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(Information as of 6 August 2004)
Date of deposit of instrument of ratification/acceptance or date of accession
Ireland deposited the instrument of ratification on 22 September 2003. The Convention came into force on 21 November 2003.
Deposit of instrument of ratification/acceptance: 22 September 2003
Entry into force of the Convention: 21 November 2003
Entry into force of implementing legislation: 26 November 2001
Implementing legislation
The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2001 penalises active and passive corruption involving employees, domestic and foreign public office holders and members of domestic and foreign Parliaments. The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2001 was enacted to enable Ireland to give effect to three Conventions:
- the Convention on Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, drawn up under the auspices of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and adopted at Paris on 21 November 1997; and
- the Convention drawn up on the basis of Article K 3 (2) (c) of the Treaty on European Union on the Fight against Corruption involving officials of the European Communities or Officials of Member States of the European Union, done at Brussels on 26 May 1997; and
- the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, drawn up under the auspices of the Council of Europe and done at Strasbourg on 27 January 1999.
and to strengthen the law against corruption generally by amending the earlier Prevention of Corruption Acts, 1889 -1995. The Act provides for a presumption of corruption in certain circumstances, including the failure to disclose political donations or in relation to the exercise of certain functions. It penalises corruption in office and establishes the liability of officers of companies, as well as companies themselves, for offences of corruption. It gives Irish courts jurisdiction in cases where any element of the offence occurs in the State or where an Irish office holder or official is involved. It also makes provision for the issue of search warrants. The Act increases the maximum penalties for those convicted of the offence of corruption to an unlimited fine or 10 years’ imprisonment or both. The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2001 was signed into law on 9 July 2001. The Act came into force on 26 November 2001 following the signature of the necessary commencement order by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
Other relevant laws, regulations or decrees that have an impact on a country’s implementation of the OECD Convention or the Recommendations
Irish law on corruption is set out in the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act, 1889 and the Prevention of Corruption Acts of 1906 and 1916. These Acts were subsequently amended by the Ethics in Public Office Act, 1995. In order to address any remaining gaps in Irish legislation which might have precluded Ireland from fully implementing the OECD Convention, further legislation was prepared, namely the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2001 which was signed into law by the President on 9 July 2001. All of these Acts are collectively cited as the Prevention of Corruption Acts, 1889-2001. The 1889 Act, as amended, criminalised the corruption of or by certain national office holders, such as Ministers of Government, as well as public and civil servants. The 1906 Act, as amended, was more widely cast, as it applied not only to the same categories as its predecessor, but also to the corruption of or by "agents", who were defined as including any person employed by or acting for another. This very wide definition caught not only national office holders and public and civil servants, who were covered in any event, but also applied to employees in the private sector. The 1916 Act applied a rebuttable presumption of corruption to benefits given to or received by persons charged with corruption in relation to public contracts. The Ethics in Public Office Act, 1995 amended certain definitions in the earlier Acts and increased the penalties for offences.
Other information
Relevant authorities
In Ireland, the national police force (An Garda Síochána) is the primary body for investigating criminal cases. For specific types of crime, specialised units operate within the national police force to detect and prevent crimes. As such specialised units, the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation established in 1995 deals with all serious fraud and money laundering cases, and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation established in 1997 investigates serious and organised crime on a national and international basis. Also, the Money Laundering Investigation Unit established in 1995 is responsible for recording, evaluating, analysing and investigating disclosures relating to suspicious financial transactions.
Relevant Internet links to national implementing legislation
The relevant internet link to any legislation including the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2001 is http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/front.html
Working Group on Bribery Monitoring Reports
Phase 1: Review of implementation of the Convention and 1997 Recommendation
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/26/39/2495019.pdf
Phase 2: Report on the Application of the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and the 1997 Recommendation on Combating Bribery in International Business Transactions
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/27/45/38322693.pdf
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