UNO Convention against corruption-2003

Announced Date： 2003-10-31

Preamble

The States Parties to this Convention,

Concerned about the seriousness of problems and threats posed by corruption to the stability and security of societies,
undermining the institutions and values of democracy, ethical values and justice and jeopardizing sustainable development and the rule of law,

Concerned also about the links between corruption and other
forms of crime, in particular organized crime and economic
crime, including money-laundering,

Concerned further about cases of corruption that involve vast
quantities of assets, which may constitute a substantial
proportion of the resources of States, and that threaten the
political stability and sustainable development of those States,

Convinced that corruption is no longer a local matter but a
transnational phenomenon that affects all societies and
economies, making international cooperation to prevent and
control it essential,

Convinced also that a comprehensive and multidisciplinary
approach is required to prevent and combat corruption
effectively,

Convinced further that the availability of technical assistance
can play an important role in enhancing the ability of States,
including by strengthening capacity and by institution-building,
to prevent and combat corruption effectively,

Convinced that the illicit acquisition of personal wealth can be
particularly damaging to democratic institutions, national
economies and the rule of law,

Determined to prevent, detect and deter in a more effective
manner international transfers of illicitly acquired assets and
to strengthen international cooperation in asset recovery,

Acknowledging the fundamental principles of due process of law
in criminal proceedings and in civil or administrative
proceedings to adjudicate property rights,

Bearing in mind that the prevention and eradication of
corruption is a responsibility of all States and that they must
cooperate with one another, with the support and involvement of
individuals and groups outside the public sector, such as civil
society, non-governmental organizations and community-based
organizations, if their efforts in this area are to be
effective,

Bearing also in mind the principles of proper management of
public affairs and public property, fairness, responsibility and
equality before the law and the need to safeguard integrity and
to foster a culture of rejection of corruption,

Commending the work of the Commission on Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice and the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime in preventing and combating corruption,

Recalling the work carried out by other international and
regional organizations in this field, including the activities
of the African Union, the Council of Europe, the Customs
Cooperation Council (also known as the World Customs
Organization), the European Union, the League of Arab States,
the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and
the Organization of American States,

Taking note with appreciation of multilateral instruments to
prevent and combat corruption, including, inter alia, the
Inter-American Convention against Corruption, adopted by the
Organization of American States on 29 March 1996,(note 1) the
Convention on the Fight against Corruption involving Officials
of the European Communities or Officials of Member States of the
European Union, adopted by the Council of the European Union on
26 May 1997,(note 2) the Convention on Combating Bribery of
Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions,
adopted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development on 21 November 1997,(note 3) the Criminal Law
Convention on Corruption, adopted by the Committee of Ministers
of the Council of Europe on 27 January 1999,(note 4) the Civil
Law Convention on Corruption, adopted by the Committee of
Ministers of the Council of Europe on 4 November 1999,(note 5)
and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating
Corruption, adopted by the Heads of State and Government of the
African Union on 12 July 2003,

Welcoming the entry into force on 29 September 2003 of the
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime,(note 6)

Have agreed as follows:

Chapter I
General provisions

Article 1. Statement of purpose
The purposes of this Convention are:
(a) To promote and strengthen measures to prevent and combat
corruption more efficiently and effectively;
(b) To promote, facilitate and support international cooperation
and technical assistance in the prevention of and fight
against corruption, including in asset recovery;
(c) To promote integrity, accountability and proper management
of public affairs and public property.

Article 2. Use of terms
For the purposes of this Convention:

(a) “ Public official ” shall mean: (i) any person holding a
legislative, executive, administrative or judicial office of
a State Party, whether appointed or elected, whether
permanent or temporary, whether paid or unpaid, irrespective
of that person ’ s seniority; (ii) any other person who
performs a public function, including for a public agency or
public enterprise, or provides a public service, as defined
in the domestic law of the State Party and as applied in the
pertinent area of law of that State Party; (iii) any other
person defined as a “ public official ” in the domestic
law of a State Party. However, for the purpose of some
specific measures contained in chapter II of this
Convention, “ public official ” may mean any person who
performs a public function or provides a public service as
defined in the domestic law of the State Party and as
applied in the pertinent area of law of that State Party;

(b) “ Foreign public official ” shall mean any person holding
a legislative, executive, administrative or judicial office
of a foreign country, whether appointed or elected; and any
person exercising a public function for a foreign country,
including for a public agency or public enterprise;

(c) “ Official of a public international organization ” shall
mean an international civil servant or any person who is
authorized by such an organization to act on behalf of that
organization;

(d) “ Property ” shall mean assets of every kind, whether
corporeal or incorporeal, movable or immovable, tangible or
intangible, and legal documents or instruments evidencing
title to or interest in such assets;

(e) “ Proceeds of crime ” shall mean any property derived from
or obtained, directly or indirectly, through the commission
of an offence;

(f) “ Freezing ” or “ seizure ” shall mean temporarily
prohibiting the transfer, conversion, disposition or
movement of property or temporarily assuming custody or
control of property on the basis of an order issued by a
court or other competent authority;

(g) “ Confiscation ”, which includes forfeiture where
applicable, shall mean the permanent deprivation of property
by order of a court or other competent authority;

(h) “ Predicate offence ” shall mean any offence as a result
of which proceeds have been generated that may become the
subject of an offence as defined in article 23 of this
Convention;

(i) “ Controlled delivery ” shall mean the technique of
allowing illicit or suspect consignments to pass out of,
through or into the territory of one or more States, with
the knowledge and under the supervision of their competent
authorities, with a view to the investigation of an offence
and the identification of persons involved in the commission
of the offence.

Article 3. Scope of application

1. This Convention shall apply, in accordance with its terms, to
the prevention, investigation and prosecution of corruption
and to the freezing, seizure, confiscation and return of the
proceeds of offences established in accordance with this
Convention.
2. For the purposes of implementing this Convention, it shall
not be necessary, except as otherwise stated herein, for the
offences set forth in it to result in damage or harm to state
property.

Article 4. Protection of sovereignty
1. States Parties shall carry out their obligations under this
Convention in a manner consistent with the principles of
sovereign equality and territorial integrity of States and
that of non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other
States.
2. Nothing in this Convention shall entitle a State Party to
undertake in the territory of another State the exercise of
jurisdiction and performance of functions that are reserved
exclusively for the authorities of that other State by its
domestic law.

Chapter II
Preventive measures

Article 5. Preventive anti-corruption policies and practices
1. Each State Party shall, in accordance with the fundamental
principles of its legal system, develop and implement or
maintain effective, coordinated anti-corruption policies that
promote the participation of society and reflect the
principles of the rule of law, proper management of public
affairs and public property, integrity, transparency and
accountability.
2. Each State Party shall endeavour to establish and promote
effective practices aimed at the prevention of corruption.
3. Each State Party shall endeavour to periodically evaluate
relevant legal instruments and administrative measures with a
view to determining their adequacy to prevent and fight
corruption.
4. States Parties shall, as appropriate and in accordance with
the fundamental principles of their legal system, collaborate
with each other and with relevant international and regional
organizations in promoting and developing the measures
referred to in this article. That collaboration may include
participation in international programmes and projects aimed
at the prevention of corruption.

Article 6. Preventive anti-corruption body or bodies
1. Each State Party shall, in accordance with the fundamental
principles of its legal system, ensure the existence of a
body or bodies, as appropriate, that prevent corruption by
such means as:
(a) Implementing the policies referred to in article 5 of this
Convention and, where appropriate, overseeing and
coordinating the implementation of those policies;
(b) Increasing and disseminating knowledge about the prevention
of corruption.
2. Each State Party shall grant the body or bodies referred to
in paragraph 1 of this article the necessary independence, in
accordance with the fundamental principles of its legal
system, to enable the body or bodies to carry out its or
their functions effectively and free from any undue
influence. The necessary material resources and specialized
staff, as well as the training that such staff may require to
carry out their functions, should be provided.
3. Each State Party shall inform the Secretary-General of the
United Nations of the name and address of the authority or
authorities that may assist other States Parties in
developing and implementing specific measures for the
prevention of corruption.

