DOCSLIB.ORG

Exporting Corruption. Progress Report 2020

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Exporting Corruption. Progress Report 2020 EXPORTING CORRUPTION Progress report 2020: Assessing enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention Transparency International is a global movement with one vision: a world in which government, business, civil society and the daily lives of people are free of corruption. With more than 100 chapters worldwide and an international secretariat in Berlin, we are leading the fight against corruption to turn this vision into reality. www.transparency.org Exporting Corruption Progress Report 2020: Assessing Enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention Lead author: Gillian Dell Contributors: Guilherme France (lead researcher), Jane Ellis, Jen Pollakusky, Andrew McDevitt and all the country experts Reviewers: Adam Földes, Sara Brimbeuf, Susan Hawley, Julius Hinks, Aram Khaghaghordyan, Anna Lutz, Maira Martini, Teresita Chavez Rodriguez, Johannes Wendt Text editor: Stephanie Debere Cover: Travel mania/Shutterstock.com Thanks to Thomas Chalaux, OECD and the International Lawyers Project A sentence on page 86 (third para) about an investigation in Spain was amended on 24 November 2020 Every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of the information contained in this report. All information was believed to be correct as of October 2020. Nevertheless, Transparency International cannot accept responsibility for the consequences of its use for other purposes or in other contexts. Full report ISBN: 978-3-96076149-5 2020 Transparency International. Except where otherwise noted, this TABLE OF CONTENTS Costa Rica 51 Executive summary 6 Czech Republic 52 Map and enforcement table 11 Denmark 54 Global highlights 14 Estonia 56 Transparency of enforcement information 16 Finland 58 Beneficial ownership transparency 19 France 59 Compensation of victims 21 Germany 62 International cooperation 25 Greece 64 Parent company liability for subsidiaries 27 Hungary 66 Trends in legal frameworks and enforcement systems 29 Ireland 68 China and other major exporters (non-OECD) 32 Israel 70 Country briefs: OECD Convention Countries 33 Italy 73 Argentina 33 Japan 76 Australia 35 Korea (South) 78 Austria 37 Latvia 80 Belgium 39 Lithuania 82 Brazil 41 Luxembourg 84 Bulgaria 44 Mexico 85 Canada 45 The Netherlands 87 Chile 48 New Zealand 90 Colombia 49 Norway 92 Peru 94 Poland 95 Portugal 98 Russia 100 Slovakia 102 Slovenia 104 South Africa 106 Spain 107 Sweden 110 Switzerland 113 Turkey 116 United Kingdom 118 United States 120 Country briefs: non-OECD convention countries 125 China 125 Hong Kong, SAR 129 India 131 Singapore 132 Methodology 136 National and regional experts 141 Endnotes 145 4 Photo: Alex Kolokythas/Shutterstock.com TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Bribery of foreign public officials has huge costs and consequences for countries across the globe and those costs have become more severe during the COVID-19 pandemic. With so many cases of foreign bribery occurring in health care, we cannot afford for corruption to cost any additional lives. Transparency International’s 2020 report, Exporting The report shows how well – or poorly – countries Corruption, rates the performance of 47 leading are following the rules. global exporters, including 43 countries that are More than 20 years after the Convention was signatories to the Organisation for Economic Co- adopted, most countries still have a long way to go operation and Development (OECD) Anti-Bribery in meeting their obligations. In fact, active Convention, in cracking down on bribery of foreign enforcement has significantly decreased since our public officials by companies operating abroad. last report in 2018. IN A NUTSHELL 6 EXPORTING CORRUPTION enforcement and international cooperation and Top cases of foreign bribery coordination. More than a decade ago, increased enforcement against foreign bribery, especially in the United About the report States, exposed egregious, multi-country bribery Exporting Corruption is an independent assessment schemes of companies like Siemens and BAE of the enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Systems to the detriment of the people in the Convention (short for OECD Convention on countries affected. Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in Enforcement uncovered large-scale bribery of high- International Business Transactions), which requires level officials by companies like Halliburton, parties to criminalise bribery of foreign public enabling them to win major infrastructure projects. officials and introduce related measures. This is the These cases sent shockwaves worldwide. thirteenth edition of the report. Yet, despite these scandals, bribery continues to be Country implementation of the Convention is used by companies from major exporting countries monitored in successive phases by the OECD to win business in foreign markets.1 In recent years, Working Group on Bribery (OECD WGB), which is multinationals like Airbus, Ericsson, Odebrecht, Rolls made up of representatives of the 44 signatories to Royce and many more have been caught red- the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. The reviews also handed in systematic and widespread bribery cover implementation of the 2009 Recommendation schemes. of the OECD Council for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Corruption in international business transactions Transactions (2009 Recommendation). The 2009 undermines government institutions, misdirects Recommendation is being updated by the OECD public resources, and slows economic and social WGB. development. It distorts cross-border investment, deters fair competition in international trade and discriminates against small and medium-sized Classification enterprises. The