Global Values in International Organisations 417The sad truth is that there does not exist one simple list of virtues
that guide ethical behavior within the international civil service. And
one of the sadder truths is that the lack of this simple list of virtues is not
due to lack of effort or attention.
32.4 “But we are a Rules-Based Institution”
Many years ago, while working as the Chief Ethics Advisor for the
International Monetary Fund, I encountered a seemingly insurmountable
barrier. Other staff, and especially Fund attorneys, would constantly
chide me by saying, “But you must understand. The Fund is a rules-
based organization.” This phrase quickly became the code words for
“No—we disagree with you.”^322 It took several years before the mean-
ing behind this phrase became clear. Especially from the perspective of
legal counsel, the rules—and only the rules—mattered.
A lesson which international civil servants learn early is that they
work for rules-based institutions. The very reality of an international
civil service is one based on hierarchy and bureaucracy. Rules play a
critical role in forestalling and (hopefully) preventing idiosyncratic one-
off decisions that benefit a small set of individuals at the expense of
many. Rules provide the context for the behavior of the institution and
its stakeholders. Rules provide a common vocabulary for on-the-job
conduct. Rules define; rules segregate; and rules protect. Rules are the
tangible manifestations of order and decision-making. The adoption of
rules can also be used to measure progress.^323 Compare the corporeality
322
In all international organizations, great credence is given to initiatives that are
supported by broad-spectrum consensus. If everyone agrees, a decision may be
successfully implemented. However, getting to consensus requires deep ingenui-
ty in surmounting 323 resistance.
I remain chagrined by an exchange with an unnamed representative of a
Member State, serving on the Advisory Committee on Administrative and
Budgetary Questions which itself provides guidance to the Fifth Committee of
the UN General Assembly, who publicly and forcefully insisted that the UN