ADDRESS BY MR. SOLON NIKITAS, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS

 

Mr. President,

Distinguished Delegates,

 

It is an honor and a pleasure to be here. Our warmest and sincere congratulations to the Government of Mexico for hosting this historic Conference. Its willingness to do so demonstrates its commitment and determination to fight corruption. Commendation should also be given to the United Nations, especially its Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and to all the Bodies involved in the organization of this important event, which marks a new era in the battle to prevent and combat corrupt practices.

 

Corruption has existed since antiquity as one of the worst and most widespread forms of behavior, which is inimical to the administration of public affairs when indulged in by public officials, elected representatives and members of the judiciary. Today corruption is recognized as a global and systemic threat which affects both the public and private sectors.

 

Corruption of any kind at any level of society seriously undermines the basic values and principles on which democratic societies are founded. In particular, it perverts the relation of mutual trust between citizens and institutions and it violates the principle of good faith - the constitutive element of the rule of law - that is indispensable for the proper functioning of government, the judiciary, politics and commerce. Organized crime which is becoming more and more ecumenical is to a large extent dependent on corruption.

 

The chief problem with all forms of corruption is their clandestine nature. Corruption thrives on secrecy and silence, as those involved are usually motivated by a mutual interest, for their own personal gain. This makes the detection and investigation of corrupt practices, in many cases, very difficult.

 

The problem of corruption is not the same everywhere. On the contrary it is much worse in some countries than in others. In many countries it is the reason why they do not develop or develop very slowly. Studies by individuals and international organizations have shown that corruption has a devastating effect on the economic development of a country, being a serious obstacle to the flow of foreign investment and the movement of capital in general. Negative has also been found to be its effect on the distribution of wealth since its benefits are enjoyed mainly by high income groups.

 

Economic crime remains a serious threat to businesses world-wide and despite the efforts being made in improving the effectiveness of auditing mechanisms; the problem appears to grow year by year. The information revolution has created new forms of criminal behavior. Criminals avail themselves to the same extent as others of the technological achievements. The great speed of computerization as well as the globalization of the economy and trade has brought about an unprecedented scale of criminal activity.

 

Governments must not remain indifferent to these trends. It is of the utmost importance not only to criminalize all forms of corruption, as a suppressive measure, but also to adopt and implement preventive measures, in order to minimize opportunities for corruption. It is essential to have also in place a system of freezing and confiscating assets derived from corrupt practices, as another way of punishing the culprits, by depriving them of the fruits of their criminal behavior. It is, however, equally essential that the fight against corruption should be carried out with full respect for and in conformity with the international code of human rights.

 

A basic requirement for preventing and combating corruption is the existence of appropriate law enforcement authorities of sufficient size and efficiency. Of equal importance is that judges and public officials - particularly prosecutors and police officers - are adequately paid in order to resist the temptation of soliciting and accepting illicit payments. Corruption in such persons is a serious impediment to the success of any anti-corruption strategy since its implementation rests almost exclusively on their shoulders. Thus, it is important for countries to establish procedures of appointment of public officials and members of the judiciary, which ensure their independence from political power and influence and a clear separation between politicians on the one hand and the administration and the courts, on the other. Training and education facilities for the prevention and combating of corrupt practices should also be set up by governments for the benefit of public authorities, businesses, police forces and the judiciary. Moreover, it is important for states to institute at national and local levels independent auditing mechanisms vested with special investigative powers in the area of corruption.

 

Transparency is also essential in the fight against corruption. The more transparent government decision-making is the harder it is to conceal illicit payments and other corrupt practices involving public officials and politicians. It is therefore important to facilitate the work of free media reporting on the dysfunctions of governments. The concepts of freedom of information and protection of media sources are also significant safeguards in a democratic society. It should be stressed, however, that any system is susceptible to improvement in the light of new experiences and new insights.

 

Given the nature of corruption and the globalization of financial transactions, it is imperative to have the highest possible degree of co-operation between law enforcement and judicial authorities in different states.

 

The fight against corruption will be made easier with the adoption, ratification and implementation by countries worldwide of this new international instrument in this area.

 

A lot of hard work has been put into the effort to produce this innovative Convention. The ad Hoc Committee, as well as the Commission of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, deserve praise for their fine work.

 

The new instrument goes explicitly beyond the traditional formulations limited to "examination", "research" or particularly "recommendation" of legal measures. It has an ambitious scope and covers all spheres for combating the various forms of corruption, with preventive, suppressive provisions, as well as provisions for an effective international co-operation in this field.

 

It remains now up to the individual countries to take as fast as possible, the necessary measures, to put its provisions into effect and ensure their practical implementation.

 

The Republic of Cyprus, which has a comprehensive legal framework against corruption, including a system of freezing and confiscating proceeds derived from such offences, is ready and willing to continue actively to participate in the universal battle against corruption.

 

We will do our best to ratify the Convention as soon as possible and to introduce any additional legal and administrative measures to the existing system, if deemed necessary, in order to facilitate its successful implementation.

 

Thank you Mr. President.