Bribery
Consultation Paper
We published a consultation paper on 29 November 2007 on which we invite comments. The closing date for responses is 20 March 2008. A press release is also available. We hope to publish a final report and draft Bill in late 2008.
Scope of the review
Our review considers the full range of structural options for a scheme of bribery offences. It takes into account the issues and views that have emerged since the introduction of the draft Bill in 2003. The review compares the law of England and Wales with the law operating in other jurisdictions and takes into account international conventions and the body of experience around their implementation.
The review also looks at the wider context on corrupt practices to make it clear how existing provisions complement the law of bribery.
Background information
In 1998 the Law Commission published a report and draft Bill on Corruption (LC248). This resulted in the Government's draft Corruption Bill, which received its pre-legislative scrutiny by a Joint Committee in 2003. The Joint Committee heavily criticised the Bill and recommended that the scheme of offences be restructured.
In an attempt to seek a consensus on the way forward, the Government published a consultation paper in December 2005. The consultation revealed broad support for reform of the existing law but no agreement as to how it could best be achieved. As a result, in March 2007 the Government asked the Law Commission to consider again the options for reform of the law of bribery.
Our review considers the full range of structural options for a scheme of bribery offences. It takes into account the issues and views that have emerged since the introduction of the draft Bill in 2003. The review compares the law of England and Wales with the law operating in other jurisdictions and takes into account international conventions and the body of experience surrounding their implementation.
The review also looks at the wider context of corrupt practices to make it clear how existing provisions complement the law of bribery.
In an attempt to seek a new consensus on the way forward, the Government published a consultation paper in December 2005. The consultation revealed that there is broad support for reform of the existing law but no consensus as to how it can best be achieved. As a result, in March 2007 the Government asked the Law Commission to take forward the findings of the Government's consultation and to consider the options for reform further.
For more information, or to submit your views, contact the criminal law team. Further information is available from the team page.
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