The OECD convention on combating bribery of foreign public officials and the impact of the United Kingdom's Bribery Act 2010 on corporations: Is the Act too harsh?

This thesis concerns the issue of corruption in international business transactions and the steps taken by the international community to combat such corrupt behaviour. The OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials was introduced in 1997 in an effort to eliminate corruption in foreign business. As a signatory to the Convention, the United Kingdom had received numerous criticisms about its lack-lustre implementation of the OECD Convention. In an attempt to address these criticisms, the United Kingdom had recently introduced the Bribery Act 2010 to criminalise those who engage in corrupt practices. There have been concerns that this new Act is too aggressive and will disadvantage those who carry on businesses in the United Kingdom due to its extraterritorial effect, excessively harsh penalties and the new obligation on companies to actively police anti-bribery behaviour within their company. This thesis evaluates the Bribery Act 2010 to determine if it is sufficient to comply with the United Kingdom's obligations under the OECD Convention. It then analyses whether the Act is excessively harsh by providing comparisons with similar legislation in the United States and in Australia. This thesis also provides recommendations for companies to ensure that they avoid violating the Bribery Act. This thesis proposes that the Bribery Act 2010 is an appropriate and adequate measure to effectively eliminate corruption in international business transactions and that it signifies the international community's move to adopting a zero-tolerance approach to foreign corruption