The appearance of impropriety is a phrase referring to a situation which to a layperson without knowledge of the specific circumstances might seem to raise ethics questions. For instance, although a person might regularly and reliably collect money for her employer in her personal wallet and later give it to her employer, her putting it in her personal wallet may appear improper and give rise to suspicion, etc. It is common practice in the business and legal communities to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.

In the Bible

1 Thessalonians 5:22, in the King James Version of the Bible, says "Abstain from all appearance of evil."

See also

  • Appearance of Impropriety article at the website of the United States Naval Inspector General
  • Code of Conduct for United States Judges subsection on Appearance of Impropriety
  • McKoski, Raymond J. (2010). "Judicial Discipline and the Appearance of Impropriety: What the Public Sees Is What the Judge Gets" (PDF). Minnesota Law Review. 94: 1914.
  • Rotunda, Ronald D. (October 5, 2005). "Alleged Conflicts of Interest because of the "Appearance of Impropriety"" (PDF). Hofstra Law Review. 33 (4): 1141–1147. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 14, 2006.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.