PARIS - The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention establishes legally binding standards to criminalise bribery of foreign public officials in international business transactions, and provides for a host of related measures to make this effective. It is the first and only international anti-corruption instrument focused on the “supply side” of the bribery transaction. The 2021 Recommendation for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions complements the Anti-Bribery Convention with a view to further strengthening and supporting its implementation.
The OECD Working Group on Bribery – which brings together the 44 countries Party to the Anti-Bribery Convention – is responsible for monitoring the implementation and enforcement of the Anti-Bribery Convention and Recommendation. In 2018, the Working Group decided to conduct an extensive review of the 2009 Anti-Bribery Recommendation to ensure it continues to reflect the range of good practices, trends and challenges that have emerged in the foreign bribery field over the past ten years. After a rigorous process, including two rounds of extensive consultations with external partners, a stocktaking of ten years of implementation of the 2009 Anti-Bribery Recommendation, multiple written procedures and eight dedicated meetings of the Working Group, the 2021 Anti-Bribery Recommendation was adopted by the OECD Council on 26 November 2021.
With this Recommendation, the Parties to the Anti-Bribery Convention agree to new measures to reinforce their efforts to prevent, detect and investigate foreign bribery. In addition to enhancing the provisions already included in the 2009 Anti-Bribery Recommendation, the 2021 Recommendation includes sections on key topics that have emerged or significantly evolved in the anti-corruption area, including, inter alia, on strengthening enforcement of foreign bribery laws, addressing the demand side of foreign bribery, enhancing international co-operation, introducing principles on the use of non-trial resolutions in foreign bribery cases, incentivising anti-corruption compliance by companies, and providing comprehensive and effective protection for reporting persons. It is one of five OECD Recommendations which make up the strong OECD anti-corruption framework, covering areas such as tax, official development assistance, export credits and state-owned enterprises.
Key elements of the Recommendation
- Promote a holistic approach to fighting foreign bribery through new measures to enhance awareness-raising and training of, as well as detection by, key government agencies, including foreign representations, financial intelligence units, tax authorities and official development assistance agencies.
- Strengthen enforcement of foreign bribery laws, including through proactive detection and investigation of foreign bribery, more effective international co-operation among law enforcement authorities and co-operation in multi-jurisdictional cases.
- Address the demand side of foreign bribery cases by calling on countries to address the solicitation and acceptance of bribes and better support companies facing bribe solicitation risks.
- Introduce provisions on the key principles and features of non-trial resolutions.
- Include extensive provisions to ensure comprehensive and effective protection of whistleblowers in the public and private sectors.
- Encourage countries to incentivise enterprises to develop internal controls, ethics and compliance programmes or measures to prevent and detect foreign bribery.
