Conventions overview
Council of Europe (Criminal convention)

Adopted: 4 November, 1998, by the Council of Ministers
Opened for signature: Strasbourg, 27 January 1999
Signatories: 47 (as of 7 April 2006) Consisting of 44 member states & 3 non-member states
Ratifications and accessions: 33 (as of 7 April 2006)
Entry into force: 1 July 2002
Open to: All member states of Council of Europe and 6 non-member states (Belarus, Canada, Holy See, Japan, Mexico, USA). Also, EU and other states can be invited to join.
Official web page: Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (CoE Criminal Convention)

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General structure

Five chapters, 42 articles:

Chap. I Use of terms
Art.1: Use of Terms

Chap. II Measures to be taken at National Level
Arts. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6: Active bribery of domestic officials, Passive bribery of domestic public officials, Bribery of members of domestic public assemblies, Bribery of foreign public officials, Bribery of members of foreign public assemblies
Arts.7,8: Active bribery in the private sector, Passive bribery in the private sector
Arts. 9,10, 11: Bribery of officials of international organisations, Bribery of members of international parliamentary assemblies, Bribery of judges and officials of international courts
Art.12: Trading in influence
Art.13: Money laundering of proceeds from corruption offences
Art.14: Account offences
Arts.15,16,17: Participatory acts, Immunity and jurisdiction
Art.18: Corporate liability
Arts.19, 22, 23: Sanctions and measures, Protection of collaborators of justice and witnesses, Measures to facilitate the gathering of evidence and the confiscation of proceeds
Arts. 20, 21: Specialised authorities, Co-operation with and between national authorities

Chap. III Monitoring of Implementation
Art. 24: Monitoring

Chap. IV International Co-operation
Arts.25, 26, 27: General principles and measures for international co-operation, Mutual assistance, Extradition
Art 28, 29, 30, 31: Spontaneous information, Central authority, Direct communication, Information

Chap.V (Final Provisions)
Arts. 32, 33: Signature and entry into Force, Accession to the Convention
Art.34: Territorial application
Art.35: Relationship to Other Conventions and Agreements
Arts. 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42: Declarations, Reservations, Validity and Review of Declarations and Reservations, Amendments, Settlement of Disputes, Denunciation, Notification

Coverage

• Sectors covered: Public sector and private sector (private-to-private) corruption
  
• Corruption offences covered: Broad range of offences including bribery (domestic and foreign), trading in influence, money laundering and accounting offences
  
• Measures: Criminalisation and regional cooperation measures, as well as provisions on recovery of assets
  
• Level of obligation: Mandatory provisions but possibility of specified reservations

Monitoring arrangements

A monitoring mechanism (GRECO) is provided for in Art 24.The GRECO began functioning in May, 1999. It was established as a monitoring mechanism pursuant to the Partial and Enlarged Agreement Establishing the "Group of States Against Corruption-GRECO," adopted by the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers on 5 May, 1998. Its aim is to monitor through a process of mutual evaluation and peer pressure the compliance of States with their undertakings in the field of corruption. Among these undertakings are the CoE Criminal and Civil Law Conventions. As of 6 July, 2004, 38 states including the United States had joined. Membership in the GRECO overlaps, but is not identical to, membership in the CoE Criminal Law Convention. Although a State Party automatically joins the GRECO when it ratifies the CoE Convention, the reverse is not true; a State Party may choose to participate only in the GRECO, but not accede to the CoE Convention.

Main benefits of the Convention

• Regional agreement on importance of addressing corruption with a joint framework, setting common standards for criminalisation.
  
• Broad range of criminal offences, encompassing not only bribery of domestic and foreign public officials, but also international public officials and also covering bribery in the private sector
  
• Regional cooperation framework providing improved for mutual law enforcement assistance, including in extradition, investigations, as well as confiscation and seizure of proceeds of corruption. Includes restrictions on use of banking secrecy to block cooperation
  
• Broad jurisdictional provisions (Art: 17)
  
• Provision for corporate liability (Art. 18)
  
• Requires effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties, or, for legal persons, at least effective non-criminal sanctions (Art. 19)
  
• Requirement of creation of specialised anti-corruption authorities (Art. 20)
  
• Provisions on protection of whistleblowers and witnesses (Art. 22)
  
• Functioning review process

Main weaknesses

• Few preventive measures
  
• No provision on statutes of limitation
  
• Parties may make reservations to the Convention in relation to some provisions

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