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\"Corruption and Public Administration looks at public sector organizations and what they have achieved since signing the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) Agreement in Merida in 2004. It examines how the signee countries engaged in the set-up of institutions to contain corruption in public administration, and how these governments and institutions have progressed. The book compares several developed countries, and undertakes an especially detailed examination of Italy. It highlights strengths and weaknesses, and proposes organizational means of addressing the issues, which include diversity in organizational structures and systems, and a focus on prevention rather than repression. The book shines a light on anti-corruption practices and aims to foster open discussion about this pressing topical issue among peers in all relevant fields of the social sciences\"-- Provided by publisher

International anticorruption treaties create an almost universal requirement that States sanction legal persons for the crime of foreign bribery. However, the vast majority of corporate foreign bribery cases are ‘settled’ between governments and firms. Analysing key anticorruption instruments and treaty body reports, it appears there is a dearth of express rules on settlements in international law but a qualified implicit endorsement of domestic settlement laws and practices. The international regime is investigated in terms of its move towards common standards for the use of settlements, and whether recommendations are consistent with stated objectives. The analysis discloses an irony: States and international organisations fail to clearly articulate their expectations on settlements, while calling for transparent, effective and predictable domestic settlement rules.

The article first briefly discusses the negative impact of corruption on the enjoyment of human rights, particularly civil and political rights, and States parties’ obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to then focus on a critical analysis of the UN Human Rights Committee’s practice (HRC), demonstrating that corruption is no longer only occasionally mentioned within differently focused substantive paragraphs of concluding observations, but features prominently, often as a standalone separate concern, followed by specific and detailed recommendations. Such development signals the recognition by the HRC of important interlinkages between corruption and serious effects on a number of ICCPR’s rights. The conclusion offers some thoughts on possible evolution on the issue within the HRC, with the objective of ensuring full realisation and enjoyment of civil and political human rights.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of the enforcement of the international anti-bribery legal framework in developing countries. Design/methodology/approach It uses the PetroTiger case to examine the effects of foreign bribery prosecutions in Colombia, from a bribe-receivers perspective. PetroTiger is a USA-based company that was prosecuted for bribing public officials in Colombia. As a result, the public officials involved were also prosecuted in Colombia for receiving bribes. This case serves to illustrate how international anti-bribery law operates in practice and how it impacts Colombian law enforcement institutions and their capacity to prosecute bribe-receivers. The Colombian response to the international anti-corruption framework is examined in this study through the review of legislative efforts taken to address the problems of bribery and corruption in public procurement. Findings This study finds that enforcement of foreign bribery laws raise awareness of the situation of corruption in developing countries, generate parallel prosecutions of individuals at the receiving end of bribes and helps developing countries to develop technical expertise to fight corruption. Practical implications In practice, due to the transnational nature of foreign bribery, without international agreements, this type of corruption in international business would seldom lead to prosecution. Although the effectiveness of the enforcement of international anti-corruption law is debated, in reality, prosecutions of foreign bribery by developed countries have more positive than negative implications for developing countries. Social implications Assist to continue efforts to deter corruption. Originality/value No many studies have looked at the effectiveness of anti-corruption international law in developing countries. As indicated by Mr. Moulette Patrick head of Anti-Corruption Division at organisation for economic co-operation and development more research on the effectiveness of the UN enacted Convention against Corruption, which is what this paper does.

Article 51 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption sets forth the return of assets diverted through corruption as a fundamental principle of the Convention. This raises the question of whether the State where the stolen assets are located is entitled to refuse their repatriation or subject it to certain conditions. This article analyses the Convention and the policy considerations behind it and argues that such a State has a wider discretion over the return of stolen assets than is often thought. Furthermore, the article argues that the rule of law may be better served if States take vigorous action to confiscate the proceeds of corruption regardless of whether they are ultimately repatriated.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical comparative analysis on cross-border suspect wealth issues and international efforts to curb corruption-related suspect wealth. Through the lens of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR) Initiative, this paper illustrates the strength and limitations of current anti-corruption frames and as a result, sheds lights on the dilemmas of tackling suspect wealth on the ground. Design/methodology/approach This paper begins with an overview of the magnitude of suspect wealth; then it compares the focuses of the UNCAC and the StAR Initiative. The author draws upon lessons from previous suspect wealth settlement cases to illustrate the limitations of applying the international frameworks. Finally, this paper takes China as case study to highlight lessons for future anti-corruption efforts. Findings According to the StAR Initiative, $20–$40bn worth of public assets are stolen via corruption each year, amounting to 20% to 40% of development assistance annually. But the most recent data estimate that the total assets repatriated from OECD countries were $423m from 2006 to 2012, which was only a small fraction of estimated stolen assets. This highlights that tackling suspect wealth not only has moral value but also provides practical benefits for countries seeking development finance. Research limitations/implications The UNCAC has brought international cooperation and the importance of transparency to the forefront of tackling suspect wealth. It creates an international norm for recovering and repatriating stolen assets. But due to its loose implementation and enforcement, the UNCAC has left loopholes in anti-corruption policymaking, particularly in countries lacking the rule of law. By comparison, the StAR Initiative takes innovative approach such as using insolvency for asset recovery and country-based capacity building to strengthen originating countries’ ability to repatriate assets. Both the UNCAC and the StAR Initiative are well-intended, but authoritarian regimes and weak rule of law often create dilemma for international collaboration. Practical implications This paper provides recommendations on how to further tackle suspect wealth with existing international frameworks. Social implications Reducing suspect wealth contributes to society equity and restores public trust by recovering much needed public assets and development resources. Originality/value This paper illustrates the effect of UNCAC and the StAR Initiative through a comparative lens. It demonstrates how rising authoritarianism can create dilemmas for work against corruption and suspect wealth. Finally, it provides potential policy prescriptions for navigating such dilemmas via shared international efforts.