report classifies countries into four enforcement Foreign bribery during COVID-19 categories: Active, Moderate, Limited and Little or no Enforcement. Those costs have increased during the COVID-19 Countries are scored based on enforcement pandemic. The pervasive cross-border corruption in performance at different stages, namely the number health care will cost additional lives unless robustly of investigations commenced, cases opened and countered. cases concluded with sanctions over a four-year period (2016-2019). But the dangers of corruption during COVID-19 go beyond the health sector. Triggered by the Different weights are assigned according to the pandemic, a global economic crisis is also depleting stages of enforcement and the significance of cases. public treasuries. Country share of world exports is also factored in. Wasting precious public resources on corruption- fuelled deals with unscrupulous companies and intermediaries is even more deadly and damaging than before. The report covers 43 of the 44 parties to the As companies’ profits shrink, the temptation will Convention. Iceland is not included, due to its small grow for them to win business in foreign markets at share of global exports. In addition, the report any cost and by any means. The states where assesses foreign bribery enforcement in China, multinationals are headquartered may hold back Hong Kong SAR, India and Singapore. foreign bribery enforcement on short-sighted While not part of the OECD Convention, China is the economic grounds. world’s leading exporter, with nearly 11 per cent of The need for robust foreign bribery enforcement is global exports. The others are also major exporters, as urgent today as when the OECD Anti-Bribery each with a share of approximately 2 per cent of Convention was first adopted in 1997. Now more global trade. than ever, we need stronger foreign bribery 7 TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL All four countries are also signatories of the UN against foreign bribery, more than double the Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), which four countries in 2018. This represents an requires countries to criminalise foreign bribery. The increase in share of world exports from 3.8 per analysis of Hong Kong SAR is separate from China, cent to 20.2 per cent since 2018. as it is an autonomous territory, with a different legal system and its export data is compiled 3. No country is immune to exporting foreign separately. bribery. Nearly every country has companies, employees, agents, intermediaries and The OECD Convention was adopted in 1997 to facilitators involved in foreign bribery or related address the fact that: money laundering. 4. Most countries fail to publish adequate enforcement information. Most countries do Bribery is a widespread not publish national statistics on foreign bribery phenomenon in enforcement. Courts often do not publish international business judgements and information on non-trial resolutions is frequently inadequate. transactions…which raises serious moral and political 5. Lack of public information on beneficial concerns, undermines ownership hinders enforcement. Results show very slow progress in establishing central public good governance and beneficial ownership registers of companies and economic development, trusts. Such registers are key to prevention, and distorts international detection and investigation of foreign bribery. competitive conditions. 6. Compensation of victims is rare. The countries, groups and individuals harmed by OECD Convention preamble foreign bribery rarely receive compensation, and most confiscated proceeds of foreign bribery wind up in the state treasuries of the countries exporting corruption. The report assesses enforcement performance and 7. International cooperation is increasing, but highlights key gaps in information about significant obstacles remain. Insufficient or enforcement, as well as slow country
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 2014 Rule of Law Report | SGI Sustainable Governance Indicators
    Sustainable Governance Indicators SGI 2014 Rule of Law Report Legal Certainty, Judicial Review, Appointment of Justices, Corruption Prevention SGI 2014 | 2 Rule of Law Report Indicator Legal Certainty Question To what extent do government and administration act on the basis of and in accordance with legal provisions to provide legal certainty? 41 OECD and EU countries are sorted according to their performance on a scale from 10 (best) to 1 (lowest). This scale is tied to four qualitative evaluation levels. 10-9 = Government and administration act predictably, on the basis of and in accordance with legal provisions. Legal regulations are consistent and transparent, ensuring legal certainty. 8-6 = Government and administration rarely make unpredictable decisions. Legal regulations are consistent, but leave a large scope of discretion to the government or administration. 5-3 = Government and administration sometimes make unpredictable decisions that go beyond given legal bases or do not conform to existing legal regulations. Some legal regulations are inconsistent and contradictory. 2-1 = Government and administration often make unpredictable decisions that lack a legal basis or ignore existing legal regulations. Legal regulations are inconsistent, full of loopholes and contradict each other. Estonia Score 10 The rule of law is fundamental to Estonian government and administration. In the period of transition from communism to liberal democracy, most of the legal acts and regulations had to be amended or introduced for the first time. Joining the European Union in 2004 caused another major wave of legal reforms. These fast and radical changes, which occurred in a short timespan, caused some inconsistencies and unexpected legal amendments (for example the increase of the VAT in 2009).
