Regulation of the City of Buenos Aires Ethics Law Has Been Passed

On November 4, 2014 the Mayor of the City of Buenos Aires passed Decree No. 435/2014 (the “Decree”) which regulates Law No. 4,895 that was enacted by the Legislature of the City of Buenos Aires on December 5, 2013 (the “Ethics Law”). The Ethics Law sets forth rules applicable to the exercise of public office in the Government of the City of Buenos Aires (“GCBA”) by civil servants and elected officials.
 
The Ethics Law sets forth the rules on incompatibilities and conflicts of interest; it provides a regime of gifts to public officials and a system of annual sworn statements of assets (please see “New Public Ethics Regime in the City of Buenos Aires” in Marval News #136, dated February 28, 2014).
 
This Decree regulates a few sections and amends some errors in the text of the Ethics Law, thus specifying details regarding the scope of the regime.
 
1. Incompatibilities
 
The Ethics Law provides a list of public officials subject to the provided incompatibilities regime and lists the causes that might lead to a situation of incompatibility.  Furthermore, the Ethics Law establishes a regime of inability, banning public officials who have taken part in the planning and execution of privatizations or concessions from forming part of the corresponding regulatory agencies.
 
Under the Ethics Law officials must   declare any other activity, occupation or employment they perform. Moreover, the Decree obliges public officials to keep this information updated with the relevant personnel units or human resources departments.
 
2. Regime of gifts to public officials
 
As set forth in the Ethics Law, public officials of the GCBA must not receive gifts or other benefits on occasion or due to the performance of their public functions unless they are: a) protocol gifts received from governments or international organizations; b) gifts destined for professional and academic training and improvement, provided by governments, international organizations or educational institutions; or c) courtesy gifts given on occasion of events in which it is usual to give them.
 
Regarding this third exception, the Decree specifies that gifts that could be delivered in the context of a family relationship, affinity or friendship, will also be excluded from the prohibition, provided they could be considered not to affect the actions of the public official.
 
Courtesy gifts, according to the literal text of the Ethics Law, must not have a value “less” than 1,000 fixed units, which amounted —at the time of its enactment— to AR$ 5,500. The regulation fixed this mistake, as when it stated “less” is ought to have said “more”. Currently, it states that “[the gifts] are allowed as long as their value does not exceed the amount of 1,000 fixed units”. Resolution 421/2014 from the Subsecretariat of Justice of the City of Buenos Aires, dated August 22, 2014, set the fixed unit at AR$ 6.40. Therefore, gifts must not have a value greater than AR$ 6,400. 
 
Gifts/benefits are admissible as long as they may not be considered as a means of intending to affect the public official’s will.
 
The Decree also states that when the Enforcement Authority determines that a gift enters the City’s patrimony, the Executive Branch will in each case determine its destination or specific allocation, whether it be for health, social welfare and education, or historical and cultural heritage if applicable.
 
3. Annual sworn statement of assets
 
Public officials of the City of Buenos Aires will be required to file, as set forth in the Ethics Law, a sworn statement of assets when they take office, which must be updated on an annual basis, including goods, loans, debts and income, both foreign and domestic, of the public official, his/her spouse or partner and their non-emancipated minor children.
 
According to the Decree, sworn statements of assets should be submitted within 60 business days after the certifiable notice of the administrative act of appointment or removal of a public official. In the case of officials elected by universal suffrage, the referred term shall begin on the date of assumption of office.
 
4. Conclusion
 
The Ethics Law follows the trend of the Ethics Code and the Ethics Law that applies to public officials of the Federal Government, although it introduces novel rules whose actual enforcement should be analyzed.
 
The regulatory Decree provides greater specificity as to the scope of the regime, the value of gifts that public officials are allowed to receive, the destination of the gifts that enter the patrimony of the City and the deadline for submission of the sworn statements mentioned in the Ethics Law.
 
We consider that these alterations will contribute to improving the application of the Ethics Law.