Conventions overview
- procurement/contracting
This page compares the conventions' requirements in terms of:
- Preventive measures
Public sector | Private sector
- Criminalisation and law enforcement
Bribery of public officials | Trading in influence | Private sector
(1) The relevant provisions in the various Conventions usually read for mandatory provisions "Each state Party shall take the necessary steps to/shall adopt such measures as may be necessary to… (e.g. promote, enhance transparency etc.)….". The text in the "Relevant Conventions Provision" box should therefore be read as if preceded by such a sentence. For optional provisions, the provisions begin with such text as "Each state Party shall consider…"
(2) The remark "None" in the column "Relevant
Convention Provision" means that there is no explicit provision
addressing the particular issue. Some of these issues may, nonetheless,
be covered implicitly by the Convention in question.
I. Preventive measures
| Convention | Relevant convention provision (1) |
Article
|
Mand.
|
| UN | UN Art 9 - establish appropriate systems of procurement, based on transparency, competition and objective criteria in decision-making that are effective, inter alia, in preventing corruption |
9
|
Yes
|
| OECD | OECD - None | ||
| AU |
Adopt legislative and other measures to create, maintain and strengthen procedures for hiring, procurement and management of public goods and services |
5(4)
|
Yes
|
| Ensure transparency, equity and efficiency in the management of tendering and hiring procedures in the public sector |
7(4)
|
||
| CoE (Crim.) | None | ||
| CoE (Civil) | None | ||
| OAS | Create, maintain and strengthen systems of government hiring and procurement of goods and services that assure the openness, equity and efficiency of such systems |
III(5)
|
|
| Consider establishing as offences the improper use by a government official of any classified or confidential information obtained in the performance of his functions |
XI (1)(a)
|
| Convention | Relevant convention provision (1) |
Article
|
Mand.
|
| UN | Promote the use of good commercial practices among businesses and in the contractual relations of businesses with the State |
12(2)(b)
|
Yes
|
| OECD | None | ||
| AU | Adopt legislative and other measures to prevent and combat acts of corruption and related offences committed in and by agents of the private sector |
11(1)
|
Yes
|
| Establish mechanisms to encourage participation by the private sector in the fight against unfair competition, respect of the tender procedures and property rights |
11(2)
|
||
| adopt such other measures as may be necessary to prevent companies from paying bribes to win tenders |
11(3)
|
||
| CoE (Crim.) | None | ||
| CoE (Civil) | None | ||
| OAS | None |
I. Criminalization and law enforcement
| Convention | Relevant convention provision (1) |
Article
|
Mand.
|
| UN | UN Art 15 (national public officials) and Art 16 (foreign public officials and officials of public international organisations) - establish as a criminal offence the promise, offering or giving to a public official, and the solicitation or acceptance, of an undue advantage, for himself or another person or entity, in order that he act or refrain from acting in the exercise of his official duties |
15
|
Yes
|
| OECD | OECD Art - establish that it is a criminal offence for any person intentionally to offer, promise of give any undue advantage to a foreign public official, in order that the official act or refrain from acting in relation to official duties, in order to obtain or retain business or other improper advantage in the conduct of international business |
1(1)
|
Yes
|
| AU | AU Art - establish
as an offence the solicitation or acceptance by a public official
of any benefit in exchange for any act or omission in the performance
of his public functions; establish as an offence the offering
or granting of any benefit in exchange for such act or omission |
4(1)(a) and (b)
|
Yes
|
| CoE (Crim.) | Prohibit the following
forms of bribery: - active and passive bribery of domestic public officials (Articles 2 and 3 respectively) - of members of domestic public assemblies (Art 4) - of foreign public officials (Art 5) - of members of foreign public assemblies (Art 6) -of officials of international organisations (Art. 9) - of members of international parliamentary assemblies (Art 10) -of judges and officials of international courts |
Yes
|
|
| CoE (Civil) | CoE (Civil) Art. 5
- provide for persons who have suffered damage as a result of corruption to have the right to initiate an action for damages - provide for appropriate procedures for persons who have suffered damage as a result of an act of corruption by its public officials to claim for compensation from the state |
5
|
Yes
|
| OAS | Establish as criminal
offences active and passive forms of bribery |
VI(1)(a) & VII(1)(a)
|
Yes
|
| Prohibit and punish transnational bribery, i.e. the bribery of a government official of another state |
VIII
|
| Convention | Relevant convention provision (1) |
Article
|
Mand.
|
| UN | Establish as criminal offences the offering or giving to a public official of an undue advantage in order that he abuse his influence with a view to obtaining from public body an undue advantage for the original instigator; prohibit solicitation or acceptance of such undue advantage |
18
|
|
| OECD | None | ||
| AU | Prohibit the offering, giving, solicitation or acceptance of any undue advantage to or by anyone who asserts to be able to exert any improper influence over the decision making of any person performing functions in the public or private sector in consideration thereof, as well as the request, receipt or acceptance of the offer in consideration of that influence |
4(1)(f)
|
Yes
|
| CoE (Crim.) | Prohibit the promising, giving or offering of any undue advantage to anyone who asserts to be able to exert an improper influence over the decision-making of a public official, as well as the requesting, receiving or accepting thereof |
12
|
Yes
|
| CoE (Civil) | None | ||
| OAS | None |
| Convention | Relevant convention provision (1) |
Article
|
Mand.
|
| UN | Establish as criminal offences the intentional promise, offering or giving as well as the solicitation and acceptance of an undue advantage to or by any person who directs or works for a private sector entity in order that he, in breach of his duties, act or refrain from acting |
21
|
|
| OECD | Establish that it is a criminal offence for any person intentionally to offer, promise of give any undue advantage to a foreign public official, in order that the official act or refrain from acting in relation to official duties, in order to obtain or retain business or other improper advantage in the conduct of international business |
1(1)
|
|
| AU | Adopt legislative measures
to prevent and combat acts of corruption and related offences
committed in and by agents of the private sector |
11(1)
|
Yes
|
| Adopt such other measures as may be necessary to prevent companies from paying bribes to win tenders |
11(3)
|
||
| CoE (Crim.) |
Establish as criminal offences the promising, offering or giving ("active bribery", Art. 7) as well as the request and receipt ("passive bribery") - Art. 8) - of an undue advantage to or by any person who directs or works for private sector entities for them to act in breach of their duties |
7 and 8
|
Yes
|
| Corporate liability - ensure that legal persons can be held liable for the criminal offences of active bribery, trading in influence ad money laundering committed for their benefit by any natural person who has a leading position within the legal person |
18
|
||
| CoE (Civil) | Provide in internal law for effective remedies for persons who have suffered damage as a result of acts of corruption, including the possibility of obtaining compensation for damage |
1 & 3
|
|
| OAS | None |
 |
Conventions |
 |
Donors & conventions |
|
Comparing conventions |
|
Links |
| RECOMMENDED READING |
|
Anti-Corruption Conventions in the Americas: What Civil Society Can Do to Make Them Work (A civil society and advocacy guide by Transparency International, 2006) A new TI publication which sets out how civil society can develop an advocacy strategy which promotes the ratification, implementation and inter-governmental follow-up and monitoring of conventions including UNCAC.
Institutional Arrangements to Combat Corruption - A comparative Study (UNDP) The UN Convention against Corruption requires that States designate a body or bodies to coordinate prevention and enforcement measures. This study explores how such institutional arrangements might look, and provides some lessons learned from existing models. A readable, informative resource for practitioners. |
