НАУЧНО-ИССЛЕДОВАТЕЛЬСКИЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ

ВЫСШАЯ ШКОЛА ЭКОНОМИКИ

Нижегородский филиал

Кафедра иностранных языков

E.N. Kalinina

CORRUPTION AND BRIBERY

Учебно-методические материалы

для студентов 2 курса факультета права

НИЖНИЙ НОВГОРОД

2011

ББК 81. 2Англ-923

В 39

Калинина Э. Н. Коррупция и взяточничество: учебно-методические материалы для

студентов 2 курса факультета права / Калинина Э. Н .– Н. Новгород : НИУ ВШЭ,

2011. - 32 c.

Предлагаемые учебно-методические материалы предназначены для студентов

2 года обучения по курсу ESP. Настоящая работа включает учебные тексты,

систему упражнений, заданий и дополнительных текстов правовой направлен-

ности, которые должны обеспечить комплекстное обучение студентов различ-

ным видам речевой деятельности, а именно, развитию навыков чтения, пере-

вода, устной речи, умению работать с текстом с целью передачи его общего

содержания.

Рецензент: к.п.н., доцент Карпова Ю. Н.

Калинина Эльвина Николаевна 2011

Нижегородский филиал НИУ ВШЭ 2011

Corruption and its remedy

Etymologically the word “corruption” comes from the Latin verb “corruptus” (to break)

It literally means “a broken object”. Conceptually corruption is a form of behaviour which

departs from ethics, morality, tradition, law and civic virtue.

The classic definition views corruption as the use of one’s public position for illegitimate private gains. Abuse of power and personal gain can occur both in public and private domains and often in collusion with individuals from these sectors.

The adopted definition is the following: “Corruption is the behaviour of private individuals or public officials who deviate from set responsibilities and use their position of power in order to serve private ends and secure private gains”.

Corruption is the offering, giving, receiving or soliciting of anything of value to influence the action of a public official in the business process, in contract execution or

just in the interest of an individual. Thus it is clear that corruption is the abuse of public office for private interest.

The problem of corruption is as acute today as ever. During a research carried out by TRANSCRIME on corruption in the EU countries some main patterns of corruption and different patterns of criminal responses to it were outlined:

• systematic corruption ( Italy, France, Spain and Belgium );

• emerging systematic corruption ( Germany and Greece );

• sporadic corruption ( Ireland, Austria and Portugal);

• casual corruption ( Finland, Denmark, Sweden ).

The differences in definition of corruption take on various forms depending on cultural and social context of each country. It is important to study the cultural background in order to discover the constant elements of corruption and thus to take the effective measures. For instance, referring to “corruption prone environment” in Italy we usually talk about a phenomenon that is deeply rooted in the cultural tradition of Italian society as corrupt activities are practiced and accepted by normal citizens.

Corruption is not manifested in one single form: it typically takes at least three broad forms.

Petty administrative or bureaucratic corruption.

Many corrupt acts are isolated transactions by individual public officials who abuse their office, for example, by demanding bribes or kickbacks, diverting public funds or awarding favors in return for personal considerations.

Grand corruption.

The theft or misuse of vast amounts of public resources by state officials – usually members of, or associated with, the political or administrative elite – constitutes grand corruption.

State capture / influence peddling.

Collusion by private actors with public officials or politicians for their mutual private

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benefit is referred to as state capture. That is, the private sector “captures” the state legislative, executive and judicial apparatus for its own purposes. State capture coexists with the conventional ( and opposite ) view of corruption, in which public officials extort or, otherwise, exploit the private sector for private interests.

With reference to legal responses the main criteria used for this analysis were:

1. the definition of the crime corruption;

2. the distinction between passive and active corruption;

3. the definition of passive and active subjects involved in the crime of corruption;

4. sanctions.

The penal codes of countries envisage various levels of corruption crimes according to the position held by the actor. Another distinction is related to the nature of the corruption act, to the functional role of the actor.

Corruption is a collusive agreement between one person illegally offering or promising an advantage and another person receiving this advantage. There are substantial differences in the legislations of countries concerning the abuse of a public function by “passive actors” ( the beneficiary of a bribe ) and the behaviour of the “active actors”.

The range of sanctions envisaged by penal codes of the corruption crime varies from pecuniary sanctions, incarceration, confiscation of illicite proceeds, dismissal from work.

Some countries adopt more severe penalties in the case of aggravating circumstances.

So what can policymakers do to combat corruption?

