GRECO has published its Interim Compliance Report of Fourth Evaluation Round on Denmark, as adopted by GRECO at its 84th Plenary meeting (Strasbourg, 2-6 December 2019).

This Interim Compliance Report assesses the measures taken by the authorities of Denmark to implement the recommendations issued in the Fourth Round Evaluation Report on Denmark. GRECO’s Fourth Evaluation Round deals with “Corruption prevention in respect of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors”.

It is recalled that GRECO addressed 6 recommendations to Denmark in its Evaluation Report

For example, GRECO recommended:

1. GRECO recommended (a) that a code of conduct for members of parliament – including, inter alia, guidance on the prevention of conflicts of interest, on questions concerning gifts and other advantages and on how to deal with third parties seeking to obtain undue influence on MPs’ work – be adopted and made easily accessible to the public; and (b) that it be complemented by practical measures for its implementation, such as dedicated training or counselling.

It is recalled that this recommendation was partly implemented in the Compliance Report. GRECO noted that the outgoing Speaker had, in 2014, addressed issues highlighted in the recommendation in the form of a letter to all MPs, in order to draw their attention to ethical conduct and to the responsibility for upholding public trust in Parliament. While falling short of the recommendation, GRECO acknowledged that principles by which all MPs should abide were mentioned in the letter of the Speaker as an initial measure, it was not considered a code of conduct, nor were any other measures such as training and counselling in place.

In the Second Compliance Report the authorities maintained their position that a letter such as the one that was sent by the former Speaker on behalf of the former Presidium of the Danish Parliament, ahead of the 2015 elections, was an appropriate format for such a document in the context of the political system of Denmark. The then Presidium of Parliament would therefore consider ahead of the next parliamentary elections, whether a similar letter to members elected at that time could advantageously be accompanied by examples without detracting from the overall spirit of such a letter. The authorities added that they intended to initiate a discussion on the content of a similar letter in the Standing Orders Committee (which includes representatives of all parties and all party group chairpersons) as well as within the Presidium itself and would ensure that any similar letter to members elected in the next election were to be made accessible to the public. It was also stated that better use of party group chairpersons should be made for counselling reasons.

In the Second Compliance Report, GRECO welcomed that in the future such a letter was to be based on a more inclusive and broader debate in Parliament, in the Standing Orders Committee, where all political groups are represented, as well as in the Presidium itself. GRECO found that the letter by the former Speaker, referred to in the Compliance Report, was a good initiative, but it considered it necessary that such a document obtains recognition and authority over time, regardless of elections. While the first part remained partly implemented (the letter), nothing new had been reported in respect of the second part of the recommendation and it remained partly implemented.

The Danish authorities reported that the former Speaker of the Danish Parliament has sent a letter addressed to elected members of Parliament shortly after the elections on 5 June 2019, see Appendix). The content of the letter is similar to the one sent by her predecessor at the time of the elections in 2015. The authorities add that it is currently considered whether a similar letter is also to be sent to party group chair persons.

2. GRECO recommended that a requirement of ad hoc disclosure be introduced when a conflict between the private interests of individual members of parliament may emerge in relation to a matter under consideration in parliamentary proceedings.

The authorities of Denmark do not report anything new in respect of this recommendation.

3. GRECO recommended (a) that regular public registration of occupations and financial interests by members of parliament be made mandatory; (b) that the existing system be further developed, in particular, by including quantitative data on the occupations and financial interests of members of parliament as well as data on significant liabilities; and (c) that consideration be given to widening the scope of the declarations to also include information on spouses and dependent family members.

The authorities do not report anything new in respect of this recommendation

4. GRECO recommended that appropriate measures be taken to ensure supervision and enforcement of (a) the rules on registration of the occupations and financial interests by members of parliament and (b) standards of conduct applicable to them, where necessary

The authorities do not report anything new in respect of this recommendation.

5. GRECO recommended (a) that a set of clear ethical standards/code of professional conduct – accompanied by explanatory comments and/or practical examples, including guidance on conflicts of interest and related issues – be made applicable to all judges and be made easily accessible to the public; and (b) that it be complemented by practical measures for its implementation, including dedicated training for professional judges, lay judges and expert judges.

The authorities now report that the Danish Court Administration has had further deliberations with the Association of Danish Judges, which adopted the Ethical Principles for Judges in 2014. Following these deliberations, the Danish Association of Judges has now also adopted a set of interpretative explanatory comments to the Principles, as required by the recommendation. The authorities add that the Ethical Principles are continuously brought up for discussion and revision if needed.

GRECO concluded that Denmark has implemented satisfactorily two of the six recommendations contained. Of the remaining recommendations, three have been partly implemented and one has not been implemented.