 The mechanism of internal control refers to the character type that the governance institutions (seek to) select for public officials. As noted above, governance depends on who occupies official roles; governance structures function differently when public officials are self-interested rather than when they are conscientious. Hart contrasted two motivations for compliance with law or legal obligations: incentives that rely on the self-interest of individuals and acceptance of rules as guides to action. For Hart, law required that a core set of public officials had to accept the rule of recognition as an authoritative guide to action. 