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Transparency international progress report 2009
Dell, Gillian Heimann, Fritz
Dell, Gillian
Heimann, Fritz
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Abstract
"In 1997, the member states of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) adopted the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Offi cials in International Business Transactions (the OECD Convention). The adoption of the Convention was a landmark event in the fi ght against international corruption representing a collective commitment to ban foreign bribery by the governments of the leading industrialised states - countries accounting for the majority of global exports and foreign investment. Because most major multinational companies are based in OECD Convention countries, the Convention was hailed as the key to overcoming the damaging effects of foreign bribery on democratic institutions, development programmes and business competition. The Convention now has 38 parties. It requires parties to make it an offence to “intentionally offer, promise or give any undue pecuniary or other advantage, whether directly or through intermediaries, to a foreign public offi cial, for that offi cial or for a third party, in order that the offi cial act or refrain from acting in relation to the performance of offi cial duties, in order to obtain or retain business or other improper advantage in the conduct of international business.” This is the fi fth annual Progress Report on Enforcement of the OECD Convention prepared by Transparency International (TI) the global coalition against corruption. The 2009 report covers 36 of the 38 parties. It shows that enforcement has been extremely uneven. There is active enforcement in only four countries and little or no enforcement in 21 of the parties. Increased efforts are also needed in countries with moderate enforcement because their level of enforcement is not high enough to provide effective deterrence. The present situation is dangerous because it is unstable: if enforcement does not improve it is likely to deteriorate. The Convention is based on the collective commitment of all the parties to end foreign bribery. Failure to enforce the Convention undermines that commitment. There are already signs of backsliding, with some government efforts to curtail the ability of investigative magistrates to bring cases, shorten statutes of limitations, and extend immunities from prosecution. The risk of backsliding has grown more acute during a time of worldwide recession when competition for decreasing numbers of orders has intensifi ed greatly. Based on TI’s in-depth reviews of enforcement programmes over fi ve years, we are convinced that lack of political will is the major cause of lagging enforcement. The outstanding monitoring programme of the OECD Working Group on Bribery has helped improve laws and enforcement programmes in countries where there is committed political leadership. However, in the absence of political will, even the highest-quality monitoring reports have little effect. An example is the decade-long failure of the UK government to amend its antiquated bribery laws; a new law has still not been enacted by Parliament. Lack of political will can also take other forms including failure to provide adequate funding and staffi ng for enforcement. This problem of lagging enforcement can only be overcome by addressing the issue at a higher political level, thereby reinforcing the efforts of the Working Group on Bribery. That will require active involvement by the OECD Ministerial Council, the Secretary-General, as well as pressure on the laggards from governments committed to enforcement."
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Book
Date
2010-06-23
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9783935711319
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With permission of the license/copyright holder