Codes of ethics vs codes of conduct in public service
Distinguishes codes of ethics (aspirational values) from codes of conduct (enforceable rules) in public service, anchored in the Conduct Rules 1964, Nolan Principles and 2nd ARC.
The conceptual divide
A code of ethics is a statement of aspirational values and guiding principles — the spirit a public servant should embody. A code of conduct is a set of specific, enforceable rules of behaviour — the letter whose breach attracts disciplinary action. The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2nd ARC), in its 4th Report 'Ethics in Governance' (2007), drew exactly this line: it recommended that India adopt a Public Service Bill containing a values-based Code of Ethics in addition to the existing rule-based Code of Conduct, observing that conduct rules alone capture only the minimum threshold of acceptable behaviour.
The Indian rulebook
India's principal code of conduct for civil servants is the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964, framed under Article 309 of the Constitution. These are prohibitory and prescriptive: Rule 3 demands integrity, devotion to duty and political neutrality; Rule 4 bars misuse of position; Rule 13 restricts acceptance of gifts; Rule 16 governs lending and borrowing; Rule 18 mandates declaration of immovable property. All-India Service officers are governed by the parallel All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968. Breach triggers proceedings under Article 311 and the CCS (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965.
By contrast, India lacks a single statutory code of ethics. The 2nd ARC proposed a concise charter of values — integrity, impartiality, commitment to public service, accountability, devotion to duty, and exemplary behaviour. The Civil Services Code envisaged in the never-enacted Public Services Bill, 2007 would have given these values statutory backing.
Why both are needed
A conduct code tells an officer what not to do; an ethics code tells her who to be. Rules cannot anticipate every situation, and a purely rule-bound official slides into 'malicious compliance' — technically clean, ethically hollow. Values fill the gaps that rules leave, guiding discretion where no rule speaks. Conversely, values without rules lack teeth: aspiration without sanction invites selective adherence. The two are complementary layers — the ethics code sets the moral compass, the conduct code sets the enforceable floor. The UK's Nolan Committee captured the aspirational layer in its Seven Principles of Public Life (1995): selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership — principles, not punishable rules.