Article 7. Public sector
1. Each State Party shall, where appropriate and in accordance
with the fundamental principles of its legal system,
endeavour to adopt, maintain and strengthen systems for the
recruitment, hiring, retention, promotion and retirement of
civil servants and, where appropriate, other non-elected
public officials:
(a) That are based on principles of efficiency, transparency and
objective criteria such as merit, equity and aptitude;
(b) That include adequate procedures for the selection and
training of individuals for public positions considered
especially vulnerable to corruption and the rotation, where
appropriate, of such individuals to other positions;
(c) That promote adequate remuneration and equitable pay scales,
taking into account the level of economic development of the
State Party;
(d) That promote education and training programmes to enable
them to meet the requirements for the correct, honourable
and proper performance of public functions and that provide
them with specialized and appropriate training to enhance
their awareness of the risks of corruption inherent in the
performance of their functions. Such programmes may make
reference to codes or standards of conduct in applicable
areas.
2. Each State Party shall also consider adopting appropriate
legislative and administrative measures, consistent with the
objectives of this Convention and in accordance with the
fundamental principles of its domestic law, to prescribe
criteria concerning candidature for and election to public
office.
3. Each State Party shall also consider taking appropriate
legislative and administrative measures, consistent with the
objectives of this Convention and in accordance with the
fundamental principles of its domestic law, to enhance
transparency in the funding of candidatures for elected
public office and, where applicable, the funding of political
parties.
4. Each State Party shall, in accordance with the fundamental
principles of its domestic law, endeavour to adopt, maintain
and strengthen systems that promote transparency and prevent
conflicts of interest.

Article 8. Codes of conduct for public officials
1. In order to fight corruption, each State Party shall promote,
inter alia, integrity, honesty and responsibility among its
public officials, in accordance with the fundamental
principles of its legal system.
2. In particular, each State Party shall endeavour to apply,
within its own institutional and legal systems, codes or
standards of conduct for the correct, honourable and proper
performance of public functions.
3. For the purposes of implementing the provisions of this
article, each State Party shall, where appropriate and in
accordance with the fundamental principles of its legal
system, take note of the relevant initiatives of regional,
interregional and multilateral organizations, such as the
International Code of Conduct for Public Officials contained
in the annex to General Assembly resolution 51/59 of 12
December 1996.
4. Each State Party shall also consider, in accordance with the
fundamental principles of its domestic law, establishing
measures and systems to facilitate the reporting by public
officials of acts of corruption to appropriate authorities,
when such acts come to their notice in the performance of
their functions.
5. Each State Party shall endeavour, where appropriate and in
accordance with the fundamental principles of its domestic
law, to establish measures and systems requiring public
officials to make declarations to appropriate authorities
regarding, inter alia, their outside activities, employment,
investments, assets and substantial gifts or benefits from
which a conflict of interest may result with respect to their
functions as public officials.
6. Each State Party shall consider taking, in accordance with
the fundamental principles of its domestic law, disciplinary
or other measures against public officials who violate the
codes or standards established in accordance with this
article.

Article 9. Public procurement and management of public finances
1. Each State Party shall, in accordance with the fundamental
principles of its legal system, take the necessary steps to
establish appropriate systems of procurement, based on
transparency, competition and objective criteria in
decision-making, that are effective, inter alia, in
preventing corruption. Such systems, which may take into
account appropriate threshold values in their application,
shall address, inter alia:
(a) The public distribution of information relating to
procurement procedures and contracts, including information
on invitations to tender and relevant or pertinent
information on the award of contracts, allowing potential
tenderers sufficient time to prepare and submit their tenders;
(b) The establishment, in advance, of conditions for
participation, including selection and award criteria and
tendering rules, and their publication;
(c) The use of objective and predetermined criteria for public
procurement decisions, in order to facilitate the subsequent
verification of the correct application of the rules or
procedures;
(d) An effective system of domestic review, including an
effective system of appeal, to ensure legal recourse and
remedies in the event that the rules or procedures
established pursuant to this paragraph are not followed;
(e) Where appropriate, measures to regulate matters regarding
personnel responsible for procurement, such as declaration
of interest in particular public procurements, screening
procedures and training requirements.
2. Each State Party shall, in accordance with the fundamental
principles of its legal system, take appropriate measures to
promote transparency and accountability in the management of
public finances. Such measures shall encompass, inter alia:
(a) Procedures for the adoption of the national budget;
(b) Timely reporting on revenue and expenditure;
(c) A system of accounting and auditing standards and related
oversight;
(d) Effective and efficient systems of risk management and
internal control; and
(e) Where appropriate, corrective action in the case of failure
to comply with the requirements established in this
paragraph.
3. Each State Party shall take such civil and administrative
measures as may be necessary, in accordance with the
fundamental principles of its domestic law, to preserve the
integrity of accounting books, records, financial statements
or other documents related to public expenditure and revenue
and to prevent the falsification of such documents.

Article 10. Public reporting
Taking into account the need to combat corruption, each State
Party shall, in accordance with the fundamental principles of
its domestic law, take such measures as may be necessary to
enhance transparency in its public administration, including
with regard to its organization, functioning and decisionmaking
processes, where appropriate. Such measures may include, inter
alia:
(a) Adopting procedures or regulations allowing members of the
general public to obtain, where appropriate, information on
the organization, functioning and decision-making processes
of its public administration and, with due regard for the
protection of privacy and personal data, on decisions and
legal acts that concern members of the public;
(b) Simplifying administrative procedures, where appropriate, in
order to facilitate public access to the competent
decision-making authorities; and
(c) Publishing information, which may include periodic reports
on the risks of corruption in its public administration.

Article 11. Measures relating to the judiciary and prosecution
services
1. Bearing in mind the independence of the judiciary and its
crucial role in combating corruption, each State Party shall,
in accordance with the fundamental principles of its legal
system and without prejudice to judicial independence, take
measures to strengthen integrity and to prevent opportunities
for corruption among members of the judiciary. Such measures
may include rules with respect to the conduct of members of
the judiciary.
2. Measures to the same effect as those taken pursuant to
paragraph 1 of this article may be introduced and applied
within the prosecution service in those States Parties where
it does not form part of the judiciary but enjoys
independence similar to that of the judicial service.

Article 12. Private sector
1. Each State Party shall take measures, in accordance with the
fundamental principles of its domestic law, to prevent
corruption involving the private sector, enhance accounting
and auditing standards in the private sector and, where
appropriate, provide effective, proportionate and dissuasive
civil, administrative or criminal penalties for failure to
comply with such measures.
2. Measures to achieve these ends may include, inter alia:
(a) Promoting cooperation between law enforcement agencies and
relevant private entities;
(b) Promoting the development of standards and procedures
designed to safeguard the integrity of relevant private
entities, including codes of conduct for the correct,
honourable and proper performance of the activities of
business and all relevant professions and the prevention of
conflicts of interest, and for the promotion of the use of
good commercial practices among businesses and in the
contractual relations of businesses with the State;
(c) Promoting transparency among private entities, including,
where appropriate, measures regarding the identity of legal
and natural persons involved in the establishment and
management of corporate entities;
(d) Preventing the misuse of procedures regulating private
entities, including procedures regarding subsidies and
licences granted by public authorities for commercial
activities;
(e) Preventing conflicts of interest by imposing restrictions,
as appropriate and for a reasonable period of time, on the
professional activities of former public officials or on the
employment of public officials by the private sector after
their resignation or retirement, where such activities or
employment relate directly to the functions held or
supervised by those public officials during their tenure;
(f) Ensuring that private enterprises, taking into account their
structure and size, have sufficient internal auditing
controls to assist in preventing and detecting acts of
corruption and that the accounts and required financial
statements of such private enterprises are subject to
appropriate auditing and certification procedures.
3. In order to prevent corruption, each State Party shall take
such measures as may be necessary, in accordance with its
domestic laws and regulations regarding the maintenance of
books and records, financial statement disclosures and
accounting and auditing standards, to prohibit the following
acts carried out for the purpose of committing any of the
offences established in accordance with this Convention:
(a) The establishment of off-the-books accounts;
(b) The making of off-the-books or inadequately identified
transactions;
(c) The recording of non-existent expenditure;
(d) The entry of liabilities with incorrect identification of
their objects;
(e) The use of false documents; and
(f) The intentional destruction of bookkeeping documents earlier
than foreseen by the law.
4. Each State Party shall disallow the tax deductibility of
expenses that constitute bribes, the latter being one of the
constituent elements of the offences established in
accordance with articles 15 and 16 of this Convention and,
where appropriate, other expenses incurred in furtherance of
corrupt conduct.

