Committee on Ethics discusses code of conduct; proposes orientation, institutional outreach

Convener News Desk

SRINAGAR, JULY 09: A meeting of the Committee on Ethics of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly was convened today under the Chairmanship of MLA Nizam- Ud- Din Bhat.

The meeting was attended by legislators Salman Sagar, Peerzada Feroze, Kuldeep Raj Dubey, Satish Kumar, Surinder Kumar and Arvind Gupta, alongside senior officers from the Assembly Secretariat.

The Committee initiated deliberations on establishing a foundational framework to encourage public confidence in parliamentary institutions and their members. Acknowledging contemporary challenges faced by the legislative bodies, the members unanimously emphasised the necessity of upholding stringent norms, ethical standards and core values to guide the public conduct and responsibilities of representatives. To this end, the Committee resolved to formulate a comprehensive Code of Conduct to serve as an institutional guide for members.

Recognizing the vital role of ethical values in public life, the Committee decided to organize an orientation programme for all members of the Legislative Assembly.

This initiative will include a comparative study of the operational frameworks of ethics committees across various State Legislatures, as well as the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. To adopt best practices, the Committee emphasized the necessity of undertaking study tours to witness the practical functioning of these institutional mechanisms outside the Union Territory.

In a bid to institutionalize the evolving ethical standards, the Committee resolved to broaden its scope of engagement. The members proposed expanding outreach to external academic and civic institutions, including universities. This external consultation aims to gather diverse inputs on public expectations and define contemporary benchmarks for the conduct of public representatives both within and outside the House.