Corruption: a Violation of Human Rights and a Crime Under International Law? SCHOOL of HUMAN RIGHTS RESEARCH SERIES, Volume 56
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Corruption: A Violation of Human Rights and a Crime Under International Law? SCHOOL OF HUMAN RIGHTS RESEARCH SERIES, Volume 56 The titles published in this series are listed at the end of this volume. Corruption: A Violation of Human Rights and a Crime Under International Law? Martine Boersma Cambridge – Antwerp – Portland Intersentia Ltd Trinity House | Cambridge Business Park | Cowley Road Cambridge | CB4 0WZ | United Kingdom Tel.: +44 1223 393 753 | [email protected] Martine Boersma Corruption: A Violation of Human Rights and a Crime Under International Law? ISBN 978-1-78068-105-4 D/2012/7849/95 NUR 828 Cover image © www.futureatlas.com © 2012 Martine Boersma/Intersentia www.intersentia.com | www.intersentia.co.uk British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfi lm or any other means, without written permission from the publisher. Dedicated to my parents, Veur mien awwers, Alexander Boersma & Eleonora Boersma-Francot ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The four-year period in which I had the privilege to work at the Law Faculty of Maastricht University and within the broader context of the Netherlands School of Human Rights Research has offered me a myriad of opportunities for professional and personal development. At the end of this journey, I should not forget to thank the persons whose support was invaluable. First of all, I thank my supervisors Prof. Menno Kamminga and Prof. Hans Nelen for carefully reading and commenting upon the various drafts of the chapters of this dissertation. Our fruitful discussions, the combination of your respective areas of expertise, and especially your confi dence in this endeavour were a great help. I also thank the members of the Assessment Committee, Prof. Fons Coomans, Prof. Cees Flinterman, Prof. John Hatchard, Prof. David Nelken, and Dr. Fabián Raimondo, for their willingness to read the manuscript and to provide comments. I thank a number of persons who have helped me to improve my dissertation, amongst others my colleagues from the Maastricht Centre for Human Rights, by commenting on ideas and providing suggestions for improvement. Also a word of thanks for the co-organisers of the conference ‘Corruption and Human Rights’, which took place on October 22–23, 2009: Hans Nelen, Fons Coomans, Paul Frielink, Roland Moerland, and David Roef. All have contributed to making this event and the resulting publication in the Maastricht Series in Human Rights something to be proud of. Furthermore, I owe a lot to Chantal Kuypers, administrator of the Maastricht Centre for Human Rights, for her help with organisational and practical aspects and for being the wonderful and friendly colleague that she is. I also acknowledge the support of Laura Visser, former student-assistant of the Centre, inter alia for some research assistance and for having to photocopy an awful lot of library books for me. Moreover, the English language review of this dissertation was skilfully conducted by Carol Ní Ghiollarnáth, Ph.D. from Legal English Services, whose work I can warmly recommend – and not just because of her residence on the sunny island of Aruba. A very special word of thanks to my former colleagues at the Faculty of Law, some of which deserve particular praise. Jennifer Sellin, we’ve experienced the entire Ph.D. phase together, literally from day one. Your friendship and support was indispensable, and having you as my paranymph means a lot to me. Marelle Attinger, my other paranymph, who would have guessed some ten years ago when volunteering at the Vrouwenrechtswinkel that we would become colleagues again when both pursuing a Ph.D? I greatly value your down-to-earth attitude and friendship. Jasper Krommendijk, you are by far the best possible person with whom to share an offi ce. Our critical discussions on human rights and politics, as well as vii Acknowledgements our laughs accompanied by un pèlske in de kaffees vaan Mestreech were always inspiring and encouraging. Finally, I’d like to express my utmost gratitude to my parents Eleonora and Alexander, to whom this book is dedicated. Vaanoet de grond vaan mien hart daank iech uuch veur alle steun, mèt zoe väöl dinger. Dit ‘beukske’ is veerdig, en iech hoop tot geer gruuts kint zien. Unne hiele groete merci! Maastricht, July 2012 viii CONTENTS Acknowledgements . vii List of Abbreviations . xxi General Introduction . 1 1. A Day in the Life of John and Jane Doe . 1 2. Overview of Contemporary Research . 2 2.1. Corruption as a Violation of Human Rights? . 2 2.2. Corruption as a Crime under International Law? . 7 3. Main Research Questions . 9 4. Structure . 9 4.1. Part A: The Phenomenon of Corruption: An Introductory Analysis . 9 4.2. Part B: Responsibility of States: Corruption as a Violation of Human Rights? . 10 4.3. Part C: Individual Responsibility: Corruption as a Crime under International Law? . 11 4.4. Part D: Summary, Refl ections and Recommendations . 12 5. Methodology . 12 5.1. Part A: The Phenomenon of Corruption: An Introductory Analysis . 12 5.2. Part B: Responsibility of States: Corruption as a Violation of Human Rights? . 13 5.2.1. Data Collection and Organisation . 13 5.2.2. Interpretation of Results . 19 5.3. Part C: Individual Responsibility: Corruption as a Crime under International Law? . 20 5.3.1. Data Collection and Organisation . 20 5.3.2. Interpretation of Results . 21 PART A THE PHENOMENON OF CORRUPTION: AN INTRODUCTORY ANALYSIS Chapter I Basic Issues . 25 1. Introduction . 25 2. Defi ning ‘Corruption’ . 27 2.1. Public and Private Sector Corruption . 27 2.2. Grand and Petty Corruption . 29 ix Contents 2.3. Corruption vis-à-vis Other Concepts . 30 2.4. Cultural Connotations . 32 3. Typology of Corruption . 33 3.1. Introductory Remarks . 33 3.2. Bribery . 33 3.3. Embezzlement . 35 3.4. Trading in Infl uence . 35 3.5. Abuse of Functions . 36 3.5.1. Patronage . 36 3.5.2. Nepotism . 37 3.6. Illicit Enrichment . 38 4. Measuring Corruption . 38 5. The Harmfulness of Corruption . 40 5.1. Introductory Remarks . 40 5.2. Political Consequences . 41 5.2.1. Erosion of Democracy and Legitimacy . 41 5.2.2. Armed Confl ict . 41 5.3. Economic Consequences . 45 5.4. Social Consequences . 48 5.5. Environmental Consequences . 49 6. Concluding Remarks . 51 Chapter II Global and Regional Legal Framework Against Corruption . 53 1. Introduction . 53 2. International Regulation of Corruption. 54 2.1. The Precursory Role of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act . 54 2.1.1. Content . 54 2.1.2. Underlying Motives for Adoption . 55 2.1.3. Criticisms and Resulting Amendments . 56 2.1.4. Enforcement and Effectiveness . 58 2.2. Rationales for International Legislative Efforts . 61 2.2.1. US Lobbying Efforts . 61 2.2.2. Societal Developments . 62 3. Legal Instruments on the Global and Regional Plane . 64 3.1. Inter-American Convention Against Corruption (1996) . 64 3.1.1. Content . 64 3.1.2. Follow-up Mechanism (MESICIC) . 67 3.2. European Union . 70 3.2.1. PFI Convention (1995), First Protocol (1996) and Second Protocol (1997) . 70 x Contents 3.2.2. Convention on the Fight Against Corruption Involving Offi cials of the European Communities or Offi cials of EU Member States (1997) . 71 3.2.3. Other Developments . 72 3.3. OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Offi cials in International Business Transactions (1997) . 73 3.3.1. Content . 73 3.3.2. Monitoring Mechanism . ..