The Bribery Bill - Dealing With Bribery At Home And Abroad

The UK government is aiming to tighten up the area of bribery law, codifying the current rules and modernising them to enable prosecutors and the courts to deal with bribery cases more effectively. It is hoped that the Bill will enable the UK to enhance its international reputation for the highest ethical standards. The Bribery Bill was presented to the House of Lords on 19 November 2009 and is currently at committee stage. Further line by line scrutiny of the Bill is scheduled for 2 February 2010. This article reflects on the Bill and its implications in its current state as at today's date, bearing in mind that the Bill has not as yet received Royal Assent.

What Is Bribery? Why The Change?

The Government has been urged to introduce the Bill as soon as possible in the light of its "protracted and faltering history". Currently, it would be fair to say that the UK's bribery law is complex and uncertain, governed by an amalgam of common and statutory law. Indeed, the UK has been exposed to heavy criticism for its laws on bribery. The Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development has said it is "disappointed and seriously concerned" about the failure of the UK's bribery laws. The fact that the UK has thus far failed to successfully prosecute any bribery case against a company bears testimony to the need for legal reform.

It has even been suggested that the UK is, at present, failing to comply with its obligations under Article 1 of the OECD Bribery Convention, which stipulates that each party to the convention must make it a criminal offence for any person intentionally to offer any advantage whether directly or indirectly to a foreign public official or retain business.

Furthermore, the Law Commission has been involved in protracted reviews and proposals for reform to the existing law on bribery, publishing its initial report in 1998. In November 2008, a fully revised and final consultation paper was issued entitled "Reforming Bribery" which restated the need for legal reform citing four principal issues and concerns as follows:

Fragmentation The amalgam of common law and statutory law with their differing scopes for the offence resulted in a lack of clarity and cohesion;

Lack Of Distinction Between public and private sector bribery. The Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889 is confined to bribery of public officials, whereas The Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 applies to the bribery of "agents" irrespective of the sector in which...