In December 2000, the UN General Assembly decided to establish an ad hoc committee for the negotiation of a convention on corruption. After seven negotiating sessions held in Vienna from January 2002 to October 2003, the committee transmitted a final text to the General Assembly. On October 31, 2003, the General Assembly adopted the UN Convention Against Corruption.

The paper deals with the practice of criminalization of trading in influence by the lawmakers of the former Soviet Union and other foreign countries. Comparative approach to the solution of the criminal policy problems of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the fight against corruption was supported by the conducted sociological researches. The problems of the qualification in the law-enforcement activities were considered from various angles with regard to which applicable and inapplicable attributes of trading in influence in the context of the Kazakhstan legal environment were depicted. In particular, the comparison of this criminal action with the other crimes was carried out, in the course of which trading in influence appeared to be a separate crime with its peculiar objective and subjective attributes. Besides, the authors considered the problems of international cooperation in the absence of criminalization of trading in influence by the legislation of Kazakhstan. Particularly, they also developed the legal grounds for refusal of rendering legal assistance in legal cases, including for reasons of absence of the crime dual criminality. The research of the international conventions and the national legislation allowed revealing the problems of regulating the cooperation in domestic standards, as well as suggesting their bringing to conformity with the requirements of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. As a result of the research the authors formulated the conclusion about the necessity of incorporating the Trading in Influence' separate crime components to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as offered the draft of the description of the punishable offence.

Prepoznajući da korupcija postoji u svim zemljama, neovisno o ekonomskom ili političkom sustavu i njihovu stupnju razvijenosti, u članku se najprije kratko razmatra negativni utjecaj korupcije na ostvarenje ljudskih prava, posebno građanskih i političkih prava, te se skiciraju obaveze država stranaka prema Međunarodnom paktu o građanskim i političkim pravima (ICCPR). Središnja je tema kritička analiza prakse UN-ova Odbora za ljudska prava (HRC), koji je osnovan kao ugovorno tijelo na temelju ICCPR-a 1976. godine, kroz njegove tri glavne funkcije: monitoring – nadzor nad državama strankama kroz “konstruktivni dijalog”; usvajanje odluka (stavova) o pojedinačnim komunikacijama i razvijanje općih komentara, koji služe kao tumačenja prava ICCPR-a i mjerodavne smjernice za domaće i međunarodne vlasti. Dokazuje se da se korupcija više ne spominje samo povremeno u puno dužim odlomcima zaključnih zapažanja, već se naglašava na istaknutom mjestu, često kao samostalno istaknuto zapažanje, nakon čega slijede konkretne i detaljne preporuke. Takav razvoj događaja upućuje na to da HRC prepoznaje važne poveznice između korupcije i ozbiljnih učinaka na niz prava ICCPR-a. U zaključku su ponuđena neka razmišljanja o mogućem razvoju pristupa pitanju u okviru HRC-a, također prepoznajući transnacionalni karakter korupcije, zbog čega svaka učinkovita strategija borbe protiv nje mora biti specifična za kontekst, sveobuhvatna i često zahtijeva međunarodnu suradnju. HRC davanjem smjernica državama strankama, preporučujući im potrebne zakonodavne, političke i druge mjere za učinkovito sprečavanje i suzbijanje korupcije, mobilizaciju resursa za borbu protiv korupcije i osiguravanje pune reparacije za žrtve korupcije, može znatno pridonijeti naporima usmjerenima na uklanjanje korupcije kao glavnog inhibitora ljudskih prava s ciljem osiguravanja njihova punog ostvarenja i uživanja.