sense inside and outside Europe. We found good governance norms specified in legislation, policy documents, and decisions of courts and other controlling institutions like the Ombudsman and the Court of Audit. In Europe, we will see that the EU member states gave an important impetus to the development of the concept of good governance and to its application by international and European institutions. This shows that the elements of good governance are rooted in national law developments. But the application of the concept and the principles can also be found outside Europe. A special point of attention is the link—in both theory and practice—between good governance and integrity.
1. Good Governance: The Need and the Practical Relevance Before continuing this part, we need to know why we need the practice of good governance on a national level in different countries all over the world. It is acknowledged that the factual situation is not the same in every country, but there are some common arguments for most of the investigated countries. We also make the link between good governance and the quality of the government in countries. The first argument for good governance in practice is preventing malfunctioning of state institutions, but there are more relevant factors such as: • the problem of the fragmentation of legal norms, which impedes legal certainty and equality; • the existing need for good governance regulations for new independent administrative authorities because of the risk of uncontrolled execution of governmental power; • the complexity of modern society needs a highly qualified administration, with an open view to society; • the link between the good governance norms applied by review-makers (like the judiciary and ombudsmen) and the norms developed and applied by regulators; and • the development of good governance to prevent fraud and corruption, and to promote integrity. As a response to weaknesses in their governance systems (also revealed by the economic crisis), many countries have taken a wide range of measures to strengthen good governance and to achieve sustained convergence, economic growth, and job growth. The key question is to what extent the newly introduced rules and case law have been effective in achieving their objectives, and to what extent they have contributed to progress in
