Srinagar, July 9: The Committee on Ethics of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Thursday decided to formulate a comprehensive Code of Conduct for legislators, aiming to strengthen ethical standards, institutional accountability and public confidence in the functioning of the legislature.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Committee chaired by MLA Nizam-ud-Din Bhat and attended by legislators Salman Sagar, Peerzada Feroze, Kuldeep Raj Dubey, Satish Kumar, Surinder Kumar and Arvind Gupta, besides senior officers of the Assembly Secretariat.
During the meeting, the Committee initiated deliberations on creating a foundational framework to promote public trust in parliamentary institutions and their members. Members unanimously stressed the need for strict ethical norms, values and standards to guide the public conduct and responsibilities of elected representatives.
To this end, the Committee resolved to draft a comprehensive Code of Conduct that will serve as an institutional guide for members of the Legislative Assembly.
Recognising the importance of ethics in public life, the Committee also decided to organise an orientation programme for all MLAs to familiarise them with ethical standards and best legislative practices.
As part of the initiative, the Committee proposed undertaking a comparative study of the functioning of ethics committees in various State Legislatures as well as the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. It also recommended study tours to observe the working of these institutional mechanisms outside the Union Territory with a view to adopting best practices.
Seeking to broaden the framework beyond the legislature, the Committee proposed engaging with external academic and civic institutions, including universities, to gather diverse perspectives on public expectations and evolving standards of ethical conduct for public representatives, both inside and outside the House.
The Committee said the wider consultations would help institutionalise contemporary ethical benchmarks and strengthen the credibility of democratic institutions.
