EuropeAid

International Conventions Combating

Corruption

Mr Sumedh Rao, Governance & Social Development

Resource Centre (GSDRC)

European Commission Training Seminar: EC Support to Governance

in Partner Countries (Africa focus)
4-8 July 2011
International Conventions Combating EuropeAid

Corruption

• OECD Convention on Combating

Bribery
• United Nations Convention against
Corruption (UNCAC)
• African Union Convention on
Preventing and Combating Corruption
Historical Context EuropeAid

• 1810 Napoleonic Code

• 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
• 1996 Inter-American Convention against Corruption
• 1997 OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign
Public Officials in International Business Transactions
• 1998 Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on
Corruption
• 1999 Council of Europe Civil Law Convention on Corruption
• 2003 African Union Convention on Preventing and
Combating Corruption, AUCAC
• 2003 United Nations Convention against Corruption, UNCAC
OECD Convention on Combating Bribery EuropeAid

• 1997 OECD Convention on Combating

Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in
International Business Transactions
• 38 Signatories:
o OECD Members

o Argentina

o Brazil

o Bulgaria

o Estonia

o Slovenia

o South Africa

• All signatories recently adopted the

2009 Anti Bribery Recommendation
OECD Convention on Combating Bribery EuropeAid

• Primarily focused on the ‘supply side’

of bribery
o (i.e. those that give the bribe –
voluntarily or not)
• Defines and criminalises the act of
bribing foreign officials
• BUT Does not cover private-to-private
bribery
• No prevention, witness protection,
whistleblowers, facilitation payments
OECD Convention on Combating Bribery EuropeAid

• Signatories must:
o Establish, as a crime, the bribery of

public servants within national legal

frameworks
o Provide means and measures to:

‘prevent, detect, investigate,

prosecute and sanction foreign
bribery’
• Broad interpretation of territorial basis
for jurisdiction
  Easier to sanction cross-border

bribery
OECD Convention on Combating Bribery EuropeAid

• Implementation and monitoring through

OECD Working Group on Bribery in
International Business Transactions
• Two phase reviews:
o Phase One: Evaluates adequacy of

signatory country’s legislation to

implement the Convention
o Phase Two: Assesses whether a country

is applying this legislation effectively

• Participating delegates are subject to
evaluation AND expected to act as
evaluators
• BUT Lack of active enforcement by majority
of parties so far
 4 key pillars of the United Nations
Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) EuropeAid

Prevention Criminalization
(Art. 5-14) (Art. 15-42)

Asset International
Recovery Cooperation
(Art.51-59) (Art.43-50)
United Nations Convention against EuropeAid

Corruption (UNCAC)
Prevention:
• Effective and coordinated anti-
corruption policies  
• Anti-corruption bodies
• Competitive and fair public
procurement  
• Independent judiciary
• Fair and transparent private sector
United Nations Convention against EuropeAid

Corruption (UNCAC)
Criminalization and law enforcement
• Mandatory offences – bribery,
embezzlement, money laundering,
obstruction of justice
• Other criminal offences – passive
bribery, influence trading, abuse of
function
 
International cooperation
• Extradition
• Mutual legal assistance in
investigations, prosecution and legal
proceedings
United Nations Convention against EuropeAid

Corruption (UNCAC)
Asset recovery
• “The return of assets is a fundamental
principle of this Convention…”
• States Parties must require their
financial institutions to be vigilant  
• Return of assets:
o Embezzled public funds Return to
requesting Party
o Proceeds of other offences of corruption
Return to requesting Party
o Confiscated property  Returned to the
requesting Party or for compensating victims
United Nations Convention against EuropeAid

Corruption (UNCAC)
• Self-assessment system
(UNODC)
• Peer review process:
o Each State reviewed by two other
States. State under review should
be involved
o Governmental experts will be
appointed by States to carry out
reviews
o Active dialogue between the
country under review and
reviewers is a key component of
the process
UNCAC Implementation Challenges EuropeAid

