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Full-Text Articles in Law
Arbitrating Corruption, Rachel Brewster
Arbitrating Corruption, Rachel Brewster
Faculty Scholarship
One of the most controversial issues in international investment law is how arbitral panels should deal with investments tainted by corruption at their inception. The current practice of investment arbitrators is to refuse to hear investors’ claims when bribery allegations are substantiated. A recent wave of scholarship has attacked this “corruption defense,” arguing that the practice unfairly harms investors and encourages governments to maintain corrupt practices. This Essay responds to that scholarship, arguing that the current approach is the best policy choice on balance. The Essay analyzes three core policy questions at the heart of the debate: Would eliminating the …
Never Waste A Crisis: Anticorruption Reforms In South America, Rachel Brewster, Andres Ortiz
Never Waste A Crisis: Anticorruption Reforms In South America, Rachel Brewster, Andres Ortiz
Faculty Scholarship
In the midst of dramatic corruption scandals, South American countries have passed some of the most noteworthy anticorruption legislation in the region’s history. This Article examines the wave of anticorruption reforms and how international law, and in particular anticorruption treaties, has had an important influence on the content of these reforms. Specifically, this Article argues that that the OECD Anti-Bribery Working Group has acted as a political entrepreneur, advocating for specific and meaningful reforms. The influence of international law was critical in ensuring that the reforms adopted during these corruption scandals were robust and that the opportunity presented by these …
Enforcing The Fcpa: International Resonance And Domestic Strategy, Rachel Brewster
Enforcing The Fcpa: International Resonance And Domestic Strategy, Rachel Brewster
Faculty Scholarship
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), which bans corporations from offering bribes to foreign government officials, was enacted during the Watergate era’s crackdown on political corruption but remained only weakly enforced for its first two decades. American industry argued that the law created an uneven playing field in global commerce, which made robust enforcement politically unpopular. This Article documents how the executive branch strategically under- enforced the FCPA, while Congress and the President pushed for an international agreement that would bind other countries to rules similar to those of the United States. The Article establishes that U.S. officials ramped up …
The Domestic And International Enforcement Of The Oecd Anti-Bribery Convention, Rachel Brewster
The Domestic And International Enforcement Of The Oecd Anti-Bribery Convention, Rachel Brewster
Faculty Scholarship
International corruption law is a growing, if understudied, area of international economic law. This Article examines two aspects of governments' enforcement of the OECD's Anti-Bribery Convention. The first aspect is the member state's efforts to enforce its own national legislation prohibiting foreign corruption within its territory and with regards to its nationals doing business abroad. The OECD Treaty's obligation concerning member states' enforcement of their own national legislation is somewhat ambiguous. While the obligation to pass particular national legislation is quite clear and specific, the treaty does not specify what resources that a state must dedicate to internally enforcing these …
Qui Tam: Is False Claims Law A Model For International Law?, Paul D. Carrington
Qui Tam: Is False Claims Law A Model For International Law?, Paul D. Carrington
Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Enforcing International Corrupt Practices Law, Paul D. Carrington
Enforcing International Corrupt Practices Law, Paul D. Carrington
Faculty Scholarship
This Essay strives to advance the current international movement to
deter the transnational corrupt practices that have long burdened the global economy and weakened governments, especially in “developing” nations. Laws made in the last decade to address this longstanding global problem have not been effectively enforced. Described here are the moderately successful efforts in the United States since 1862 to reward private citizens serving as enforcers of laws prohibiting corrupt practices. It is suggested that this American experience might be adapted by international organizations to enhance enforcement of the new public international laws.