Experience strongly suggests that the answer lies in taking an indirect approach and starting with the root causes. To understand why, it is helpful to look at a model that divides countries into three categories – “high”, “medium”, and “low” – reflecting the incidence of corruption. The model also assumes that countries with “high” corruption have a “low” quality of governance, those with “medium” corruption have “fair” governance and those with “low” corruption have “good” governance. And if corruption is about governance and governance is about the exercise of state power then efforts to combat corruption demand strong leadership and ownership and they are to be successful and sustainable.

It is also important to focus on strategies that should be adopted to fight corruption internationally through shared experience with international and national experts and practitioners. The UN’s Global Programme against Corruption ( GPAC ) was launched by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Prevention. Although different from country to country corruption tends to include the following behaviours: conflict of interest, embezzlement, fraud, bribery, political corruption, nepotism, secretarisme and extortion.

A key factor to be identified and monitored by the Global Trends Study is the public confidence in the state and in its anti-corruption agencies. Without the necessary level of trust the public’s involvement in the fight against corruption cannot be effective since anti-corruption measures, such as public complaints systems, will not be seen as reliable.

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Vacabulary notes

to depart from ethics - отступать от этики

civic virtue - гражданская добродетель

illegitimate gains - незаконная прибыль / выгода

to view corruption - рассматривать коррупцию

to abuse power - злоупотреблять властью

collusion - тайный сговор

to deviate from sth. - отступать от чего-либо

to secure - обеспечивать

to solicit - выпрашивать

domain - сфера, территория

casual - случайный, нерегулярный

to take on forms - принимать формы

background - фон

to take preventive measures - принимать привитивные меры

prone - склонность

to be rooted in traditions - уходить корнями в традиции

to accept - принимать

transaction - сделка

to demand - требовать

kickback - возвращение части гонорара / откат

to divert - отводить, отклонять

capture - захват

peddling - мелкая торговля

mutual - общий, совместный

benefit - выгода, прибыль, польза

to extort - вымогать

legal response - юридический, правовой ответ

distinction - отличие, различие

pedal codes - уголовный кодекс

to envisage - рассматривать

to hold the position - занимать положение / пост

to offer an advantage - предлагать преимущество /пользу

substantial - важный

beneficiary - лицо, пользующееся благодеянием

to vary - менять, изменять

pecuniary sanctions - денежные санкции, штрафы

incarceration - заключение в тюрьму

aggravating circumstances - отягчающие обстоятельства

cause - причина

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to assume - допускать

the exercise of power - осуществление власти

sustainable - стойкий

nepotism - кумовство

embezzlement - хищение

confidence - доверие

complain - жалоба

to be reliable - быть надежным

1. Find in the dictionary synonyms to the words:

to accept, gain, incarceration, to manifest, response, pecuniary sanctions,

various, to vary.

2. Find in the dictionary antonyms to the words:

to adopt, to dismiss from work, to emerge, to secure, severe penalties.

3. Give Russian equivalents to the following English word combinations:

to view corruption as the use of one’s public position

to abuse power for private interest

to deviate from set responsibilities

in collusion with individuals

to secure private gains

to solicit anything of value

to carry out research on corruption

to outline patterns of criminal responses

to take background into consideration

to accept casual corruption

to practice grand corruption

to divert public funds

to award favours in return for private benefit

to extort bribes

with reference to legal responses

to envisage substantial differences

4. Insert the correct prepositions:

to depart________ethics, morality, law and civic virtue

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to influence the behaviour of public officials_______business

contract execution or just private interest

a research carried_______by TRANSCRIME_______corruption

corruption takes_______various forms depending_______cultural traditions

referring_______corruption phenomenon that is rooted_______cultural traditions

collusions________private actors_______public officials

according________the position held_______the actor

sanctions vary_______pecuniary ones_______imprisonment

the adopted strategies to fight corruption_______shared experience

the public confidence_______the state and its anti-corruption agencies

5. Explain the meaning of the following terms in English:

• Grand corruption

• Petty corruption

• Passive actor

• Active actor

6. Answer the following questions:

• What activities are considered to be corrupt?

• What is the adopted definition of corruption?

• What patterns of corruption were outlined after the research carried out

by TRANSCRIME in the EU countries?

• Why do definitions of corruption vary from country to country?

• What three broad forms does corruption manifest?

• What are the criteria used for the analysis of corruption with reference

to legal responces?

- What sanctions are envisaged by penal codes for corruption crimes?

