PHA-Exchange> Enforcing the UK's overseas anti-corruption legislation

[notification-l at thecornerhouse.org.uk]

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"Enforcing the law on overseas corruption offences:
Towards a model for excellence"

by Dr Susan Hawley

A discussion paper 
http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk


Bribery and corruption are significant problems worldwide -- and UK companies, subsidiaries and individuals are not innocent of paying out bribes. 

It is hard to find out how much overseas bribery involves UK companies, but while many allegations have been made, few have been investigated. 

The UK does have legislation in place to combat bribery and corruption, but has been slow in enforcing it. 

In this step-by-step guide to the UK's anti-bribery legislation, policy researcher Dr Susan Hawley explains why the UK should exercise its jurisdiction over overseas corruption offences. 

She details how the current arrangements in the UK between the various law enforcement agencies are not the most effective means of ensuring that these offences are investigated and prosecuted. 

Hawley concludes by outlining a more pro-active enforcement regime that could detect overseas corruption offences as and when they occur and that could act on credible suspicions of bribery.   

Since 1997, the OECD has had a Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, a Convention that has been in force since 1999 and that the UK has signed. 

The OECD Convention is accompanied by two stages of monitoring:
--Phase 1 assesses whether the legislation passed in each country to implement the Convention is adequate;
--Phase 2 assesses how countries are enforcing this legislation. 

Dr Hawley wrote this paper as a contribution to the UK's Phase 2 assessment, which took place in July 2004 and will be published in March 2005. 
 

"Enforcing the law on overseas corruption offences:
Towards a model for excellence"
by Dr Susan Hawley
is now on The Corner House website, http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk, 
on the home page and under 'documents: corruption'
in html and PDF formats.

best regards

Susan Hawley/Sarah Sexton/Nicholas Hildyard/Larry Lohmann
The Corner House
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