Public integrity as a foundation of democracy and a parameter for conventionality control

Within the context of the consolidation of the rule of law, this article investigates public integrity as an instrument of democratic evolution, distinguishing it from the notion of combating corruption. Three objectives are adopted: (i) to construct and differentiate the concepts of public integrity and of combating corruption, demonstrating between them a relationship of inclusion rather than opposition; (ii) to analyze the conventionality block that governs the matter, composed of the Inter-American (OAS), OECD and Mérida (UN) Conventions, articulated with Sustainable Development Goal 16 and with the understanding of corruption as a violation of human rights; and (iii) to demonstrate the essentiality of conventionality control as a means of enforcing these duties, notably in light of CNJ Recommendation No. 168/2026, which establishes the Statute of the Brazilian Inter-American Magistracy. The methodology is bibliographical and documentary, supported by reference doctrine, by the conventional block and by related normative acts. It is concluded that public integrity constitutes an essential vector of democratic consolidation, and should be incorporated not only as a parameter of constitutionality control, but also of conventionality control.