Article 13. Participation of society
1. Each State Party shall take appropriate measures, within its
means and in accordance with fundamental principles of its
domestic law, to promote the active participation of
individuals and groups outside the public sector, such as
civil society, non-governmental organizations and
community-based organizations, in the prevention of and the
fight against corruption and to raise public awareness
regarding the existence, causes and gravity of and the threat
posed by corruption. This participation should be
strengthened by such measures as:
(a) Enhancing the transparency of and promoting the contribution
of the public to decision-making processes;
(b) Ensuring that the public has effective access to information;
(c) Undertaking public information activities that contribute to
nontolerance of corruption, as well as public education
programmes, including school and university curricula;
(d) Respecting, promoting and protecting the freedom to seek,
receive, publish and disseminate information concerning
corruption. That freedom may be subject to certain
restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided
for by law and are necessary:
(i) For respect of the rights or reputations of others;
(ii) For the protection of national security or ordre public or
of public health or morals.
2. Each State Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure
that the relevant anti-corruption bodies referred to in this
Convention are known to the public and shall provide access
to such bodies, where appropriate, for the reporting,
including anonymously, of any incidents that may be
considered to constitute an offence established in accordance
with this Convention.

Article 14. Measures to prevent money-laundering
1. Each State Party shall:
(a) Institute a comprehensive domestic regulatory and
supervisory regime for banks and non-bank financial
institutions, including natural or legal persons that
provide formal or informal services for the transmission of
money or value and, where appropriate, other bodies
particularly susceptible to moneylaundering, within its
competence, in order to deter and detect all forms of
money-laundering, which regime shall emphasize requirements
for customer and, where appropriate, beneficial owner
identification, record-keeping and the reporting of
suspicious transactions;
(b) Without prejudice to article 46 of this Convention, ensure
that administrative, regulatory, law enforcement and other
authorities dedicated to combating money-laundering
(including, where appropriate under domestic law, judicial
authorities) have the ability to cooperate and exchange
information at the national and international levels within
the conditions prescribed by its domestic law and, to that
end, shall consider the establishment of a financial
intelligence unit to serve as a national centre for the
collection, analysis and dissemination of information
regarding potential money-laundering.
2. States Parties shall consider implementing feasible measures
to detect and monitor the movement of cash and appropriate
negotiable instruments across their borders, subject to
safeguards to ensure proper use of information and without
impeding in any way the movement of legitimate capital. Such
measures may include a requirement that individuals and
businesses report the cross-border transfer of substantial
quantities of cash and appropriate negotiable instruments.
3. States Parties shall consider implementing appropriate and
feasible measures to require financial institutions,
including money remitters:
(a) To include on forms for the electronic transfer of funds and
related messages accurate and meaningful information on the
originator;
(b) To maintain such information throughout the payment chain;
and
(c) To apply enhanced scrutiny to transfers of funds that do not
contain complete information on the originator.
4. In establishing a domestic regulatory and supervisory regime
under the terms of this article, and without prejudice to any
other article of this Convention, States Parties are called
upon to use as a guideline the relevant initiatives of
regional, interregional and multilateral organizations
against money-laundering.
5. States Parties shall endeavour to develop and promote global,
regional, subregional and bilateral cooperation among
judicial, law enforcement and financial regulatory
authorities in order to combat money-laundering.

Chapter III
Criminalization and law enforcement

Article 15. Bribery of national public officials
Each State Party shall adopt such legislative and other measures
as may be necessary to establish as criminal offences, when
committed intentionally:
(a) The promise, offering or giving, to a public official,
directly or indirectly, of an undue advantage, for the
official himself or herself or another person or entity, in
order that the official act or refrain from acting in the
exercise of his or her official duties;
(b) The solicitation or acceptance by a public official,
directly or indirectly, of an undue advantage, for the
official himself or herself or another person or entity, in
order that the official act or refrain from acting in the
exercise of his or her official duties.

Article 16. Bribery of foreign public officials and officials of
public international organizations
1. Each State Party shall adopt such legislative and other
measures as may be necessary to establish as a criminal
offence, when committed intentionally, the promise, offering
or giving to a foreign public official or an official of a
public international organization, directly or indirectly, of
an undue advantage, for the official himself or herself or
another person or entity, in order that the official act or
refrain from acting in the exercise of his or her official
duties, in order to obtain or retain business or other undue
advantage in relation to the conduct of international
business.
2. Each State Party shall consider adopting such legislative and
other measures as may be necessary to establish as a criminal
offence, when committed intentionally, the solicitation or
acceptance by a foreign public official or an official of a
public international organization, directly or indirectly, of
an undue advantage, for the official himself or herself or
another person or entity, in order that the official act or
refrain from acting in the exercise of his or her official
duties.

Article 17. Embezzlement, misappropriation or other diversion of
property by a public official
Each State Party shall adopt such legislative and other measures
as may be necessary to establish as criminal offences, when
committed intentionally, the embezzlement, misappropriation or
other diversion by a public official for his or her benefit or
for the benefit of another person or entity, of any property,
public or private funds or securities or any other thing of
value entrusted to the public official by virtue of his or her
position.

Article 18. Trading in influence
Each State Party shall consider adopting such legislative and
other measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal
offences, when committed intentionally:
(a) The promise, offering or giving to a public official or any
other person, directly or indirectly, of an undue advantage
in order that the public official or the person abuse his or
her real or supposed influence with a view to obtaining from
an administration or public authority of the State Party an
undue advantage for the original instigator of the act or
for any other person;
(b) The solicitation or acceptance by a public official or any
other person, directly or indirectly, of an undue advantage
for himself or herself or for another person in order that
the public official or the person abuse his or her real or
supposed influence with a view to obtaining from an
administration or public authority of the State Party an
undue advantage.

Article 19. Abuse of functions
Each State Party shall consider adopting such legislative and
other measures as may be necessary to establish as a criminal
offence, when committed intentionally, the abuse of functions or
position, that is, the performance of or failure to perform an
act, in violation of laws, by a public official in the discharge
of his or her functions, for the purpose of obtaining an undue
advantage for himself or herself or for another person or
entity.

Article 20. Illicit enrichment
Subject to its constitution and the fundamental principles of
its legal system, each State Party shall consider adopting such
legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish
as a criminal offence, when committed intentionally, illicit
enrichment, that is, a significant increase in the assets of a
public official that he or she cannot reasonably explain in
relation to his or her lawful income.

Article 21. Bribery in the private sector
Each State Party shall consider adopting such legislative and
other measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal
offences, when committed intentionally in the course of
economic, financial or commercial activities:
(a) The promise, offering or giving, directly or indirectly, of
an undue advantage to any person who directs or works, in
any capacity, for a private sector entity, for the person
himself or herself or for another person, in order that he
or she, in breach of his or her duties, act or refrain from
acting;
(b) The solicitation or acceptance, directly or indirectly, of
an undue advantage by any person who directs or works, in
any capacity, for a private sector entity, for the person
himself or herself or for another person, in order that he
or she, in breach of his or her duties, act or refrain from
acting.

Article 22. Embezzlement of property in the private sector
Each State Party shall consider adopting such legislative and
other measures as may be necessary to establish as a criminal
offence, when committed intentionally in the course of economic,
financial or commercial activities, embezzlement by a person who
directs or works, in any capacity, in a private sector entity of
any property, private funds or securities or any other thing of
value entrusted to him or her by virtue of his or her position.

