Background
The Bribery Act 2010 (Act) is due to come into force in April 2011. The current English law on bribery was considered to be unsatisfactory because it did not comply with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Bribery Convention, ratified by the UK in 1998. The handling by the English courts of the investigation into bribery allegations against BAE Systems has also been the subject of much criticism. The Act is designed to address these issues.
Commercial organisations will have a defence against the offence of failing to prevent bribery if they can show that they had "adequate procedures" in place to prevent persons "associated" with the organisation from making bribes. The Act does not provide any detail as to what constitutes such "adequate procedures".
Consultation
The Ministry of Justice has now published a consultation document on guidance for commercial organisations to help them ensure that they have "adequate procedures" in place.
The draft guidance contains 6 principles:
- risk management and mitigation;
- top level commitment to bribery prevention;
- due diligence;
- clear, practical and accessible policies and procedures;
- effective implementation; and
- monitoring and review.
The consultation period is to last 8 weeks, with 8 November 2010 being the deadline for responses. A response will be published early in 2011 together with the final form of the guidance.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.