Code of Conduct for FIPRA Public Affairs Professionals

• Politicians, authorities, and regulators attempt to reconcile competing interests. The better they understand the issues, the better able they are to reconcile these interests, the better the reconciliation, the better the political process works to the benefit of all.
• The task of each interest involved is to inform political decision-makers of the relevant issues and to persuade them to accept its judgement of the issues. To do so well, a given interest must be able to distil the nature of its issues and concerns, and communicate them appropriately.
• The task of the FIPRA public affairs consultant is to assist a given interest to put their case appropriately and effectively to public policy makers and regulators. To do so well, a FIPRA public affairs consultant must be an expert in the political and institutional process, understand the nature of the issues and concerns of the interest he or she represents, and the time and resource constraints on political and public institutions.
• Any political institution should welcome such activities. A good public affairs professional is a source of accurate and current information, who recognises different points of view, and who, therefore, assists in the reconciliation of different interests.
• To facilitate the political process, political institutions should ensure:
  
  • reasonable access to those representing any interest, providing the nature of the interest is identified;
  • a fair hearing for any interest, where the input is timely, relevant and courteous both to individuals and to the rules of the institution;
  • encouragement of public affairs activity, where it is based on high standards of research, analysis, presentation and a knowledge of the political process.
• FIPRA consultants must:
  
  • maintain the highest standards of accuracy and care in their research and knowledge provision;
  • apply the fullest expertise to their interpretations of events;
  • be ready to identify themselves by name and company when approaching any political or public institution;
  • be ready to identify the nature of the interest they represent;
  • behave in a courteous manner, which is both morally and legally correct;
  • keep confidential all matters relating to their work; act in the best interests of the client, while reconciling these interests to the greatest possible extent with the public interest;
  • work within the rules of the political institutions.