Encyklopedia Administracji Publicznej MW Pivot Skin

RESPONSIBILITY – the idea of responsibility emerged in the 18th century in German philosophy. Many philosophers considered its meaning: Kant – writing about self-responsibility, Friedrich W.J. Schelling – proposing concepts of elitist responsibility, Johann G. Fichte – pointing to collective responsibility and Jean-Paul Sartre – absolutizing its meaning. Nowadays, the issue of r. has many dimensions in the public sphere – legal, social, moral responsibility, self-responsibility. R. is not limited in time – it occurs not only at the moment of a decision, implementation of the action, but also in the future. R. of public administration officials for the performance of tasks is determined by law and is not transferable. The basis of disciplinary r. of a public administration official can only be defined in the statutory norm. It would seem that the duties of an employee and an official recorded in the legal acts and duties set out in the codes of ethics are enough to guide his conduct. In public discourse there is also the notion of ethics of r., which assumes that bureaucratic inertia should be treated as a personal enemy with which one should fight and defeat it. As Zygmunt Bauman observes – the principle of responsibility and responsible choice in the modern world means r. to oneself. R. of employees and public administration officials is connected with the conviction that the compliance of a fulfilled obligation with one’s own worldview allows positive self-assessment, including self-assessment of oneself as a member of a professional group, and also means having full awareness not only of the legal but also ethical consequences of its absence (→ disciplinary proceedings) [ J. Itrich-Drabarek ].

Literature: Z. Bauman, Szanse etyki w zglobalizowanym świecie [The chances of ethics in the globalized world], Kraków 2007 ■ J. Itrich-Drabarek, The Civil Service in Poland – Theory and Experience, Frankfurt am Main 2015 ■ J. Itrich-Drabarek, Etyka zawodowa funkcjonariuszy służb państwowych [Professional ethics of the state officials], Warszawa 2016.