On behalf of their members, non-governmental organizations – according to constitutional rules of ‘social dialog’ and ‘subsidiarity’ – wish to be partner to government and local governments of all levels. Such cooperation should consist in articulation of community’s needs and values, participation in activities for community, and assistance in formulation of social policy objectives and directions of development.

However, partnership between organizations and administration is possible only when there exists not only good will to cooperate, but also mechanisms of mutual control. That is a reason for existence of organizations that carry out monitoring - a planned, systematic, and performed according to a given

When preparing the seminar „Watchdog - working out Credibility” we have held many discussions about  ethical standards for watchdog organizations. We have been discussing such issues as conflict of interest, credibility or autonomy. However, the moment I started working on this text, it occurred to me that it is important to begin with  clarification of the very meaning of the concept of ethical standards of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

NGOs ethical standards have been discussed in Poland for quite a long time. As a result a few official documents and articles have appeared. Some organizations have adopted  codes of ethics which define the type and form of actions that may be undertaken by the organizations and