Title: A helping hand: the influence of the 1997 OECD convention in the Italian fight against corruption

Authors: Donato Gualtieri

Addresses: International Law Department, School of Law, University of Pavia, Corso Strada Nuova, 65 – 27100 Pavia (PV), Italy

Abstract: In recent years, the fight against corruption has emerged as a major issue at the global level. This paper deals with the existing dialectic between national interest and the necessity of a shared responsibility in relation to the judicial enforcement of regional and universal conventions. After a brief recall at the historical background, the analysis of the current legal framework poses a methodological doubt: the international fight against corruption proves to be largely unsatisfying. Unique exception is the success of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. Using Italian situation as a case study, the paper attempts to demonstrate how the combination of peer reviews and political pressure among states works as a stimulus to domestic implementation. Identifying in judicial enforcement an interest worthy of protection at the universal level, the paper proposes to make the UNCAC pilot review programme a permanent tool modelled on the OECD peer review control.

Keywords: Italy; anti-corruption policies; international corruption; legal framework; judicial enforcement; OECD Anti-Bribery Convention; UN; United Nations Convention Against Corruption; UNCAC; law; bribery; peer review; political pressure.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPLAP.2013.054749

International Journal of Public Law and Policy, 2013 Vol.3 No.3, pp.327 - 343

Published online: 29 Nov 2013 *

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