Article 23. Laundering of proceeds of crime
1. Each State Party shall adopt, in accordance with fundamental
principles of its domestic law, such legislative and other
measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal
offences, when committed intentionally:
(a) (i) The conversion or transfer of property, knowing that
such property is the proceeds of crime, for the purpose
of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of the
property or of helping any person who is involved in the
commission of the predicate offence to evade the legal
consequences of his or her action;
(ii) The concealment or disguise of the true nature, source,
location, disposition, movement or ownership of or
rights with respect to property, knowing that such
property is the proceeds of crime;
(b) Subject to the basic concepts of its legal system:
(i) The acquisition, possession or use of property, knowing, at
the time of receipt, that such property is the proceeds of
crime;
(ii) Participation in, association with or conspiracy to commit,
attempts to commit and aiding, abetting, facilitating and
counselling the commission of any of the offences
established in accordance with this article.
2. For purposes of implementing or applying paragraph 1 of this
article:
(a) Each State Party shall seek to apply paragraph 1 of this
article to the widest range of predicate offences;
(b) Each State Party shall include as predicate offences at a
minimum a comprehensive range of criminal offences
established in accordance with this Convention;
(c) For the purposes of subparagraph (b) above, predicate
offences shall include offences committed both within and
outside the jurisdiction of the State Party in question.
However, offences committed outside the jurisdiction of a
State Party shall constitute predicate offences only when
the relevant conduct is a criminal offence under the
domestic law of the State where it is committed and would be
a criminal offence under the domestic law of the State Party
implementing or applying this article had it been committed
there;
(d) Each State Party shall furnish copies of its laws that give
effect to this article and of any subsequent changes to such
laws or a description thereof to the Secretary-General of
the United Nations;
(e) If required by fundamental principles of the domestic law of
a State Party, it may be provided that the offences set
forth in paragraph 1 of this article do not apply to the
persons who committed the predicate offence.

Article 24. Concealment
Without prejudice to the provisions of article 23 of this
Convention, each State Party shall consider adopting such
legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish
as a criminal offence, when committed intentionally after the
commission of any of the offences established in accordance with
this Convention without having participated in such offences,
the concealment or continued retention of property when the
person involved knows that such property is the result of any of
the offences established in accordance with this Convention.

Article 25. Obstruction of justice
Each State Party shall adopt such legislative and other measures
as may be necessary to establish as criminal offences, when
committed intentionally:
(a) The use of physical force, threats or intimidation or the
promise, offering or giving of an undue advantage to induce
false testimony or to interfere in the giving of testimony
or the production of evidence in a proceeding in relation to
the commission of offences established in accordance with
this Convention;
(b) The use of physical force, threats or intimidation to
interfere with the exercise of official duties by a justice
or law enforcement official in relation to the commission of
offences established in accordance with this Convention.
Nothing in this subparagraph shall prejudice the right of
States Parties to have legislation that protects other
categories of public official.

Article 26. Liability of legal persons
1. Each State Party shall adopt such measures as may be
necessary, consistent with its legal principles, to establish
the liability of legal persons for participation in the
offences established in accordance with this Convention.
2. Subject to the legal principles of the State Party, the
liability of legal persons may be criminal, civil or
administrative.
3. Such liability shall be without prejudice to the criminal
liability of the natural persons who have committed the
offences.
4. Each State Party shall, in particular, ensure that legal
persons held liable in accordance with this article are
subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal
or non-criminal sanctions, including monetary sanctions.

Article 27. Participation and attempt
1. Each State Party shall adopt such legislative and other
measures as may be necessary to establish as a criminal
offence, in accordance with its domestic law, participation
in any capacity such as an accomplice, assistant or
instigator in an offence established in accordance with this
Convention.
2. Each State Party may adopt such legislative and other
measures as may be necessary to establish as a criminal
offence, in accordance with its domestic law, any attempt to
commit an offence established in accordance with this
Convention.
3. Each State Party may adopt such legislative and other
measures as may be necessary to establish as a criminal
offence, in accordance with its domestic law, the preparation
for an offence established in accordance with this
Convention.

Article 28. Knowledge, intent and purpose as elements of an
offence
Knowledge, intent or purpose required as an element of an
offence established in accordance with this Convention may be
inferred from objective factual circumstances.

Article 29. Statute of limitations
Each State Party shall, where appropriate, establish under its
domestic law a long statute of limitations period in which to
commence proceedings for any offence established in accordance
with this Convention and establish a longer statute of
limitations period or provide for the suspension of the statute
of limitations where the alleged offender has evaded the
administration of justice.

Article 30. Prosecution, adjudication and sanctions
1. Each State Party shall make the commission of an offence
established in accordance with this Convention liable to
sanctions that take into account the gravity of that offence.
2. Each State Party shall take such measures as may be necessary
to establish or maintain, in accordance with its legal system
and constitutional principles, an appropriate balance between
any immunities or jurisdictional privileges accorded to its
public officials for the performance of their functions and
the possibility, when necessary, of effectively
investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating offences
established in accordance with this Convention.
3. Each State Party shall endeavour to ensure that any
discretionary legal powers under its domestic law relating to
the prosecution of persons for offences established in
accordance with this Convention are exercised to maximize the
effectiveness of law enforcement measures in respect of those
offences and with due regard to the need to deter the
commission of such offences.
4. In the case of offences established in accordance with this
Convention, each State Party shall take appropriate measures,
in accordance with its domestic law and with due regard to
the rights of the defence, to seek to ensure that conditions
imposed in connection with decisions on release pending trial
or appeal take into consideration the need to ensure the
presence of the defendant at subsequent criminal proceedings.
5. Each State Party shall take into account the gravity of the
offences concerned when considering the eventuality of early
release or parole of persons convicted of such offences.
6. Each State Party, to the extent consistent with the
fundamental principles of its legal system, shall consider
establishing procedures through which a public official
accused of an offence established in accordance with this
Convention may, where appropriate, be removed, suspended or
reassigned by the appropriate authority, bearing in mind
respect for the principle of the presumption of innocence.
7. Where warranted by the gravity of the offence, each State
Party, to the extent consistent with the fundamental
principles of its legal system, shall consider establishing
procedures for the disqualification, by court order or any
other appropriate means, for a period of time determined by
its domestic law, of persons convicted of offences
established in accordance with this Convention from:
(a) Holding public office; and
(b) Holding office in an enterprise owned in whole or in part by
the State.
8. Paragraph 1 of this article shall be without prejudice to the
exercise of disciplinary powers by the competent authorities
against civil servants.
9. Nothing contained in this Convention shall affect the
principle that the description of the offences established in
accordance with this Convention and of the applicable legal
defences or other legal principles controlling the lawfulness
of conduct is reserved to the domestic law of a State Party
and that such offences shall be prosecuted and punished in
accordance with that law.
10. States Parties shall endeavour to promote the reintegration
into society of persons convicted of offences established in
accordance with this Convention.

