The adoption of contracting in the public sector has grown apace in recent years, in conjunction with the ideological dominance in many countries of ‘more market’ political arguments, and the growth of an ‘enterprise culture’. Modern public sectors deploy the language and techniques of the contract in a number of ways. Ethical conduct in the public sector of liberal democracies is built on the foundation of office-holding. Public offices embody duties and obligations that reflect the complex web of constitutional, legal, and political responsibilities inherent in the conduct of public administration. Ethical conduct in the public sector of liberal democracies is built on the foundation of office-holding. Public offices embody duties and obligations that reflect the complex web of constitutional, legal, and political responsibilities inherent in the conduct of public administration. The pros and cons of contracting and competitive tendering have been thoroughly and repeatedly canvassed in an extensive literature.