Letter from the Chairman of the International
Development Committee (BB 18)
The International Development Committee welcomes
the establishment of your Joint Committee to examine the provisions
of the draft Bribery Bill.
The IDC has commented in a number of its reports
on the negative impact which the absence of effective bribery
legislation in the UK has on developing countries. I attach a
short paper summarising our conclusions and recommendations which
I hope will be helpful to your Committee in carrying out its scrutiny
of the draft Bill.
1. The International Development Committee's
interest in UK bribery legislation arose from our 2006 inquiry
into Conflict and Development and our identification of
possible irregularities in the activities of UK-based companies
involved in the exploitation of natural resources in developing
countries.[150]
In that report we focused on the apparent unwillingness of the
then Department of Trade and Industry to be proactive in investigating
companies identified by the UN Panel on the Illegal Exploitation
of Natural Resources.
2. We also found serious deficiencies in
the UK Government's approach to ensuring that the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Guidelines
for Multinational Enterprises were properly adhered to by British
companies. The UK ratified the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in
1998. This is a legally-binding instrument viewed internationally
as a key tool in tackling corruption.
3. In our 2006 Report, we undertook to
pursue these issues with the DTI at an early opportunity. Due
to non-availability of the relevant Ministers, we were not able
to take further oral evidence from the Government until October
2007. Our findings are reported (as part of a broader inquiry)
in our Report on Development and Trade: Cross-Departmental
Working.[151]
4. We noted that the Anti-Terrorism, Crime
and Security Act 2001 made bribery committed overseas by
UK nationals and companies a criminal offence. We were concerned,
however, that although the Serious Fraud Office had since investigated
a number of allegations of trans-national bribery, no cases had
been brought to court.
5. The OECD Working Group on Bribery had
also produced a report in June 2007 which repeated previous
concerns about shortcomings in UK anti-corruption legislation.
Earlier reports from the Working Group had recommended that the
UK enact modern foreign bribery legislation and address issues
of corporate liability at the earliest opportunity. The Chairman
of the Working Group told us in evidence that he was very worried
that the UK had made no progress on this since 1999. Moreover,
the lack of prosecutions in the UK led the Working Group to question
where there was an "inherent or a systemic impediment"
between investigation of bribery cases and their prosecution in
the UK.
6. We recommended in 2007 that the
UK Government give a clear commitment that time would be found
in either the 2007-08 or the 2008-09 Sessions to enact
the new bribery legislation which the OECD wished to see. Whilst
progress has not been as swift as we would have wished, we are
pleased that draft legislation has now been produced.
7. We particularly welcome the extra-territorial
jurisdiction provisions in the draft Bill (Clause 7) which would
allow prosecution for offences taking place abroad, where they
involved British nationals or residents or UK corporate bodies.
However, it would be worthwhile examining the extent to which
these differ from the provisions of the 2001 Anti-Terrorism
Act referred to above and to ascertain the extent to which they
strengthen and improve the existing law.
8. As we have pointed, one of the OECD's
concerns is that, although some cases of alleged bribery by UK
companies operating overseas have been investigated, no prosecutions
have resulted. There may therefore well be questions to pursue
about the implementation of the law as well as its drafting.
9. In his Foreword to the draft Bill, the
Secretary of State for Justice says that the UK is already providing
technical assistance to developing countries to strengthen their
capacity to tackle corruption. We would emphasise that such assistance
is vital if the legislation is to have a real impact on reducing
illegal commercial activities in poor countries and allow them
to receive the full benefits from their natural resources and
economic development.
10. We also note the Government's commitment
to support the implementation of international conventions on
bribery and corruption, including the OECD Bribery Convention.
We regard it as essential that the legislation as enacted fully
conforms to the recommendations made to the UK Government by the
OECD Working Group on Bribery.
Rt Hon Malcolm Bruce MP
June 2009
150 Sixth Report of Session 2005-06, Conflict and
Development: Peacebuilding and Post-Conflict Reconstruction,
HC 923, paras 105-119. Back
151
Second Report of Session 2007-08, Development and Trade: Cross-Departmental
Working, HC 68, paras 41-58. Back
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