OECD Reports on Implementation of Convention on Bribery of Foreign Public Officials

On May 7, 2002 the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development declassified a report on the implementation of the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Official in International Business Transaction. The OECD reported that ratification of the Convention and incorporation into the national law of signatories is almost complete. All thirty OECD countries signed the Convention as well as four non-members (Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, and Chile). Slovenia became the fifth non-member to join the Convention, depositing its instrument of accession with the Secretary General in September 2001. As of May 2002, 34 countries have deposited their instruments of ratification/accession with OECD Secretary General. The Working Group has examined implementing legislation of 30 of these. Three others (Brazil, Chile, and Turkey) will be reviewed after they enact implementing legislation. Slovenia has announced a revision of its legislation and will be examined once its Parliamnet enacts the revision. The outreach efforts of the OECD and especially the production and distribution of a manual to assist tax examiners identifying suspicious payments likely to be bribes reflect growing efforts of intergovernmental organizations, such as the OECD, to set international standards and develop guidelines to help implement the standards.