Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service (GCHQ) is a British intelligence agency that provides signals intelligence to the British government and armed forces. Prior to 1983 its existence was not acknowledged, despite the fact that it openly recruited graduates. Following a spy scandal in 1983, the organisation became known to the public, and the government of Margaret Thatcher decided a year later that employees would not be allowed to join a trade union for national security reasons. The Minister for the Civil Service is a position held "ex officio" by the Prime Minister. This was done through an Order in Council, an exercise of the Royal
Standards of Conduct for the International Civil Service expected standards to help staff understand their role as international civil servants rather than a set of binding rules." The 2013 edition of the Standards of Conduct for the International Civil Service were drafted under the guidance of Kingston Papie Rhodes, chairman of the ICSC, and approved by the UN General Assembly in its resolution 67/257. Rhodes wrote in his foreword to the 2013 standards: The UN Staff Regulations of 1 January 2014, in Article 100, state: Standards of Conduct for the International Civil Service The document Standards of Conduct for the International Civil Service is a text document of