Rules and laws, versus accountability and enforcement. I have written on this topic several times in the past but the new “Code of Ethics” issued by the US Supreme Court this week, highlighted the need to expose the difference in these concepts again.
I would plainly state something we all know: That all laws, regulations and rules are totally useless without a clear path to enforcement and penalties. I don’t care whether we are talking about the household rules for your kids, laws governing the use of cell phones when you are driving, or self-inflicted rules issued by the US Supreme Court. If they are not enforced, or not enforceable with penalties, they are worthless.
I would even say that, if they are worthless, they may even draw attention to the fact that they can be flaunted and, therefore, exacerbate the circumstances they are drawn up to address.
The “Code of Ethics” issued by the US Supreme Court this week is an attempt at window-dressing, which does nothing to change the pas, or future, abuses of members. How stupid do they think we are that we would accept their feeble, and devious, effort at self-control, when the “Code” contains absolutely no accountability or enforceability, and certainly no penalties?
These are not just my words. A law professor from Washington University in St. Louis, Professor Kathleen Clark, said on PBS Nightly News this week that the Code contained absolutely nothing on accountability or enforcement. Basically, it is a sick, and insulting, joke.
This latest abuse by the US Supreme Court also reminded me that legislators at all levels, and in most countries, never think about accountability or enforcement when they write legislation. It doesn’t seem to matter whether the legislation is about potholes in your local street, or matters of life and death in the international arena, legislators don’t think it’s their job to include accountability and enforcement in their laws. Such considerations are someone else’s problem. Worse, what they actually write into law, in many instances, is utterly unenforceable by anyone, however good their intentions.
The legislators have made their point for the home voters, and for the media, so they don’t care beyond that. The result is, shelves full of totally useless laws, and pompous legislators who think they are god’s gift to their world for having achieved such monumental success in passing them.
If this system of entrenched, irresponsible creation of legislation is to be corrected, the question becomes, how. A major undertaking, if it’s even possible.
I tried to think what the common denominator might be to this whole process. The answer, once I realized what it was, is simple: Lawyers. All politicians these days tend to be lawyers. It is almost a requirement.
I am tempted to suggest that the fact that all politicians are lawyers means they deliberately create laws that are vague, and with no enforcement capability, because they want to keep their compatriot lawyers in jobs forever. However, that’s skipping along the surface of the problem…..even though it’s totally true, if sub-conscious on their part. The system is so pervasive that it demands a radical new approach.
I have a suggestion that won’t solve it overnight but might do so in the future, and that’s education…specific education. I will use the example of the US but the principle could apply anywhere in any democracy.
Let’s say an enlightened head of Harvard or Yale Law School introduced a course of study designed to produce professional politicians. Most of our politicians are, in essence, professional anyway, in the sense that they want to stay elected for life. The problem is they never receive any training on how to be a useful and effective politician.
If Harvard or Yale did this, all other law schools in the country would quickly follow suit – it would be a lucrative income stream.
The question then becomes, what should the curriculum for a professional politician program look like. My sense of cynicism might suggest topics like, corruption and how to take advantage of it, ego-building, saying nothing with convincing conviction, how to use your position to make a fortune……etc…etc. However, it could actually include courses on, ethics and how to make your legislation effective and enforceable. It might even teach politicians that their legislation, once passed, applies to everyone within their jurisdiction, not just their pet project, a fact that is rarely considered by anyone. In other words it would open up the possibility that future politicians would actually know what they are doing, be more constructive and effective, and have the training and ethics to better represent their constituents.
What an amazing idea!
