Date of publication
9 December 2016

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The liability of legal persons is a key feature of the emerging legal infrastructure for the global economy.  Without it, governments face a losing battle in the fight against foreign bribery and other complex economic crimes. For many jurisdictions, corporate liability for corruption offences has only come into existence in the 17 years since the entry into force of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. 

This report presents a chronology and a “mapping” of the features of the systems for liability of legal persons found in the 41 Parties to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. 

An effective framework for corporate liability is a cornerstone of the Convention – article 2 requires states parties to establish the liability of legal persons for the bribery of a foreign public official – and essential to effectively combat foreign bribery. The OECD Working Group on Bribery's Phase 3 monitoring process saw these corporate liability frameworks analysed in detail for the first time, including emerging case law.

The report was launched on 9 December 2016 at a Roundtable on corporate liability for foreign bribery, on the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day.

Highlights from the report