    [Show full text]
  • Consolidating Democratic Governance in the Sadc Region: Mauritius
    CONSOLIDATING DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN THE SADC REGION: MAURITIUS CONSOLIDATING DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN THE SADC REGION: MAURITIUS StraConsult, Mauritius Study Commissioned by EISA 2008 Published by EISA 14 Park Rd, Richmond Johannesburg South Africa P O Box 740 Auckland Park 2006 South Africa Tel: 27 11 482 5495 Fax: 27 11 482 6163 Email: [email protected] www.eisa.org.za ISBN: 978-1-920095-85-7 © EISA All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of EISA. First published 2008 EISA is a non-partisan organisation which seeks to promote democratic principles, free and fair elections, a strong civil society and good governance at all levels of Southern African society. _____________ ____________ EISA Research Report, No. 37 EISA RESEARCH REPORT NO 37 i PREFACE This research report is the culmination of a study undertaken by EISA focusing on the state of democratic governance in the Southern African region. The programme, implemented under the generic theme ‘Consolidating Democratic Governance in the SADC Region’, has evolved over a four-year period spanning 2003-2006. The research aims to investigate the state of democracy and governance in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, posing a key question as to whether or not the region has undergone democratic transition and, if so, posing a related question as to whether or not the region is firmly set on the road to democratic consolidation. The four key variables for the assessment of the state of democratic governance in this study are: representation and accountability; citizen participation; local governance; and economic management and corporate governance.
    [Show full text]
  • DECISIONS MADE in the FRAME Teodora Heim
    1 DECISIONS MADE IN THE FRAME Rational Choice, Institutional Norms and Public Ethos Against Corruption in Mauritius Teodora Heim Malmö University, Kultur och Samhälle Leadership and Public Organization: One-year master programme Masters’ Thesis, 15 HP VT2019 Tutor: Anders Edvik 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... 4 2. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 6 2.1. The purpose of this study and the research questions ............................................................ 6 2.2. A short research overview ...................................................................................................... 7 2.3. Definitions .............................................................................................................................. 9 2.3.1. The definition of corruption in this study ........................................................................... 9 2.3.2. The definitions of the public officers ................................................................................ 10 2.4. Disposition of the report ....................................................................................................... 10 3. THEORETICAL DISCUSSIONS ............................................................................................. 10 3.1. Rational Choice + New Institutionalism = Rational
    [Show full text]
  • Here a Causal Relationship? Contemporary Economics, 9(1), 45–60
    Bibliography on Corruption and Anticorruption Professor Matthew C. Stephenson Harvard Law School http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/mstephenson/ March 2021 Aaken, A., & Voigt, S. (2011). Do individual disclosure rules for parliamentarians improve government effectiveness? Economics of Governance, 12(4), 301–324. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10101-011-0100-8 Aaronson, S. A. (2011a). Does the WTO Help Member States Clean Up? Available at SSRN 1922190. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1922190 Aaronson, S. A. (2011b). Limited partnership: Business, government, civil society, and the public in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Public Administration and Development, 31(1), 50–63. https://doi.org/10.1002/pad.588 Aaronson, S. A., & Abouharb, M. R. (2014). Corruption, Conflicts of Interest and the WTO. In J.-B. Auby, E. Breen, & T. Perroud (Eds.), Corruption and conflicts of interest: A comparative law approach (pp. 183–197). Edward Elgar PubLtd. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.ebookbatch.GEN_batch:ELGAR01620140507 Abbas Drebee, H., & Azam Abdul-Razak, N. (2020). The Impact of Corruption on Agriculture Sector in Iraq: Econometrics Approach. IOP Conference Series. Earth and Environmental Science, 553(1), 12019-. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/553/1/012019 Abbink, K., Dasgupta, U., Gangadharan, L., & Jain, T. (2014). Letting the briber go free: An experiment on mitigating harassment bribes. JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS, 111(Journal Article), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2013.12.012 Abbink, Klaus. (2004). Staff rotation as an anti-corruption policy: An experimental study. European Journal of Political Economy, 20(4), 887–906. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2003.10.008 Abbink, Klaus.
