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(faltar al) deber de probidad

English translation: (acting against the) public interest / (failing to meet the) standard of probity in public office

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:(faltar al) deber de probidad
English translation:(acting against the) public interest / (failing to meet the) standard of probity in public office
Entered by: María Teresa Taylor Oliver

14:42 Jan 19, 2018
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Law/Patents - Law (general) / Costa Rican politics
Spanish term or phrase: (faltar al) deber de probidad
My document is a newspaper article on the findings of a commission that investigated a scandal in Costa Rica involving high-level government officials (including the president) who vouched for a businessman to import cement from China into the country. The scandal is known as the "cementazo" in Costa Rican newspapers.

===================
(SOURCE)
"Entre las principales conclusiones de la Comisión Especial Investigadora de los Créditos Bancarios, está el señalamiento de que el presidente, Luis Guillermo Solís, habría ******faltado al deber de probidad*****, según los diputados de ese foro."
https://www.nacion.com/el-pais/politica/diputados-aprueban-i...
===================

I know that "probidad" means integrity, honesty, probity. But this seems to be a specific figure in Costa Rican law and I cannot find the English equivalent. See reference: https://www.nacion.com/archivo/el-deber-de-probidad/6P6ZQGXD...

"Entre esos valores, se encuentra el deber de probidad de los funcionarios públicos, en el cual se fundamentan delitos como el peculado, la corrupción y el cohecho, establecidos en el Código Penal, además de los delitos incorporados a la Ley contra la corrupción y el enriquecimiento ilícito en la función pública: legislar en provecho propio, el tráfico de influencias y el soborno transnacional, entre otros. Todos estos delitos se aplican, en principio a los funcionarios públicos en el ejercicio de sus funciones."

Any help will be much appreciated. Thanks so much in advance!
María Teresa Taylor Oliver
Panama
Local time: 06:18
(acting against the) public interest / (failing to meet the) standard of probity in public office
Explanation:
What "deber de probidad" seems to refer to in essence is "acting in the public interest", look:

Ley contra la Corrupción y el Enriquecimiento Ilícito en la Función Pública Nº 8422
...
Artículo 3º-Deber de probidad. El funcionario público estará obligado a orientar su gestión a la satisfacción del interés público. Este deber se manifestará, fundamentalmente, al identificar y atender las necesidades colectivas prioritarias, de manera planificada, regular, eficiente, continua y en condiciones de igualdad para los habitantes de la República; asimismo, al demostrar rectitud y buena fe en el ejercicio de las potestades que le confiere la ley; asegurarse de que las decisiones que adopte en cumplimiento de sus atribuciones se ajustan a la imparcialidad y a los objetivos propios de la institución en la que se desempeña y, finalmente, al administrar los recursos públicos con apego a los principios de legalidad, eficacia, economía y eficiencia, rindiendo cuentas satisfactoriamente.

Artículo 4º-Violación al deber de probidad. Sin perjuicio de las responsabilidades civiles y penales que procedan, la infracción del deber de probidad, debidamente comprobada y previa defensa, constituirá justa causa para la separación del cargo público sin responsabilidad patronal.
http://www.pgrweb.go.cr/scij/Busqueda/Normativa/Normas/nrm_t...

Other countries have different ways of codifying conduct in public office, for example, right now we are hearing a lot of talk about the "emoluments clause" in the US Constitution, which contains similar ideas, albeit seen from a different angle.

Since the term seems to be specific to Costa Rica, my suggestion would be to use something like failing to meet the "standard of probity in public office" in legal texts, with an explanation, i.e., "acting against the public interest". In news articles, where brevity and clarity are the priorities, I'd just use the latter.
Selected response from:

Robert Carter
Mexico
Local time: 05:18
Grading comment
Thank you all for your excellent suggestions!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2(breach of) the duty of integrity
Yuriy Vilner (X)
4 +1breach of public trust
philgoddard
4 +1(acting against the) public interest / (failing to meet the) standard of probity in public office
Robert Carter
4(failure to) discharge duties with integrity/honesty
Jarrah Strunin


  

Answers


15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
(breach of) the duty of integrity


Explanation:
This would be my choice.

