Codes of Ethics as Corporate Camouflage: An Expression of Desire, Intent or Deceit?

This paper seeks to advance and explore the notion that corporate codes of ethics are merely a form of ‘camouflage’ allowing corporate wrongdoing to flourish undetected and unpunished. It argues that the nature of corporations, the nature of law and the nature of corporate codes lead to a negative rather than a positive correlation between the possession of an ethical code and ethical behaviour.