International Chamber of Commerce
Presentation
by the International Chamber of Commerce
At the Signing Conference of the
UN
Convention Against Corruption
9 -
ICC, the world business organization, welcomes the signing
of the UN Convention Against Corruption. ICC's commitment to combating international corruption
dates back to 1975 when it established a blue-ribbon committee chaired by Lord Shaw
cross, former Attorney General of Great Britain. In 1977 the Shaw cross
Committee issued a ground-breaking report calling for complementary action
against corruption by international organizations, national governments, and
the business community.
The Shaw cross Report recommended that the United Nations
adopt a convention prohibiting extortion and bribery. ICC actively supported
the UN's effort in the 1980s to reach agreement on such a convention. That
effort failed amidst bitter recriminations between industrialized and
developing states. Each blamed the other for the spread of corruption and
refused to acknowledge a shared responsibility for combating corruption. ICC is
pleased to compliment the UN Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of the
Convention, and the governments assembled at this signing conference, for achieving
what was impossible two decades ago.
Role of ICC
The 1977 Shaw cross Report also promulgated the
groundbreaking ICC Rules of Conduct on Extortion and Bribery in International
Business Transactions. These Rules clearly and succinctly specify what companies
must do to combat corruption. They have served as a model for numerous
corporate compliance policies. The ICC Rules reflect the fundamental premise
that governments alone cannot overcome corruption, that the business community
must gets its house in order.
ICC's Commission on Anti-Corruption
continues the work started by the Shaw cross Committee; it has 71 members from
31 countries. We have updated the Rules of Conduct, most recently in 1999. We
have also published Fighting Corruption: A Corporate Practices Manual" a
detailed guide to compliance with the ICC Rules of Conduct and with the 1997
OECD Convention to Combat Corruption in International Business Transactions.
The chapters of "Fighting Corruption" were written by members of our
Commission with extensive practical experience in their subjects.
ICC actively supported the development of the 1997 OECD
Convention to Combat Bribery of Foreign Public Officials, and worked for its
ratification. We have also participated in the follow-up monitoring programme of the OECD's Working Group on Bribery. We
conducted a detailed study of the laws dealing with private commercial bribery
in OECD countries, to assist the . OECD
Working Group in its consideration of whether to cover bribery within the
private sector.
Our Commission regularly followed the evolution of the UN
Convention. We submitted proposals to the UN Ad Hoc Committee and attended its
meetings.
ICC Reactions to the
UN Convention
The UN Convention Against
Corruption represents a major step forward. It makes the prohibition of
corruption an integral part of the international public order. Because
corruption is a worldwide problem, global action under the UN Convention is
required. The instrument provides a comprehensive framework for dealing with
corruption in the public sector and in the private sector; this is particularly
important for countries not covered by regional conventions. The UN
Convention's prohibition of extortion by public officials complements the OECD Convention's
efforts to prohibit companies from bribing foreign officials. ICC has long
argued that fighting corruption requires action against extortion as much as
against bribery. The UN Convention against Corruption addresses serious
shortcomings in mutual legal assistance and asset recovery, two key tools for
combating international corruption that can only be strengthened through
comprehensive worldwide efforts.
Even though this signing conference is an occasion for
celebration, it is important to call attention to some serious deficiencies in
the Convention. ICC is concerned by the large number of provisions which are
discretionary in nature. The mix of binding and non-binding provisions
undercuts the objective of developing consistent international rules. It means
that the international business community will have to deal with a patchwork of
differing laws and regulations. There is also considerable concern that a
number of the Convention's provisions are loosely worded and could be
interpreted in unfair and unpredictable ways; examples include Article 18
Trading in influence, Article 20 Illicit enrichment, and Article 35
Compensation for damage. With these as well as other articles, assurance that
procedural safeguards will apply would mitigate concerns about arbitrary
actions.
Need for Follow-up
Monitoring
ICC is seriously concerned by the lack of a follow-up
monitoring process. Our experience with the OECD Convention makes clear that
signing a convention is only a beginning. Whether the UN Convention against
Corruption will make a practical impact will depend on whether there will be an
effective follow-up monitoring process. Under Article 63, consideration of such
a process is deferred to a Conference of the States Parties to be convened
after the Convention enters into effect. Delaying work on a monitoring process
is dangerous because developing such a process will be difficult and time
consuming. Work should start early next year. The goal should be to have a
monitoring process in place when the UN instrument becomes effective.
One of the objectives of follow-up monitoring should be to
assure consistent implementation and availability of procedural safeguards.
Assurance that an effective monitoring process will be established should
alleviate some of the concerns of the business community we have mentioned. ICC
would be pleased to participate in the work of designing the monitoring process
and in its operation. The need for technical assistance should be dealt with as
part of the follow-up monitoring process. However technical assistance is no
substitute for monitoring.
Conclusion
ICC applauds the UN and the signatory states for producing a
convention which brings to the forefront that corruption is wrong in all
transactions, in every country, and in all circumstances. ICC and its national
committees in over eighty countries are ready to work with the United Nations
to get the Convention ratified and to make sure that it accomplishes its
objectives.
Fritz Heimann
Vice Chair
ICC Commission on Anti-Corruption