This Anti-Corruption Helpdesk brief was produced in response to a query from a U4 Partner Agency. The U4 Helpdesk is operated by Transparency International in collaboration with the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre based at the Chr. Michelsen Institute.
Query
Please provide guidance on assessment methodologies to determine if the draft legislation is in compliance with global and regional anti-corruption frameworks. This includes any gaps in coverage and approach.
Purpose
The Government of Mozambique is in the process of updating its anti-corruption laws. One of the stated aims of this review is to bring national legislation into line with international obligations (UNCAC, AU, SADC).
Content
1. Experience with conducting compliance reviews/gaps analysis
2. Key features of successful review processes
3. References
Caveat
This expert answer focuses more specifically on UNCAC compliance reviews, as this convention is one of the broadest international instruments containing the most detailed and comprehensive set of anti-corruption measures and provisions.
Summary
At the regional level, there are three international anticorruption instruments that are of direct relevance to Southern African countries, including the SADC Protocol against Corruption (2001), the African Union (AU) Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (2003) and the UNCAC. Although these three instruments contain similar objectives and provisions, the UNCAC constitutes the most comprehensive anti-corruption legal framework in many aspects and a good starting point to map the issues and provisions that should be covered by domestic legislation.
Confronted with the challenge of bringing domestic legislations in line with their international obligations, several countries (in Africa and beyond) have conducted compliance reviews and gap analysis to examine whether their domestic legal framework is in conformity with international and regional anticorruption conventions’ requirements. Such exercises typically rely on a broad consultative process involving important local stakeholders, coordinated by a national expert team and supported in some cases by international experts. The publication and wide dissemination of the findings to key stakeholders is also important to secure support to implement the priority areas of reforms identified through this exercise.
The compliance review can be conducted using a simple analysis tool such as a compliance matrix detailing and comparing the conventions’ requirements and their corresponding provisions in the national legislation or more elaborated tools such as the comprehensive UNCAC self-assessment checklist that has been developed as part of the UNCAC review mechanism.
Authors
Marie Chêne, Transparency International, [email protected]Reviewers
Robin Hodess, Ph.D., Transparency International, rhodess@transparencyDate
22/07/2011