Article 31. Freezing, seizure and confiscation
1. Each State Party shall take, to the greatest extent possible
within its domestic legal system, such measures as may be
necessary to enable confiscation of:
(a) Proceeds of crime derived from offences established in
accordance with this Convention or property the value of
which corresponds to that of such proceeds;
(b) Property, equipment or other instrumentalities used in or
destined for use in offences established in accordance with
this Convention.
2. Each State Party shall take such measures as may be necessary
to enable the identification, tracing, freezing or seizure of
any item referred to in paragraph 1 of this article for the
purpose of eventual confiscation.
3. Each State Party shall adopt, in accordance with its domestic
law, such legislative and other measures as may be necessary
to regulate the administration by the competent authorities
of frozen, seized or confiscated property covered in
paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article.
4. If such proceeds of crime have been transformed or converted,
in part or in full, into other property, such property shall
be liable to the measures referred to in this article instead
of the proceeds.
5. If such proceeds of crime have been intermingled with
property acquired from legitimate sources, such property
shall, without prejudice to any powers relating to freezing
or seizure, be liable to confiscation up to the assessed
value of the intermingled proceeds.
6. Income or other benefits derived from such proceeds of crime,
from property into which such proceeds of crime have been
transformed or converted or from property with which such
proceeds of crime have been intermingled shall also be liable
to the measures referred to in this article, in the same
manner and to the same extent as proceeds of crime.
7. For the purpose of this article and article 55 of this
Convention, each State Party shall empower its courts or
other competent authorities to order that bank, financial or
commercial records be made available or seized. A State Party
shall not decline to act under the provisions of this
paragraph on the ground of bank secrecy.
8. States Parties may consider the possibility of requiring that
an offender demonstrate the lawful origin of such alleged
proceeds of crime or other property liable to confiscation,
to the extent that such a requirement is consistent with the
fundamental principles of their domestic law and with the
nature of judicial and other proceedings.
9. The provisions of this article shall not be so construed as
to prejudice the rights of bona fide third parties.
10. Nothing contained in this article shall affect the principle
that the measures to which it refers shall be defined and
implemented in accordance with and subject to the provisions
of the domestic law of a State Party.

Article 32. Protection of witnesses, experts and victims
1. Each State Party shall take appropriate measures in
accordance with its domestic legal system and within its
means to provide effective protection from potential
retaliation or intimidation for witnesses and experts who
give testimony concerning offences established in accordance
with this Convention and, as appropriate, for their relatives
and other persons close to them.
2. The measures envisaged in paragraph 1 of this article may
include, inter alia, without prejudice to the rights of the
defendant, including the right to due process:
(a) Establishing procedures for the physical protection of such
persons, such as, to the extent necessary and feasible,
relocating them and permitting, where appropriate,
non-disclosure or limitations on the disclosure of
information concerning the identity and whereabouts of such
persons;
(b) Providing evidentiary rules to permit witnesses and experts
to give testimony in a manner that ensures the safety of
such persons, such as permitting testimony to be given
through the use of communications technology such as video
or other adequate means.
3. States Parties shall consider entering into agreements or
arrangements with other States for the relocation of persons
referred to in paragraph 1 of this article.
4. The provisions of this article shall also apply to victims
insofar as they are witnesses.
5. Each State Party shall, subject to its domestic law, enable
the views and concerns of victims to be presented and
considered at appropriate stages of criminal proceedings
against offenders in a manner not prejudicial to the rights
of the defence.

Article 33. Protection of reporting persons
Each State Party shall consider incorporating into its domestic
legal system appropriate measures to provide protection against
any unjustified treatment for any person who reports in good
faith and on reasonable grounds to the competent authorities any
facts concerning offences established in accordance with this
Convention.

Article 34. Consequences of acts of corruption
With due regard to the rights of third parties acquired in good
faith, each State Party shall take measures, in accordance with
the fundamental principles of its domestic law, to address
consequences of corruption. In this context, States Parties may
consider corruption a relevant factor in legal proceedings to
annul or rescind a contract, withdraw a concession or other
similar instrument or take any other remedial action.

Article 35. Compensation for damage
Each State Party shall take such measures as may be necessary,
in accordance with principles of its domestic law, to ensure
that entities or persons who have suffered damage as a result of
an act of corruption have the right to initiate legal
proceedings against those responsible for that damage in order
to obtain compensation.

Article 36. Specialized authorities
Each State Party shall, in accordance with the fundamental
principles of its legal system, ensure the existence of a body
or bodies or persons specialized in combating corruption through
law enforcement. Such body or bodies or persons shall be granted
the necessary independence, in accordance with the fundamental
principles of the legal system of the State Party, to be able to
carry out their functions effectively and without any undue
influence. Such persons or staff of such body or bodies should
have the appropriate training and resources to carry out their
tasks.

Article 37. Cooperation with law enforcement authorities
1. Each State Party shall take appropriate measures to encourage
persons who participate or who have participated in the
commission of an offence established in accordance with this
Convention to supply information useful to competent
authorities for investigative and evidentiary purposes and to
provide factual, specific help to competent authorities that
may contribute to depriving offenders of the proceeds of
crime and to recovering such proceeds.
2. Each State Party shall consider providing for the
possibility, in appropriate cases, of mitigating punishment
of an accused person who provides substantial cooperation in
the investigation or prosecution of an offence established in
accordance with this Convention.
3. Each State Party shall consider providing for the
possibility, in accordance with fundamental principles of its
domestic law, of granting immunity from prosecution to a
person who provides substantial cooperation in the
investigation or prosecution of an offence established in
accordance with this Convention.
4. Protection of such persons shall be, mutatis mutandis, as
provided for in article 32 of this Convention.
5. Where a person referred to in paragraph 1 of this article
located in one State Party can provide substantial
cooperation to the competent authorities of another State
Party, the States Parties concerned may consider entering
into agreements or arrangements, in accordance with their
domestic law, concerning the potential provision by the other
State Party of the treatment set forth in paragraphs 2 and 3
of this article.

Article 38. Cooperation between national authorities
Each State Party shall take such measures as may be necessary to
encourage, in accordance with its domestic law, cooperation
between, on the one hand, its public authorities, as well as its
public officials, and, on the other hand, its authorities
responsible for investigating and prosecuting criminal offences.
Such cooperation may include:
(a) Informing the latter authorities, on their own initiative,
where there are reasonable grounds to believe that any of
the offences established in accordance with articles 15, 21
and 23 of this Convention has been committed; or
(b) Providing, upon request, to the latter authorities all
necessary information.

Article 39. Cooperation between national authorities and the
private sector
1. Each State Party shall take such measures as may be necessary
to encourage, in accordance with its domestic law,
cooperation between national investigating and prosecuting
authorities and entities of the private sector, in particular
financial institutions, relating to matters involving the
commission of offences established in accordance with this
Convention.
2. Each State Party shall consider encouraging its nationals and
other persons with a habitual residence in its territory to
report to the national investigating and prosecuting
authorities the commission of an offence established in
accordance with this Convention.

Article 40. Bank secrecy
Each State Party shall ensure that, in the case of domestic
criminal investigations of offences established in accordance
with this Convention, there are appropriate mechanisms available
within its domestic legal system to overcome obstacles that may
arise out of the application of bank secrecy laws.

Article 41. Criminal record
Each State Party may adopt such legislative or other measures as
may be necessary to take into consideration, under such terms as
and for the purpose that it deems appropriate, any previous
conviction in another State of an alleged offender for the
purpose of using such information in criminal proceedings
relating to an offence established in accordance with this
Convention.

Article 42. Jurisdiction
1. Each State Party shall adopt such measures as may be
necessary to establish its jurisdiction over the offences
established in accordance with this Convention when:
(a) The offence is committed in the territory of that State
Party; or
(b) The offence is committed on board a vessel that is flying
the flag of that State Party or an aircraft that is
registered under the laws of that State Party at the time
that the offence is committed.
2. Subject to article 4 of this Convention, a State Party may
also establish its jurisdiction over any such offence when:
(a) The offence is committed against a national of that State
Party; or
(b) The offence is committed by a national of that State Party
or a stateless person who has his or her habitual residence
in its territory; or
(c) The offence is one of those established in accordance with
article 23, paragraph 1 (b) (ii), of this Convention and is
committed outside its territory with a view to the
commission of an offence established in accordance with
article 23, paragraph 1 (a) (i) or (ii) or (b) (i), of this
Convention within its territory; or
(d) The offence is committed against the State Party.
3. For the purposes of article 44 of this Convention, each State
Party shall take such measures as may be necessary to
establish its jurisdiction over the offences established in
accordance with this Convention when the alleged offender is
present in its territory and it does not extradite such
person solely on the ground that he or she is one of its
nationals.
4. Each State Party may also take such measures as may be
necessary to establish its jurisdiction over the offences
established in accordance with this Convention when the
alleged offender is present in its territory and it does not
extradite him or her.
5. If a State Party exercising its jurisdiction under paragraph
1 or 2 of this article has been notified, or has otherwise
learned, that any other States Parties are conducting an
investigation, prosecution or judicial proceeding in respect
of the same conduct, the competent authorities of those
States Parties shall, as appropriate, consult one another
with a view to coordinating their actions.
6. Without prejudice to norms of general international law, this
Convention shall not exclude the exercise of any criminal
jurisdiction established by a State Party in accordance with
its domestic law.