7. Read the following text and speak about legal sanctions for

corruption crimes in different countries:

CORRUPT ACTIONS AND INTERNATIONAL LEGAL RESPONSES

The criminal acts represent the two faces of the same coin since corruption

crimes involve more than one actor and presuppose both “active” and “passive”

participants. Their corruption acts are linked with mutually beneficial interest or gain.

The benefits resulting from corruption need not necessarily be of an economic nature

but can also be of an abstract nature such as improved career prospects, speeding up

of paper work, etc.

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The penal codes of the UK and Germany in the case of the passive receipt

of a bribe by a public official in order to speed up a service for which he / she is

competent the penalty of a fine is envisages.

On the other hand, a public official who authorizes getting a license, although this is

not under his / her competence, is committing an offence.

In Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherland this passive corruption involving

abuse of the public function is punished with a high penalty since the beneficiary of

the bribe holds a public office and therefore represents the state institution. The Italian

Article 319 cited below says about the punishment for an Act that is Contrary to Official Duties: “The public official who has omitted or delayed an act of his / her

office, who has committed an act that is contrary to his / her duty is punishable with

two or five years of imprisonment”. The same sanctions are envisaged for both the corrupter and the corrupted person in Italy, Finland, Greece, Sweden and Portugal.

The authorities can confiscate illicit proceeds, in some cases inflict disciplinary measures. If the profits gained from corruption cannot be found the Romanian penal law imposes the payment of a sum equivalent to the benefit received on behalf of the corruption person.

The Netherland and Portugal inflict the mildest sanctions for corruption crimes with three and six months of imprisonment. In the Russian Federation alongside the confiscation of illicit proceeds, conspicuous parts of the condemned person’s patrimony are requisitioned.

The Netherland and Denmark do not punish active corruption if this does not induce the public official to abuse his / her duties.

On the other hand Germany punishes this type of active corruption with maximum of two years of imprisonment while for corruption involving abuse of official duties – with the term from three months to five years of imprisonment.

In Austria a circumstance is aggravated if the bribe exceeds 25.000 Austrian shillings, while in Finland an “outstanding” amount of money must be involved.

Denmark, for example, tolerate the payment of small sums for anniversaries.

In some countries recidivist behaviour, the involvement of conspicuous sums of money, the corruption of experts, provocation, extortion and the particular role held by the passive actor are considered aggravating circumstances.

Only Denmark and Sweden have laws that prohibit corruption in the private sector. This is positive and should be imitated by the other states in order to encourage a greater sense of morality and correctness among operators.

8. Explain the meaning of the following statements:

   1. A large number of countries punish attempted corruption.

   2. The benefits resulting from corruption can be of abstract nature.

   3. Some countries prefer a more material definition of the concept

of “advantage”.

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9. To your mind, why is it positive that Denmark and Sweden have laws

prohibiting corruption in the private sector?

10. Write down sentences based on the content of the previous texts with

each of the following words:

phenomenon – phenomena

analysis - analyses

criterion - criteria

11. Fill in the blanks using the following words from the box:

securing, to inflict, punished, aggravating, to presuppose,

to deviate, preventive, to abuse, set responsibilities,

to impose, contrary to, to encourage.

1. A corruption crime_____________”passive” and “active” actors.

2. A public official representing the state institution must not_________

his / her duties.

3. If the public official omits, delays or commits the acts____________

his / her duty the official is____________.

4. _____________private gains public officials____________from the___

___________and use their position of power to serve their interests.

5. Penal laws of world countries____________different sanctions for corruption.

6. The involvement of_____________circumstances gives the right___________

more severe sanctions for the abuse of power.

7. International experience can_____________to take the necessary___________

measures to combat corruption.

12. Read and discuss the following text:

WHAT DRIVES CORRUPTION ?

Although corruption varies from country to country it is possible to identify

some key drivers based on in-depth studies. Some case studies examining the root

causes of corruption in different countries identify the following key corruption

drivers:

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The legitimacy of the state as the guardian of the “public interest” is contested. In

highly corrupt countries there is little public acceptance of the notion that the role

of the state is to rise above private interests to protect the broader public interest.

The line between what is “public” and what is “private” is blurred so that abuse

of public office for private gain is a routine occurrence.

The rule of law is weakly embedded. Public sector corruption thrives where laws

apply to some but not to others and where enforcement of the law is often used

as a device for furthering private interests rather than protecting the public interest.

The independence of the judiciary – a pillar of the rule of law – is usually deeply

compromised in highly corrupt countries.