UN Guide for Anti-Corruption Policies - United Nations Office on ...

Furthermore, the Convention addresses the issues of jurisdiction over the offences it has
established in accordance with the Convention and the issues of extradition and mutual legal
assistance. In particular the Convention obliges State Parties to provide the broadest
assistance possible with regard to measures of assistance in the identification, tracing,
freezing, seizure and <strong>for</strong>feiture of property or proceeds obtained, derived from or used in the
commission of offences established in accordance with this Convention. Finally, the
Convention states that State Parties, when requested to provide assistance, shall not invoke
bank secrecy as a basis <strong>for</strong> refusal. At the same time, the requesting State shall be obligated
not to use any in<strong>for</strong>mation received that is protected by bank secrecy <strong>for</strong> any purpose other
than the proceeding <strong>for</strong> which that in<strong>for</strong>mation was requested, unless authorized.
13. OECD-Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International
Business Transactions
The Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business
Transactions was signed on 17 December 1997 and entered into <strong>for</strong>ce on 15 February 1999.
At the beginning of 2001, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan,
Republic of Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, <strong>United</strong> Kingdom and <strong>United</strong> States have ratified the Convention. Brazil, Portugal,
Turkey, Ireland, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Chile are in the process of ratification.
The main purpose of this Convention is to provide a framework to criminalise corruption in
international business transactions. Countries party to the Convention pledge to punish those
accused of bribing officials of <strong>for</strong>eign countries, including officials in countries that are not part
of the Convention <strong>for</strong> the purpose of obtaining or retaining international business.
The Convention seeks to ensure a functional equivalence among the measures taken by the
Parties to sanction bribery of <strong>for</strong>eign public officials, without requiring uni<strong>for</strong>mity or changes in
fundamental principles of a Party's legal system. International bribery is defined as the
intentional offer, promise, or giving of any undue pecuniary or other advantage, whether
directly or through intermediaries, to a <strong>for</strong>eign public official, <strong>for</strong> that official or <strong>for</strong> a third party,
in order that the official act or refrain from acting in relation to the per<strong>for</strong>mance of official
duties, in order to obtain or retain business or other improper advantage in the conduct of
international businesses.
Also, the Convention addresses the issue of the criminal liability of legal persons, the
effectiveness of the criminal and civil sanctions, the jurisdiction <strong>for</strong> the offences established
under the Convention, the confiscation of the proceeds of corruption and bribery and the
provision of mutual legal assistance. With regard to the "en<strong>for</strong>cement" of the offences
established, the Convention recognizes the fundamental nature of national regimes of
prosecutorial discretion. However, it specifies that investigation and prosecution of the bribery
shall not be influenced by "...considerations of national economic interest, the potential effect
upon relations with another State or the identity of the natural or legal persons involved.”
Although the primary scope of the Convention is the criminalization of the bribery of <strong>for</strong>eign
public officials, it also contains provisions related to money-laundering and falsified accounts.
In this regard the Convention requires State Parties make the bribery of <strong>for</strong>eign public officials
a predicate offence to money laundering, given that bribery as such is a predicate to money
laundering. In connection with falsified accounts, the Convention obliges State Parties to take
the necessary measures, to prohibit the establishment of off-the-books accounts and similar
practices used to bribe <strong>for</strong>eign public officials or to hide such bribery.
Within the framework of the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business
Transactions and pursuant to the OECD Convention, a rigorous procedure <strong>for</strong> self - and
mutual evaluation was adopted to ensure compliance with the Convention. Since 1999
twenty-one countries, out of the thirty-four signatories, that had deposited their instruments of
ratification have been subject to close peer scrutiny monitoring. For each country, the
Working Group on Bribery adopted a report, including an evaluation, which was made
available to the public subsequently to the OECD meeting at the ministerial level. As
highlighted in a report on the implementation of the Convention, presented in June 2000, the
Working Group noted that there is overall compliance with the Convention's obligations in the
great majority of countries.
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