Publication: Writing an Effective Anticorruption Law
Date
2001-10
ISSN
Published
2001-10
Author(s)
Messick, Richard E.
Kleinfeld, Rachel
Abstract
The note looks at effective
anticorruption legal instruments. However, law enforcement
measures are not the first or necessarily the preferred
method of defense. An informed citizenry, a government
imbued with a service ethic, and other measures can be more
effective in combating corruption. But tailoring the law to
improve enforcement capacity generally encompasses a variety
of statutes that prohibit bribery, nepotism, conflicts of
interest, and favoritism in the award of contract or the
provision of government benefits. And writing such laws
containing "bright-line rules" in contrast to
those containing standards open to interpretation by
enforcement agencies may make it easier to monitor
compliance and enforcement, but also rob the law of
flexibility. Such laws often must be simplified to the point
of arbitrariness-making them harder to accept than
broadly-worded standards, which often conform to intuitive
social understandings. The cost of bright-line rules are
often more than offset by their deterrence value and their
value in facilitating monitoring in countries with weak
enforcement agencies. However, no statute can avoid some
open-textured provisions. When a section in an
anticorruption law must leave something open to question,
one way to reduce enforcers' discretion is to establish
a procedure for obtaining advance rulings. Finally, the
author recommends laws that help bring corruption to light,
such as a freedom of information law.
Citation
“Messick, Richard E.; Kleinfeld, Rachel. 2001. Writing an Effective Anticorruption Law. PREM Notes; No. 58. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/6f06a3f4-754b-5fd0-8523-abf6e948ea4b License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”