Research Project Civil servant norms of Danish state bureaucracy

Civil servants norms are crucial in a well-functioning democracy. In the wake of several Danish scandals, we have seen a widespread public debate on the bureaucratic ethos. As there is no explicit regulation of civil servant behavior, the current state of the law is blurred. Due to new modes of collaboration in the state administration and new role conflicts for civil servants, the law seems to be in a state of flux. We aim to contribute to fill a gap in the legal literature and in existing knowledge.

The aim is to explore and clarify the content and dynamics of the current legal framework for civil servants, by scrutinizing the legal norms and selected central virtues. Combining a classical legal analysis and socio-legal analysis of ‘law in action’ we seek to answer the following research question: How are the civil servants’ duties of obedience, truth and professional insight to be legally determined and implemented in practice in the Danish central state administration and what are the consequences of an increased mediatization?