Anti-corruption: Creation of a Transparency Program
The Program will be coordinated by the Office of Institutional Transparency of the Province of Buenos Aires. It aims to increase levels of transparency and produce a culture of ethics, as well as developing internal protocols in the entities impacted by the Program.
Resolution No. 583/2020 of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights of the Province of Buenos Aires created the Promoting Transparency in the Province of Buenos Aires "Construyendo Transparencia PBA" Program under the Office of Transparency, Public Ethics and Anti-corruption of the Province of Buenos Aires, which is under the authority of the Office of Institutional Transparency (the "OTI", after its initials in Spanish).
The Program is intended for companies with majority government ownership, both public and private universities, Civil Associations, Sports Entities, Restructured Companies, SMEs, Labor Unions, non-state owned public Entities, Civil Associations and for Professional Associations.
A "Strategic Transparency Plan" will be devised jointly by the participating entity and the OTI. Its main purpose will be to increase transparency levels, to create an ethics culture and to develop internal protocols. Each Strategic Plan will be customized. The necessities and special features of each participating entity and organization will be taken into account.
The Program is divided in 4 stages:
1) Signing of a "Framework Convention on Collaboration and Technical Assistance" by the participating entity and the OTI.
2) Appointment of the Party Responsible for Transparency who must secure the proper execution of the Strategic Plan and act as a link between the participating entity and the OTI.
3) Execution of the Strategic Transparency Plan that must include the performance of an improvement diagnosis, the implementation of actions, the creation of improvement actions and the development of tools such as ethics codes, whistleblower channels and training, among others.
4) Assistance from the OTI during the process. The OTI shall provide cooperation and technical support when implementing the Strategic Plan.
This Resolution overrules the "Integrity Program in State Companies of the Province of Buenos Aires", which was created by Resolution No. 72 E/2017 of the Ministry of Justice of the Province of Buenos Aires. However, conventions signed under this system will remain in force as long as they are aligned with the new Program.
The Program is yet one more of a number of regulations issued in recent years aimed at fighting corruption.
This insight is a brief comment on legal news in Argentina; it does not purport to be an exhaustive analysis or to provide legal advice.