Chapter IV
International cooperation

Article 43. International cooperation
1. States Parties shall cooperate in criminal matters in
accordance with articles 44 to 50 of this Convention. Where
appropriate and consistent with their domestic legal system,
States Parties shall consider assisting each other in
investigations of and proceedings in civil and administrative
matters relating to corruption.
2. In matters of international cooperation, whenever dual
criminality is considered a requirement, it shall be deemed
fulfilled irrespective of whether the laws of the requested
State Party place the offence within the same category of
offence or denominate the offence by the same terminology as
the requesting State Party, if the conduct underlying the
offence for which assistance is sought is a criminal offence
under the laws of both States Parties.

Article 44. Extradition
1. This article shall apply to the offences established in
accordance with this Convention where the person who is the
subject of the request for extradition is present in the
territory of the requested State Party, provided that the
offence for which extradition is sought is punishable under
the domestic law of both the requesting State Party and the
requested State Party.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this
article, a State Party whose law so permits may grant the
extradition of a person for any of the offences covered by
this Convention that are not punishable under its own
domestic law.
3. If the request for extradition includes several separate
offences, at least one of which is extraditable under this
article and some of which are not extraditable by reason of
their period of imprisonment but are related to offences
established in accordance with this Convention, the requested
State Party may apply this article also in respect of those
offences.
4. Each of the offences to which this article applies shall be
deemed to be included as an extraditable offence in any
extradition treaty existing between States Parties. States
Parties undertake to include such offences as extraditable
offences in every extradition treaty to be concluded between
them. A State Party whose law so permits, in case it uses
this Convention as the basis for extradition, shall not
consider any of the offences established in accordance with
this Convention to be a political offence.
5. If a State Party that makes extradition conditional on the
existence of a treaty receives a request for extradition from
another State Party with which it has no extradition treaty,
it may consider this Convention the legal basis for
extradition in respect of any offence to which this article
applies.
6. A State Party that makes extradition conditional on the
existence of a treaty shall:
(a) At the time of deposit of its instrument of ratification,
acceptance or approval of or accession to this Convention,
inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations whether
it will take this Convention as the legal basis for
cooperation on extradition with other States Parties to this
Convention; and
(b) If it does not take this Convention as the legal basis for
cooperation on extradition, seek, where appropriate, to
conclude treaties on extradition with other States Parties
to this Convention in order to implement this article.
7. States Parties that do not make extradition conditional on
the existence of a treaty shall recognize offences to which
this article applies as extraditable offences between
themselves.
8. Extradition shall be subject to the conditions provided for
by the domestic law of the requested State Party or by
applicable extradition treaties, including, inter alia,
conditions in relation to the minimum penalty requirement for
extradition and the grounds upon which the requested State
Party may refuse extradition.
9. States Parties shall, subject to their domestic law,
endeavour to expedite extradition procedures and to simplify
evidentiary requirements relating thereto in respect of any
offence to which this article applies.
10. Subject to the provisions of its domestic law and its
extradition treaties, the requested State Party may, upon
being satisfied that the circumstances so warrant and are
urgent and at the request of the requesting State Party,
take a person whose extradition is sought and who is present
in its territory into custody or take other appropriate
measures to ensure his or her presence at extradition
proceedings.
11. A State Party in whose territory an alleged offender is
found, if it does not extradite such person in respect of an
offence to which this article applies solely on the ground
that he or she is one of its nationals, shall, at the
request of the State Party seeking extradition, be obliged
to submit the case without undue delay to its competent
authorities for the purpose of prosecution. Those
authorities shall take their decision and conduct their
proceedings in the same manner as in the case of any other
offence of a grave nature under the domestic law of that
State Party. The States Parties concerned shall cooperate
with each other, in particular on procedural and evidentiary
aspects, to ensure the efficiency of such prosecution.
12. Whenever a State Party is permitted under its domestic law
to extradite or otherwise surrender one of its nationals
only upon the condition that the person will be returned to
that State Party to serve the sentence imposed as a result
of the trial or proceedings for which the extradition or
surrender of the person was sought and that State Party and
the State Party seeking the extradition of the person agree
with this option and other terms that they may deem
appropriate, such conditional extradition or surrender shall
be sufficient to discharge the obligation set forth in
paragraph 11 of this article.
13. If extradition, sought for purposes of enforcing a sentence,
is refused because the person sought is a national of the
requested State Party, the requested State Party shall, if
its domestic law so permits and in conformity with the
requirements of such law, upon application of the requesting
State Party, consider the enforcement of the sentence
imposed under the domestic law of the requesting State Party
or the remainder thereof.
14. Any person regarding whom proceedings are being carried out
in connection with any of the offences to which this article
applies shall be guaranteed fair treatment at all stages of
the proceedings, including enjoyment of all the rights and
guarantees provided by the domestic law of the State Party
in the territory of which that person is present.
15. Nothing in this Convention shall be interpreted as imposing
an obligation to extradite if the requested State Party has
substantial grounds for believing that the request has been
made for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing a person on
account of that person ’ s sex, race, religion,
nationality, ethnic origin or political opinions or that
compliance with the request would cause prejudice to that
person ’ s position for any one of these reasons.
16. States Parties may not refuse a request for extradition on
the sole ground that the offence is also considered to
involve fiscal matters.
17. Before refusing extradition, the requested State Party
shall, where appropriate, consult with the requesting State
Party to provide it with ample opportunity to present its
opinions and to provide information relevant to its
allegation.
18. States Parties shall seek to conclude bilateral and
multilateral agreements or arrangements to carry out or to
enhance the effectiveness of extradition.

Article 45. Transfer of sentenced persons
States Parties may consider entering into bilateral or
multilateral agreements or arrangements on the transfer to their
territory of persons sentenced to imprisonment or other forms of
deprivation of liberty for offences established in accordance
with this Convention in order that they may complete their
sentences there.

