Learn More

National Ethics Center (NEC) serves as a platform for collaboration and expertise, dialogue, and the exchange of good practices, without legal personality, established to support the work of ethics advisers and promote integrity in public administration.

NEC is composed of:

·         independent experts from academia and the nonprofit sector;

·         public administration practitioners;

·         a secretariat providing operational support and coordination.

·         National Agency of Civil Servants;

·         Association Pro Democracy (APD);

·         Centre for Advanced Research in Management and Applied Ethics;

·         Association for Cooperation and Sustainable Development;

·         Prof. Ion Copoeru, PhD – Faculty of History and Philosophy, Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca;

·         ethics advisers from public administration selected in 2025 under the project Organizational Ethics in Public Administration – From Theory to Practice, in accordance with the Methodology for the Selection of a Target Group of Ethics Advisers.

Hanns Seidel Romania Foundation is a founding strategic partner.

Bringing together independent expertise and administrative practice to contribute to the professional development of ethics advisers in Romania and the development of a culture of integrity.

• Organizing information sessions for ethics advisers, called Ethics Workshops, on ethics standards and changes to the legal framework governing ethics and integrity;
• Identifying and disseminating good practices in the areas of integrity and prevention of violations of civil servant conduct standards;
• Developing proposals for good practice solutions for the application of civil servant conduct standards;
• Establishing and updating a good practices library containing good practices identified in the areas of integrity and prevention of violations of civil servant conduct standards, as well as solutions proposed and validated within NEC;
• Supporting ethics advisers by providing information on ethics and integrity.

•    The collective governing body is the Strategic Coordination Council, consisting of one representative from each founding organization and one-quarter of the ethics advisers who are part of the founding members.

•    NEC has an honorary chair, elected from among the founding members by a majority vote, for a one-year term, renewable. 

•    The Secretariat is provided by APD and NACS.

•    Serving ethics advisers may join NEC by submitting a request to become an associate member to the NEC Secretariat, accompanied by a copy of the administrative act of appointment. 

•    The Strategic Coordination Council may propose distinguished professionals to become associate members.

The rights of founding members and associate members are as follows:

•    Right to vote: Founding members have deliberative voting rights in the Strategic Coordination Council. Associate members have consultative voting rights;
•    Access to resources: The right to access the good practices library;
•    Participation in workshops: Priority access to Ethics Workshops and other events organized by NEC;
•    Initiative: The right to propose topics for discussion, case studies, and good practices.

The obligations of founding members and associate members are as follows:

•    Adherence to values: Respecting the principles of ethics and integrity in the exercise of civil service and professional duties;
•    Contribution of expertise: Actively contributing on a pro bono basis by sharing case studies, while strictly observing the statistical and anonymous nature of the data;
•    Data protection: Complying with legislation on the protection of individuals (GDPR) regarding data processing, ensuring the confidentiality and security of information;
•    Confidentiality: Maintaining the confidentiality of personal data used during Ethics Workshops or other events, in order to protect the identity of institutions and individuals;
•    Attendance: Participating in at least 50% of the annual meetings;
•    Avoiding conflicts of interest: Signing a declaration confirming the absence of a conflict of interest and refraining from using NEC’s name for personal or political purposes;
•    Notification: Notifying NEC of the loss of professional status or status as an ethics adviser within 5 calendar days from the date on which the circumstances resulting in the loss of such status occur. 

NEC’s correspondence address is: secretariat@centrulnationaldeetica.ro