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

In both cases, corruption may exist in both the creation of the conflict which
does not exist, as is the case where a bribe is solicited or offered, or acting
improperly on a conflict which already exists, as is the case where an official
employs a friend or relative in preference over other, better qualified
applicants. But even this model is by no means universal. There may well be
conduct which is considered by some as “corruption” which does not fall within
its scope.
Another common concept, the idea that corruption is the abuse of public
power <strong>for</strong> private gain (previous section), can also be seen as a conflict
between the obligation to exercise a public power in the public interest and the
self-interest of an individual to use or exploit the power <strong>for</strong> private gain. It is
narrower, however, being limited not only by the conduct involved, but the
context in which it occurs or the consequences which result. Here the conflict
must involve the abuse of a “public” power, which excludes purely private
corruption. This model is sometimes expanded to include cases where some
other public interest is threatened, usually by the seriousness of
consequences. Most <strong>for</strong>ms of corruption relating to trading in stocks or
commodities fall into this category because they threaten the stability and
credibility of markets. Further expansions extend this model to the misuse of
purely private responsibilities, eliminating the “public” element entirely,
resulting in the more general model based only on the creation or exploitation
of a conflict of interest.
This illustrates the link between definitions and the purposes <strong>for</strong> which they
are constructed: in many countries, the major reason <strong>for</strong> defining corruption
has been to criminalize it, and the definitions there<strong>for</strong>e reflect public policy
decisions about what should or should not be made a crime. Limiting the
definition of corruption to conduct which involves elements of the public sector
or major public interests reflects a public-policy decision about what to
criminalize rather than an attempt to define or describe the conduct involved.
Non-legal definitions, on the other hand, tend to focus on conduct rather than
context or consequences, defining general patterns of conduct such as the
seeking or exercise of undue influence as “corruption”, noting that only some
corruption – that which takes place in circumstances raising a significant
public interest – is criminalised.
Criminal law definitions in many countries also find it necessary to distinguish
between the conduct of individual parties to a corrupt transaction, and to deal
separately with incomplete transactions. Thus, soliciting, paying and accepting
a bribe, as well as attempting any of these acts, tend to become distinct
criminal offences. Transactions can be seen as originating with the person
seeking to corrupt official action (bribery) or the corrupt official (extortion or
solicitation), or as a more general product of circumstances. This
compartmentalization is important to criminal law and related policies, but it
should not be allowed to obscure more general definitions or concepts which
can be valuable <strong>for</strong> <strong>for</strong>mulating other policies.
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