G20 High Level Principles on the Liability of Legal Persons for Corruption (2017)

  1. Introduction
  2. Anti-Corruption Agencies and Supreme Audit Institutions
  3. Access to Information
  4. Asset Recovery and International Cooperation
  5. Business Integrity
  6. Foreign Bribery and Lobbying
  7. Illicit finance
  8. Protection of whistleblowers
  9. Public Integrity
  10. Tax-related Measures
  11. Other themes

Title of the document

High Level Principles on the Liability of Legal Persons for Corruption

(https://www.g20germany.de/Cont...)

Issuing body

G20

Brief description

The Principles are primarily derived from relevant international Conventions and related instruments, as well as the legislation and practices of many countries that have legal systems which already hold legal persons liable for corruption. The Principles identify mechanisms and practices that have proven useful to the establishment and enforcement of the liability of legal persons for corruption and related offences

Relevant excerpts

Principle 1: A robust legal framework should be in place for holding legal persons liable for corruption, including domestic and foreign bribery, and related offences.

Principle 3: Liability of legal persons should not be restricted to cases where the natural person or persons who perpetrated the offence are prosecuted or convicted.

Principle 4: Liability of legal persons should not be limited to cases where the offence was committed by a senior manager.

Principle 5: A legal person should not be able to avoid responsibility by using intermediaries, including other legal persons to commit a corruption offence on its behalf.

Principle 6: Companies should not be able to escape liability by altering their corporate identity.

Principle 7: Effective jurisdiction should be provided over legal persons

Principle 8: Legal persons should be subject to effective, proportionate, and dissuasive sanctions.

Principle 9: The bribe and proceeds of corruption should be able to be seized and confiscated from legal persons or monetary sanctions of comparable effect should be applicable

Principle 11: International cooperation in corruption cases should be provided to the fullest extent possible where appropriate and consistent with a country’s legal system, including with respect to proceedings involving legal persons.

Principle 12: Where more than one country has jurisdiction over a legal person, countries should consult with each other Principle

13: Development of effective internal controls, ethics, and compliance programmes or measures to prevent and detect corruption should be encouraged.

Principle 14: Concrete incentives should be considered to foster effective compliance by businesses

Chapters

  1. Introduction
  2. Anti-Corruption Agencies and Supreme Audit Institutions
  3. Access to Information
  4. Asset Recovery and International Cooperation
  5. Business Integrity
  6. Foreign Bribery and Lobbying
  7. Illicit finance
  8. Protection of whistleblowers
  9. Public Integrity
  10. Tax-related Measures
  11. Other themes

Author

Jorum Duri

Date

09/06/2021

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