• Weak on enforcement tools – e.g. accountability

mechanisms
• Does not address political
dynamics which hinder
anti-corruption reform
• Self-assessment does not
consider context
• May not be prescriptive
enough relating to oversight
institutions
BUT
• Can contribute to public debate
• Can improve quality of rules – i.e. institutional legislative
framework – and provide mutual legal assistance
The African Union Convention on Preventing EuropeAid
and Combating Corruption

• No definition of corruption but explicitly recognises

particular acts of corruption and related offences

• Mandatory offences:
o Active and passive bribery of national
public officials;
o Active bribery of foreign and
international public officials;
o Embezzlement, misappropriation or
other diversion of property by a public official; and,
o Laundering of the proceeds of corruption.
The African Union Convention on Preventing EuropeAid
and Combating Corruption

• Includes the following acts as mandatory that the UNCAC

does not:
o Passive bribery of foreign and
international public officials;
o Active and passive bribery in the
private sector;
o Trading in influence;
o Embezzlement, misappropriation or
other diversion of property in the
private sector; and,
o Illicit enrichment.
The African Union Convention on Preventing EuropeAid
and Combating Corruption

• Set of provisos to integrate into all public officials’ Codes of Conduct

• Proposes special control body to:

o develop and monitor

implementation of codes of
conduct,
o raise awareness, and

o provide training for public officials

on ethical good-practice.

• Establish, maintain and strengthen independent national anti-

corruption agencies.
 
The African Union Convention on Preventing EuropeAid
and Combating Corruption

• Emphasis on dealing with proceeds of corruption:

o State Parties enact laws to empower authorities to seize financial documents
o Measures to establish conversion, transfer
and disposal of proceeds of corruption
• Advisory Board on Corruption:
o promote anti-corruption work;
o develop methodologies;
o collect information on corruption and behaviour
of multinational corporations working on the African continent;
o advise the governments on implementation of convention;
o develop codes of conduct for public officials; and
o build partnerships 
The African Union Convention on Preventing EuropeAid
and Combating Corruption

• States Parties must:

o Submit reports regularly to the AU’s Executive Council
detailing progress in compliance.
o Have their national anti-corruption
authorities annually report to the
Advisory Board on implementation
progress
o Build partnerships with the African
Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights,
African civil society, and governmental, intergovernmental
and non-governmental organisations to facilitate dialogue in
the fight against corruption and related offences.
 Overview of OECD, UNCAC and AUCPCC
Name Year Reach Measures Advantages Weaknesses Offences
EuropeAid
OECD 1997 Global/ Criminalisation and mutual Addresses supply side of Unresolved: Bribery –
inter- legal assistance measures, international corruption with Bribery acts in relation foreign public
regional as well as requirements regard to the main exporting to foreign political officials
regarding company nations. parties.
accounting Provides for extensive and Advantages promised
rigorous monitoring of countries´ or given to any person
compliance with the Convention in anticipation of that
person becoming a
foreign public official.
The role of off-shore
centers in bribery
transactions.

UNCAC 2003 Global Prevention, Innovation – asset recovery, Monitoring Public/private

criminalization, broadest range Not all art. binding recognized
international cooperation

AU 2003 Regional prevention, Comprehensive approach, Not in force bribery (domestic or

Convention criminalization, regional mandatory provisions with foreign), diversion of
on cooperation, mutual legal respect to private-to-private property by public
Prevention assistance and recovery of corruption and on transparency officials, trading in
and assets in political party funding influence, illicit
Combating mandatory requirements of enrichment, money
Corruption declaration of assets by laundering and
designated public officials and concealment of
restrictions on immunity for property
public officials Public and private
 EuropeAid

International Conventions Combating

Corruption

Mr Sumedh Rao, Governance & Social Development

Resource Centre (GSDRC)

European Commission Training Seminar: EC Support to Governance

in Partner Countries (Africa focus)
4-8 July 2011