Article 46. Mutual legal assistance
1. States Parties shall afford one another the widest measure of
mutual legal assistance in investigations, prosecutions and
judicial proceedings in relation to the offences covered by
this Convention.
2. Mutual legal assistance shall be afforded to the fullest
extent possible under relevant laws, treaties, agreements and
arrangements of the requested State Party with respect to
investigations, prosecutions and judicial proceedings in
relation to the offences for which a legal person may be held
liable in accordance with article 26 of this Convention in
the requesting State Party.
3. Mutual legal assistance to be afforded in accordance with
this article may be requested for any of the following
purposes:
(a) Taking evidence or statements from persons;
(b) Effecting service of judicial documents;
(c) Executing searches and seizures, and freezing;
(d) Examining objects and sites;
(e) Providing information, evidentiary items and expert
evaluations;
(f) Providing originals or certified copies of relevant
documents and records, including government, bank,
financial, corporate or business records;
(g) Identifying or tracing proceeds of crime, property,
instrumentalities or other things for evidentiary purposes;
(h) Facilitating the voluntary appearance of persons in the
requesting State Party;
(i) Any other type of assistance that is not contrary to the
domestic law of the requested State Party;
(j) Identifying, freezing and tracing proceeds of crime in
accordance with the provisions of chapter V of this
Convention;
(k) The recovery of assets, in accordance with the provisions of
chapter V of this Convention.
4. Without prejudice to domestic law, the competent authorities
of a State Party may, without prior request, transmit
information relating to criminal matters to a competent
authority in another State Party where they believe that such
information could assist the authority in undertaking or
successfully concluding inquiries and criminal proceedings or
could result in a request formulated by the latter State
Party pursuant to this Convention.
5. The transmission of information pursuant to paragraph 4 of
this article shall be without prejudice to inquiries and
criminal proceedings in the State of the competent
authorities providing the information. The competent
authorities receiving the information shall comply with a
request that said information remain confidential, even
temporarily, or with restrictions on its use. However, this
shall not prevent the receiving State Party from disclosing
in its proceedings information that is exculpatory to an
accused person. In such a case, the receiving State Party
shall notify the transmitting State Party prior to the
disclosure and, if so requested, consult with the
transmitting State Party. If, in an exceptional case, advance
notice is not possible, the receiving State Party shall
inform the transmitting State Party of the disclosure without
delay.
6. The provisions of this article shall not affect the
obligations under any other treaty, bilateral or
multilateral, that governs or will govern, in whole or in
part, mutual legal assistance.
7. Paragraphs 9 to 29 of this article shall apply to requests
made pursuant to this article if the States Parties in
question are not bound by a treaty of mutual legal
assistance. If those States Parties are bound by such a
treaty, the corresponding provisions of that treaty shall
apply unless the States Parties agree to apply paragraphs 9
to 29 of this article in lieu thereof. States Parties are
strongly encouraged to apply those paragraphs if they
facilitate cooperation.
8. States Parties shall not decline to render mutual legal
assistance pursuant to this article on the ground of bank
secrecy.
9. (a) A requested State Party, in responding to a request for
assistance pursuant to this article in the absence of
dual criminality, shall take into account the purposes of
this Convention, as set forth in article 1;
(b) States Parties may decline to render assistance pursuant to
this article on the ground of absence of dual criminality.
However, a requested State Party shall, where consistent
with the basic concepts of its legal system, render
assistance that does not involve coercive action. Such
assistance may be refused when requests involve matters of a
de minimis nature or matters for which the cooperation or
assistance sought is available under other provisions of
this Convention;
(c) Each State Party may consider adopting such measures as may
be necessary to enable it to provide a wider scope of
assistance pursuant to this article in the absence of dual
criminality.
10. A person who is being detained or is serving a sentence in
the territory of one State Party whose presence in another
State Party is requested for purposes of identification,
testimony or otherwise providing assistance in obtaining
evidence for investigations, prosecutions or judicial
proceedings in relation to offences covered by this
Convention may be transferred if the following conditions
are met:
(a) The person freely gives his or her informed consent;
(b) The competent authorities of both States Parties agree,
subject to such conditions as those States Parties may deem
appropriate.
11. For the purposes of paragraph 10 of this article:
(a) The State Party to which the person is transferred shall
have the authority and obligation to keep the person
transferred in custody, unless otherwise requested or
authorized by the State Party from which the person was
transferred;
(b) The State Party to which the person is transferred shall
without delay implement its obligation to return the person
to the custody of the State Party from which the person was
transferred as agreed beforehand, or as otherwise agreed, by
the competent authorities of both States Parties;
(c) The State Party to which the person is transferred shall not
require the State Party from which the person was
transferred to initiate extradition proceedings for the
return of the person;
(d) The person transferred shall receive credit for service of
the sentence being served in the State from which he or she
was transferred for time spent in the custody of the State
Party to which he or she was transferred.
12. Unless the State Party from which a person is to be
transferred in accordance with paragraphs 10 and 11 of this
article so agrees, that person, whatever his or her
nationality, shall not be prosecuted, detained, punished or
subjected to any other restriction of his or her personal
liberty in the territory of the State to which that person
is transferred in respect of acts, omissions or convictions
prior to his or her departure from the territory of the
State from which he or she was transferred.
13. Each State Party shall designate a central authority that
shall have the responsibility and power to receive requests
for mutual legal assistance and either to execute them or to
transmit them to the competent authorities for execution.
Where a State Party has a special region or territory with a
separate system of mutual legal assistance, it may designate
a distinct central authority that shall have the same
function for that region or territory. Central authorities
shall ensure the speedy and proper execution or transmission
of the requests received. Where the central authority
transmits the request to a competent authority for
execution, it shall encourage the speedy and proper
execution of the request by the competent authority. The
Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be notified of
the central authority designated for this purpose at the
time each State Party deposits its instrument of
ratification, acceptance or approval of or accession to this
Convention. Requests for mutual legal assistance and any
communication related thereto shall be transmitted to the
central authorities designated by the States Parties. This
requirement shall be without prejudice to the right of a
State Party to require that such requests and communications
be addressed to it through diplomatic channels and, in
urgent circumstances, where the States Parties agree,
through the International Criminal Police Organization, if
possible.
14. Requests shall be made in writing or, where possible, by any
means capable of producing a written record, in a language
acceptable to the requested State Party, under conditions
allowing that State Party to establish authenticity. The
Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be notified of
the language or languages acceptable to each State Party at
the time it deposits its instrument of ratification,
acceptance or approval of or accession to this Convention.
In urgent circumstances and where agreed by the States
Parties, requests may be made orally but shall be confirmed
in writing forthwith.
15. A request for mutual legal assistance shall contain:
(a) The identity of the authority making the request;
(b) The subject matter and nature of the investigation,
prosecution or judicial proceeding to which the request
relates and the name and functions of the authority
conducting the investigation, prosecution or judicial
proceeding;
(c) A summary of the relevant facts, except in relation to
requests for the purpose of service of judicial documents;
(d) A description of the assistance sought and details of any
particular procedure that the requesting State Party wishes
to be followed;
(e) Where possible, the identity, location and nationality of
any person concerned; and
(f) The purpose for which the evidence, information or action is
sought.
16. The requested State Party may request additional information
when it appears necessary for the execution of the request
in accordance with its domestic law or when it can
facilitate such execution.
17. A request shall be executed in accordance with the domestic
law of the requested State Party and, to the extent not
contrary to the domestic law of the requested State Party
and where possible, in accordance with the procedures
specified in the request.
18. Wherever possible and consistent with fundamental principles
of domestic law, when an individual is in the territory of a
State Party and has to be heard as a witness or expert by
the judicial authorities of another State Party, the first
State Party may, at the request of the other, permit the
hearing to take place by video conference if it is not
possible or desirable for the individual in question to
appear in person in the territory of the requesting State
Party. States Parties may agree that the hearing shall be
conducted by a judicial authority of the requesting State
Party and attended by a judicial authority of the requested
State Party.
19. The requesting State Party shall not transmit or use
information or evidence furnished by the requested State
Party for investigations, prosecutions or judicial
proceedings other than those stated in the request without
the prior consent of the requested State Party. Nothing in
this paragraph shall prevent the requesting State Party from
disclosing in its proceedings information or evidence that
is exculpatory to an accused person. In the latter case, the
requesting State Party shall notify the requested State
Party prior to the disclosure and, if so requested, consult
with the requested State Party. If, in an exceptional case,
advance notice is not possible, the requesting State Party
shall inform the requested State Party of the disclosure
without delay.
20. The requesting State Party may require that the requested
State Party keep confidential the fact and substance of the
request, except to the extent necessary to execute the
request. If the requested State Party cannot comply with the
requirement of confidentiality, it shall promptly inform the
requesting State Party.
21. Mutual legal assistance may be refused:
(a) If the request is not made in conformity with the provisions
of this article;
(b) If the requested State Party considers that execution of the
request is likely to prejudice its sovereignty, security,
ordre public or other essential interests;
(c) If the authorities of the requested State Party would be
prohibited by its domestic law from carrying out the action
requested with regard to any similar offence, had it been
subject to investigation, prosecution or judicial
proceedings under their own jurisdiction;
(d) If it would be contrary to the legal system of the requested
State Party relating to mutual legal assistance for the
request to be granted.
22. States Parties may not refuse a request for mutual legal
assistance on the sole ground that the offence is also
considered to involve fiscal matters.
23. Reasons shall be given for any refusal of mutual legal
assistance.
24. The requested State Party shall execute the request for
mutual legal assistance as soon as possible and shall take
as full account as possible of any deadlines suggested by
the requesting State Party and for which reasons are given,
preferably in the request. The requesting State Party may
make reasonable requests for information on the status and
progress of measures taken by the requested State Party to
satisfy its request. The requested State Party shall respond
to reasonable requests by the requesting State Party on the
status, and progress in its handling, of the request. The
requesting State Party shall promptly inform the requested
State Party when the assistance sought is no longer
required.
25. Mutual legal assistance may be postponed by the requested
State Party on the ground that it interferes with an ongoing
investigation, prosecution or judicial proceeding.
26. Before refusing a request pursuant to paragraph 21 of this
article or postponing its execution pursuant to paragraph 25
of this article, the requested State Party shall consult
with the requesting State Party to consider whether
assistance may be granted subject to such terms and
conditions as it deems necessary. If the requesting State
Party accepts assistance subject to those conditions, it
shall comply with the conditions.
27. Without prejudice to the application of paragraph 12 of this
article, a witness, expert or other person who, at the
request of the requesting State Party, consents to give
evidence in a proceeding or to assist in an investigation,
prosecution or judicial proceeding in the territory of the
requesting State Party shall not be prosecuted, detained,
punished or subjected to any other restriction of his or her
personal liberty in that territory in respect of acts,
omissions or convictions prior to his or her departure from
the territory of the requested State Party. Such safe
conduct shall cease when the witness, expert or other person
having had, for a period of fifteen consecutive days or for
any period agreed upon by the States Parties from the date
on which he or she has been officially informed that his or
her presence is no longer required by the judicial
authorities, an opportunity of leaving, has nevertheless
remained voluntarily in the territory of the requesting
State Party or, having left it, has returned of his or her
own free will.
28. The ordinary costs of executing a request shall be borne by
the requested State Party, unless otherwise agreed by the
States Parties concerned. If expenses of a substantial or
extraordinary nature are or will be required to fulfil the
request, the States Parties shall consult to determine the
terms and conditions under which the request will be
executed, as well as the manner in which the costs shall be
borne.
29. The requested State Party:
(a) Shall provide to the requesting State Party copies of
government records, documents or information in its
possession that under its domestic law are available to the
general public;
(b) May, at its discretion, provide to the requesting State
Party in whole, in part or subject to such conditions as it
deems appropriate, copies of any government records,
documents or information in its possession that under its
domestic law are not available to the general public.
30. States Parties shall consider, as may be necessary, the
possibility of concluding bilateral or multilateral
agreements or arrangements that would serve the purposes of,
give practical effect to or enhance the provisions of this
article.

