Bribery and Corruption - US Department of State

Bribery and Corruption

Judicial Corruption Continues To Plague the World, Report Says

Systemic corruption of judicial systems not only denies citizens their basic human rights, but hinders economic development and sometimes pushes aggrieved populations to violence, according to a recent report. Global Corruption Report 2007: Corruption in Judicial Systems says that despite international efforts, different forms of judicial corruption continue to afflict many parts of the world. The report was issued in late May by Transparency International, an international anti-corruption nongovernmental organization. (complete text)

New Phase in Fight Against Corruption Begins at Global Forum

At the conclusion of the Fifth Global Forum on Fighting Corruption and Safeguarding Integrity in Johannesburg, South Africa, participants endorse the U.N. Convention Against Corruption as the “primary global framework for action and cooperation among governments and between governments, the private sector and other nonstate actors,” thus entering a new stage in the worldwide fight against corruption. Joseph Gangloff, deputy director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, says the gathering provided “solid ground” for transition from the Global Forum process to follow up with the U.N. convention. (complete text)

Developing Countries Need To Act To Prevent Official Misconduct

Developing nations should not wait for a national scandal to put in place a system for preventing and detecting misconduct by public officials, says a representative of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE). Speaking at an international corruption forum in Johannesburg, South Africa, OGE Deputy Director Jane Ley says that although many developing countries where corruption is widespread are under pressure to investigate and prosecute bribery and fraud cases and do not pay much attention to prevention, "at some point they will have to think about prevention and detection measures as well." (complete text)