Core Criminal Law Provisions in the United Nations Convention Against Corruption

Abstract

Abstract With the adoption of the UNCAC in 2003, the international legal development in the fight against corruption has reached its peak. Now the convention has to be filled with life. This is the task of national law-makers, law enforcement bodies and courts. They all need substantial information concerning the content of the convention's articles. Unfortunately, an offical or semi-official commentary to the UNCAC does not exist. This study aims at filling that gap by providing substanial information for the core criminal law provisions “bribery of public offical” and “active bribery of foreign public officials”. To this end, the study reveals cross-relations between the UNCAC and international conventions whose articles have been used as examples for the legal design of the UNCAC. Since several of the preceding conventions are accompanied by official commentaries or explanatory reports, these documents also offer a deep insight into the UNCAC.