    [Show full text]
  • USA -V- Julian Assange Judgment
    JUDICIARY OF ENGLAND AND WALES District Judge (Magistrates’ Court) Vanessa Baraitser In the Westminster Magistrates’ Court Between: THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Requesting State -v- JULIAN PAUL ASSANGE Requested Person INDEX Page A. Introduction 2 a. The Request 2 b. Procedural History (US) 3 c. Procedural History (UK) 4 B. The Conduct 5 a. Second Superseding Indictment 5 b. Alleged Conduct 9 c. The Evidence 15 C. Issues Raised 15 D. The US-UK Treaty 16 E. Initial Stages of the Extradition Hearing 25 a. Section 78(2) 25 b. Section 78(4) 26 I. Section 78(4)(a) 26 II. Section 78(4)(b) 26 i. Section 137(3)(a): The Conduct 27 ii. Section 137(3)(b): Dual Criminality 27 1 The first strand (count 2) 33 The second strand (counts 3-14,1,18) and Article 10 34 The third strand (counts 15-17, 1) and Article 10 43 The right to truth/ Necessity 50 iii. Section 137(3)(c): maximum sentence requirement 53 F. Bars to Extradition 53 a. Section 81 (Extraneous Considerations) 53 I. Section 81(a) 55 II. Section 81(b) 69 b. Section 82 (Passage of Time) 71 G. Human Rights 76 a. Article 6 84 b. Article 7 82 c. Article 10 88 H. Health – Section 91 92 a. Prison Conditions 93 I. Pre-Trial 93 II. Post-Trial 98 b. Psychiatric Evidence 101 I. The defence medical evidence 101 II. The US medical evidence 105 III. Findings on the medical evidence 108 c. The Turner Criteria 111 I.
    [Show full text]
  • Þingvellir National Park
    World Heritage Scanned Nomination File Name: 1152.pdf UNESCO Region: EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA __________________________________________________________________________________________________ SITE NAME: Þingvellir National Park DATE OF INSCRIPTION: 7th July 2004 STATE PARTY: ICELAND CRITERIA: C (iii) (vi) CL DECISION OF THE WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE: Excerpt from the Report of the 28th Session of the World Heritage Committee Criterion (iii): The Althing and its hinterland, the Þingvellir National Park, represent, through the remains of the assembly ground, the booths for those who attended, and through landscape evidence of settlement extending back possibly to the time the assembly was established, a unique reflection of mediaeval Norse/Germanic culture and one that persisted in essence from its foundation in 980 AD until the 18th century. Criterion (vi): Pride in the strong association of the Althing to mediaeval Germanic/Norse governance, known through the 12th century Icelandic sagas, and reinforced during the fight for independence in the 19th century, have, together with the powerful natural setting of the assembly grounds, given the site iconic status as a shrine for the national. BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS Þingvellir (Thingvellir) is the National Park where the Althing - an open-air assembly, which represented the whole of Iceland - was established in 930 and continued to meet until 1798. Over two weeks a year, the assembly set laws - seen as a covenant between free men - and settled disputes. The Althing has deep historical and symbolic associations for the people of Iceland. Located on an active volcanic site, the property includes the Þingvellir National Park and the remains of the Althing itself: fragments of around 50 booths built of turf and stone.
