header-logo header-logo

Positive steps

04 June 2009 / Andrew Berkeley , Justin Michaelson
Issue: 7372 / Categories: Features , Commercial
printer mail-detail

The draft Bribery Bill is a step in the right direction, say Justin Michaelson & Andrew Berkeley

The boundary edges of good business are sometimes blurred in the name of competitive advantage and it is not right, nor is it fair, for one business to be favoured over another simply because that business paid a bribe. The draft Bribery Bill, which arose out of a lengthy consultation process involving a full report by the Law Commission (Reforming Bribery) is a positive step to improve public trust in international business and seek to maintain a level playing field in the international marketplace. But a level playing field works both ways.

As far as the UK is concerned, the government hopes to tighten up the regime with the new Bribery Bill. The US has led the way for decades, with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1977 (FCPA), and later the international community with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials (the Convention).

The UK is in

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
back-to-top-scroll