Defining and Registering Criminal Offences and Measures - Oapen

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Corruption
a first proposal for the standard definition of corruption was developed, based on
the above-mentioned study on five crime types. 46
Based on the TRANSCRIME report, it was concluded that including the offence
of public corruption in the ESB was possible, as its definition is usually
included in the criminal code. However, the offence of private corruption revealed
a more complicated issue, as it could appear under different headings (e.g. unfair
competition). According to the TRANSCRIME report, only eleven European
countries have laws on corruption in the private sector. Therefore, it was decided
to collect data only for public corruption.
2. Trial and subsidiary questionnaires and evaluation
The following standard definition of corruption in the public sector was drafted.
Corruption in the public sector: offering or accepting financial or any other advantage in
exchange of favorable treatment by public officials
Indicate
whether
separately
identifiable in
criminal law
Include the following:
active and passive corruption
instigation to corruption
complicity
corruption of domestic officials
corruption of foreign officials
extortion by public officials
offering officials advantages without
immediate interest
attempts
Exclude the following:
corruption in the private sector
extortion
bribery of the electorate
(Y/N)
Indicate whether included or
excluded:
in police
statistics
in conviction
statistics
incl. excl. incl. excl.
As can be seen in Table I.1, most countries could meet the include rules for
corruption in the public sector on police level. Two items proved slightly problematic
for three countries (i.e. Finland, Poland and Switzerland): the corruption of
foreign officials and the extortion by public officials. Poland and Switzerland also
46 pp. 1162.