International Anti-Corruption Commitments

Title of the document

OECD Recommendation of the Council for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions

(https://legalinstruments.oecd....)

Issuing body

OECD

Brief description

It succeeds to the 1997 Revised Recommendation of the Council on Bribery in International Business Transactions. The Recommendation was adopted by the OECD in order to enhance the ability of the States Parties to the Anti-Bribery Convention to prevent, detect and investigate allegations of foreign bribery and includes the Good Practice Guidance on Internal Controls, Ethics and Compliance.

Relevant excerpts

II.RECOMMENDS that Member countries continue taking effective measures to deter, prevent and combat the bribery of foreign public officials in connection with international business transactions.

III.RECOMMENDS that each Member country take concrete and meaningful steps in conformity with its jurisdictional and other basic legal principles to examine or further examine the following areas:

i)Awareness-raising initiatives in the public and private sector for the purpose of preventing and detecting foreign bribery;

ii)Criminal laws and their application....

iii) Tax legislation, regulations and practice, to eliminate any indirect support of foreign bribery.....

iv) Provisions and measures to ensure the reporting of foreign bribery, in accordance with section IX of this Recommendation;

v) Company and business accounting, external audit, as well as internal control, ethics, and compliance requirements and practices, in accordance with Section X of this Recommendation;

vi) Laws and regulations on banks and other financial institutions to ensure that adequate records would be kept and made available for inspection and investigation;

vii)Public subsidies, licences, public procurement contracts, contracts funded by official development assistance, officially supported export credits, or other public advantages, so that advantages could be denied as a sanction for bribery in appropriate cases,....

viii) Civil, commercial, and administrative laws and regulations, to combat foreign bribery;

ix)International co-operation in investigations and other legal proceedings....

V.RECOMMENDS that Member countries undertake to periodically review their laws implementing the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and their approach to enforcement in order to effectively combat international bribery of foreign public officials.