    [Show full text]
  • United States District Court Southern District of New York
    R-0047 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK Rio Tinto plc, Plaintiff, Civil Action No. v. Vale, S.A., Benjamin Steinmetz, BSG COMPLAINT Resources Limited, BSG Resources (Guinea) Ltd. aka BSG Resources Guinée Ltd, BSGR Guinea Ltd. BVI, BSG Resources Guinée JURY TRIAL DEMANDED SARL aka BSG Resources (Guinea) SARL aka VBG-Vale BSGR Guinea, Frederic Cilins, Michael Noy, Avraham Lev Ran, Mamadie Touré, and Mahmoud Thiam, Defendants. For its Complaint, Plaintiff Rio Tinto plc (“Rio Tinto”) alleges as follows: I. INTRODUCTION 1. This is a case about the theft of Rio Tinto’s valuable mining rights by the Defendants through a scheme in violation of the Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), hatched and substantially executed in the United States. The U.S.-based enterprise’s ultimate target was Rio Tinto’s mining concession in the Simandou region of southeast Guinea. Simandou is one of the most valuable iron ore deposits in the world, estimated to be worth billions of dollars. At the time Defendants devised their fraudulent scheme, Rio Tinto had spent eleven years and hundreds of million of dollars developing mining operations at Simandou and expected it to yield substantial profits into the future. 2. At the heart of the RICO scheme was Defendant Vale, S.A. (“Vale”), an international mining company whose American Depository Receipts (ADRs) are among the most-heavily traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Beginning in August 2008, Vale entered into discussions with Rio Tinto to purchase some of the Simandou asset. The Rio Tinto-Vale negotiations began in person with two meetings in New York in November 2008, during which Rio Tinto provided Vale with highly confidential and proprietary information regarding Simandou.
    [Show full text]
  • Serious Fraud Office Investigations Regarding the Extractive Industry
    SERIOUS FRAUD OFFICE INVESTIGATIONS REGARDING THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY 24 March 2017 | London Legal Briefings – By Daniel Hudson and David Knott The mining industry presents a high risk of corruption as operations are often located in high risk regions and it is often necessary to interact with government officials and agencies in order to obtain licenses and approvals for the exploration, development, construction and operation of a mine. These factors, when combined with the general increase in enforcement of anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws, primarily by the United States and United Kingdom authorities, which has led to more investigations and prosecutions, higher monetary sanctions, and the imposition of monitors and other agents to oversee businesses, means that it critical that mining operators ensure that they have in place adequate procedures to prevent bribery from taking place. In this article we set out a brief recap on the key features of the UK Bribery Act 2010 and provide examples of recent and ongoing bribery investigations by the UK authorities regarding mining companies and other companies within the extractive industries. There are a number of ongoing overseas investigations which are outside the scope of the article but which demonstrate the high levels of activity by enforcement bodies around the world regarding the mining industry (e.g. the cross-border investigation into BSG Resources Limited, which has seen charges brought in the US against Guinea's former minister of mines and the arrest and subsequent release without charge of Beny Steinmetz). Overview of UK Bribery Act 2010 The UK's Bribery Act 2010 came into force in 2011 and updates the criminalisation of both public and private sector bribery.
    [Show full text]
  • Column, I’Ll Tell You How to Cash in on Charlie Sheen, but First Things First…
    In this week’s column, I’ll tell you how to cash in on Charlie Sheen, but first things first… I’ve said this before in previous columns and I’ll say it again. I watch EVERYTHING. Last week I had the pleasure of watching the straight-to-DVD sequel of 2003’s classic film S.W.A.T. entitled S.W.A.T.: Firefight. Before I give you some of the highlights of the plot, let me hit you the facts you get before the movie starts. 1) It’s straight to DVD so you know it’s going to fucking suck. 2) Any time a movie has a second title…it’s going to fucking suck. 3) Robert Patrick is playing the bad guy…I think that about sums it up there. 4) Robert Patrick is the only REAL star in the flick. Um…so yeah. Ya know this is gonna be a winner. Okay…sometimes when you watch a movie and you’re in the industry, you have very different thoughts that people outside of the industry have. I know the original series was about the L.A. S.W.A.T. team and of course the subsequent movie was as well. Both of which had budgets able to allow them to actually shoot in Los Angeles. I fired up the projector, poured myself a stiff drink and started this turd knowing that they couldn’t possibly have a budget big enough to keep them in L.A. This is what happens when you talk about the business of movie making on a daily basis.