There are various OECD anti-corruption documents/guidelines that refer to the concept of public interest integrity, but I did not find a duty expressed as such. See: http://www.oecd.org/fr/gov/ethique/recommendation-public-int... http://www.oecd.org/corruption/ethics/. Note that in the official OECD translations, integrity is translated as 'integridad.'

The analogy in corporate law is the fiduciary duty of loyalty, owed by the directors and officers to the company.

It thus sounds like under Costa Rican law the President has some sort of a fiduciary duty of integrity to the public.

Yuriy Vilner (X)
United States
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jarrah Strunin: Great minds think alike, Yuriy ;)
2 mins
agree  Francois Boye
28 mins
neutral  philgoddard: I feel "duty of integrity" is a tautology.
1 hr
  -> Thanks, but "duty" and "integrity" are two words with two very distinct meanings. Also, IMO duties, doctrines, laws, etc, should be translated as literally as possible to generally contribute to predictability and uniformity in legal translation.
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16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
(failure to) discharge duties with integrity/honesty


Explanation:
A quick Google search of public servants' duties related to "honesty" or "integrity" returns multiple hits. The preferred expression seems to be "discharge duties with integrity".
http://www.nationaljudgment.net/code.html
http://www.oecd.org/gov/ethics/public-sector-integrity-revie...
https://www.forgov.qld.gov.au/1-integrity-and-impartiality-–-code-conduct

Example sentence(s):
  • Public servants are committed to discharging their duties with integrity.
Jarrah Strunin
Australia
Local time: 06:18
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 12
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25 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
breach of public trust


Explanation:
I feel this is more concise than the previous answers.

philgoddard
United States
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 868

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  AllegroTrans
1 hr
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
(acting against the) public interest / (failing to meet the) standard of probity in public office


Explanation:
What "deber de probidad" seems to refer to in essence is "acting in the public interest", look:

Ley contra la Corrupción y el Enriquecimiento Ilícito en la Función Pública Nº 8422
...
Artículo 3º-Deber de probidad. El funcionario público estará obligado a orientar su gestión a la satisfacción del interés público. Este deber se manifestará, fundamentalmente, al identificar y atender las necesidades colectivas prioritarias, de manera planificada, regular, eficiente, continua y en condiciones de igualdad para los habitantes de la República; asimismo, al demostrar rectitud y buena fe en el ejercicio de las potestades que le confiere la ley; asegurarse de que las decisiones que adopte en cumplimiento de sus atribuciones se ajustan a la imparcialidad y a los objetivos propios de la institución en la que se desempeña y, finalmente, al administrar los recursos públicos con apego a los principios de legalidad, eficacia, economía y eficiencia, rindiendo cuentas satisfactoriamente.

Artículo 4º-Violación al deber de probidad. Sin perjuicio de las responsabilidades civiles y penales que procedan, la infracción del deber de probidad, debidamente comprobada y previa defensa, constituirá justa causa para la separación del cargo público sin responsabilidad patronal.
http://www.pgrweb.go.cr/scij/Busqueda/Normativa/Normas/nrm_t...

Other countries have different ways of codifying conduct in public office, for example, right now we are hearing a lot of talk about the "emoluments clause" in the US Constitution, which contains similar ideas, albeit seen from a different angle.

Since the term seems to be specific to Costa Rica, my suggestion would be to use something like failing to meet the "standard of probity in public office" in legal texts, with an explanation, i.e., "acting against the public interest". In news articles, where brevity and clarity are the priorities, I'd just use the latter.


Robert Carter
Mexico
Local time: 05:18
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 1368
Grading comment
Thank you all for your excellent suggestions!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Rachel Fell: https://www.ft.com/content/bbfb0949-e84a-36d4-8ac3-2ab51b1a5...
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Rachel.//Thanks for the link, but I can't see it, it's behind a paywall.
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