My first comment is that there's a difference between an act and a code. Acts usually are fairly precise, and it's an act we're dealing with for the public office-holders, which isn't to say that the acts are not infused with some ethical principles. Most of the rules--in fact, all of them--should be underpinned by an ethical philosophy. Every country has a different system, but many countries have codes rather than acts, to begin with, or statements of values. Off the top of my head, I can't give you a dissertation on that subject today, but it's one that interests me and that I continue to dig around to see.
On October 20th, 2009. See this statement in context.