    [Show full text]
  • Mauritius Deep Dive 2020
    Mauritius - Threat Assessment - 2020 Page 1 of 33 Modern Slavery: The 2018 GSI Index: 47/51 Mauritius � African countries, with just 1,000 modern day slaves, and an incidence of under 1/1000 Section 1 - Executive Summary people and a “CCC” response. US Trafficking in Persons Tier 2 rating. Grey Lists: Mauritius is listed by FATF, & is proposed by the EU on their “Grey” list. Sanctions & Terrorism: There are no sanctions Mauritius is not listed by the US as a “Country against the country. Mauritius is a Tier 3 (lowest of Primary Concern” in respect of ML & FC. threat) PPI 2019 (Proliferation) Index Country with a “High” response score of 497/1,300. NRA: Mauritius has published its National Risk Mauritius has a “zero” impact (score 0/10) in Assessment in 2019. According to the NRA, Global Terrorism Index 2019. Mauritius is not the overall ML risk is Medium - High, based on included in US Country Reports on Terrorism. a threat level rated Medium - High and a ML vulnerability rating of Medium - High. The main Response & Resilience: FATF MER 4th round proceeds generating crimes were from drug results by ESAAMLG were 83/100 for technical trafficking, fraud, illegal bookmaking, high- compliance (40 Recommendations) & 12/100 value theft/robbery, tax crimes and corruption. for effectiveness (11 Outcomes). Mauritius The main threats externally affecting Mauritius scored 6.42/10 for resilience (High), ranked originated from fraud (including tax fraud) and 2/54 for Africa in the OC Index. proceeds from corruption. Indices: Mauritius scored 89/100 and was Organised Crime: According to the OC Index, rated “free” in the 2019 Freedom in the World Low Criminality - High Resilience.
    [Show full text]
  • Something Rotten in the State of Spain, Say Whistleblowers
    NEWS Something rotten in the state of Spain, say whistleblowers will not come to court until summer MY by former Vigo dean Jesús Vázquez A Critics condemn culture of cronyism and 2014. AL Abad. corruption in the academy. Paul Jump reports In the meantime, he is entitled to In October, Astray’s name topped neither salary nor unemployment a list of Vigo students eligible for an As Spain struggles under the weight to have been subjected by the benefit, he says. “excellence award” for the best PhD of unsustainable borrowing costs University of Murcia after he went “This is how justice functions in thesis of 2011. After pressure from and an unemployment rate touch­ to court in 2007 to obtain a chair Spain,” he told THE. “Nobody but the international media and scien­ ing 25 per cent, its higher education in education that he says had been a judge can alter the decision of a tists, the university removed his sector has not escaped the turmoil. earmarked for a less­qualified rector, and my case will not be heard candidature on the eve of awarding Academic salaries have been cut academic who was a friend of until more than two years after the the prize. several times and the country’s Murcia’s rector, José Antonio events occurred.” The dean of Vigo’s Faculty of science budget has been slashed by Cobacho Gómez. The university did not respond Sciences, Pedro Antonio Araujo nearly 25 per cent. The government Penalva was sacked for alleged to a request for comment. Nespereira – a former PhD student has also set up a committee to absenteeism shortly after the book Stories also abound of alleged of Mejuto – told THE that the consider reforming Spain’s univer­ was published.
    [Show full text]
  • EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 20.7.2021 SWD(2021) 710 Final
    EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 20.7.2021 SWD(2021) 710 final COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 2021 Rule of Law Report Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Spain Accompanying the COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 2021 Rule of Law Report The rule of law situation in the European Union {COM(2021) 700 final} - {SWD(2021) 701 final} - {SWD(2021) 702 final} - {SWD(2021) 703 final} - {SWD(2021) 704 final} - {SWD(2021) 705 final} - {SWD(2021) 706 final} - {SWD(2021) 707 final} - {SWD(2021) 708 final} - {SWD(2021) 709 final} - {SWD(2021) 711 final} - {SWD(2021) 712 final} - {SWD(2021) 713 final} - {SWD(2021) 714 final} - {SWD(2021) 715 final} - {SWD(2021) 716 final} - {SWD(2021) 717 final} - {SWD(2021) 718 final} - {SWD(2021) 719 final} - {SWD(2021) 720 final} - {SWD(2021) 721 final} - {SWD(2021) 722 final} - {SWD(2021) 723 final} - {SWD(2021) 724 final} - {SWD(2021) 725 final} - {SWD(2021) 726 final} - {SWD(2021) 727 final} EN EN ABSTRACT The Spanish justice system continues to face some challenges. In particular, the lack of renewal of the Council for the Judiciary persists in the absence of an agreement in Parliament to renew a number of constitutional bodies. A welcome development was the withdrawal of a proposed reform of the system for the selection of its judges-members that would have increased the perception of the Council as vulnerable to politicisation. In this context, calls were made for establishing a system of election of the judges-members of the Council by their peers in line with European standards.
    [Show full text]