Article 47. Transfer of criminal proceedings
States Parties shall consider the possibility of transferring to
one another proceedings for the prosecution of an offence
established in accordance with this Convention in cases where
such transfer is considered to be in the interests of the proper
administration of justice, in particular in cases where several
jurisdictions are involved, with a view to concentrating the
prosecution. Article 48. Law enforcement cooperation
1. States Parties shall cooperate closely with one another,
consistent with their respective domestic legal and
administrative systems, to enhance the effectiveness of law
enforcement action to combat the offences covered by this
Convention. States Parties shall, in particular, take
effective measures:
(a) To enhance and, where necessary, to establish channels of
communication between their competent authorities, agencies
and services in order to facilitate the secure and rapid
exchange of information concerning all aspects of the
offences covered by this Convention, including, if the
States Parties concerned deem it appropriate, links with
other criminal activities;
(b) To cooperate with other States Parties in conducting
inquiries with respect to offences covered by this
Convention concerning:
(i) The identity, whereabouts and activities of persons
suspected of involvement in such offences or the location of
other persons concerned;
(ii) The movement of proceeds of crime or property derived from
the commission of such offences;
(iii) The movement of property, equipment or other
instrumentalities used or intended for use in the
commission of such offences;
(c) To provide, where appropriate, necessary items or quantities
of substances for analytical or investigative purposes;
(d) To exchange, where appropriate, information with other
States Parties concerning specific means and methods used to
commit offences covered by this Convention, including the
use of false identities, forged, altered or false documents
and other means of concealing activities;
(e) To facilitate effective coordination between their competent
authorities, agencies and services and to promote the
exchange of personnel and other experts, including, subject
to bilateral agreements or arrangements between the States
Parties concerned, the posting of liaison officers;
(f) To exchange information and coordinate administrative and
other measures taken as appropriate for the purpose of early
identification of the offences covered by this Convention.
2. With a view to giving effect to this Convention, States
Parties shall consider entering into bilateral or
multilateral agreements or arrangements on direct cooperation
between their law enforcement agencies and, where such
agreements or arrangements already exist, amending them. In
the absence of such agreements or arrangements between the
States Parties concerned, the States Parties may consider
this Convention to be the basis for mutual law enforcement
cooperation in respect of the offences covered by this
Convention. Whenever appropriate, States Parties shall make
full use of agreements or arrangements, including
international or regional organizations, to enhance the
cooperation between their law enforcement agencies.
3. States Parties shall endeavour to cooperate within their
means to respond to offences covered by this Convention
committed through the use of modern technology.

Article 49. Joint investigations
States Parties shall consider concluding bilateral or
multilateral agreements or arrangements whereby, in relation to
matters that are the subject of investigations, prosecutions or
judicial proceedings in one or more States, the competent
authorities concerned may establish joint investigative bodies.
In the absence of such agreements or arrangements, joint
investigations may be undertaken by agreement on a case-by-case
basis. The States Parties involved shall ensure that the
sovereignty of the State Party in whose territory such
investigation is to take place is fully respected.

Article 50. Special investigative techniques
1. In order to combat corruption effectively, each State Party
shall, to the extent permitted by the basic principles of its
domestic legal system and in accordance with the conditions
prescribed by its domestic law, take such measures as may be
necessary, within its means, to allow for the appropriate use
by its competent authorities of controlled delivery and,
where it deems appropriate, other special investigative
techniques, such as electronic or other forms of surveillance
and undercover operations, within its territory, and to allow
for the admissibility in court of evidence derived therefrom.
2. For the purpose of investigating the offences covered by this
Convention, States Parties are encouraged to conclude, when
necessary, appropriate bilateral or multilateral agreements
or arrangements for using such special investigative
techniques in the context of cooperation at the international
level. Such agreements or arrangements shall be concluded and
implemented in full compliance with the principle of
sovereign equality of States and shall be carried out
strictly in accordance with the terms of those agreements or
arrangements.
3. In the absence of an agreement or arrangement as set forth in
paragraph 2 of this article, decisions to use such special
investigative techniques at the international level shall be
made on a case-by-case basis and may, when necessary, take
into consideration financial arrangements and understandings
with respect to the exercise of jurisdiction by the States
Parties concerned.
4. Decisions to use controlled delivery at the international
level may, with the consent of the States Parties concerned,
include methods such as intercepting and allowing the goods
or funds to continue intact or be removed or replaced in
whole or in part.

Chapter V
Asset recovery

Article 51. General provision
The return of assets pursuant to this chapter is a fundamental
principle of this Convention, and States Parties shall afford
one another the widest measure of cooperation and assistance in
this regard.

Article 52. Prevention and detection of transfers of proceeds of
crime
1. Without prejudice to article 14 of this Convention, each
State Party shall take such measures as may be necessary, in
accordance with its domestic law, to require financial
institutions within its jurisdiction to verify the identity
of customers, to take reasonable steps to determine the
identity of beneficial owners of funds deposited into
high-value accounts and to conduct enhanced scrutiny of
accounts sought or maintained by or on behalf of individuals
who are, or have been, entrusted with prominent public
functions and their family members and close associates. Such
enhanced scrutiny shall be reasonably designed to detect
suspicious transactions for the purpose of reporting to
competent authorities and should not be so construed as to
discourage or prohibit financial institutions from doing
business with any legitimate customer.
2. In order to facilitate implementation of the measures
provided for in paragraph 1 of this article, each State
Party, in accordance with its domestic law and inspired by
relevant initiatives of regional, interregional and
multilateral organizations against money-laundering, shall:
(a) Issue advisories regarding the types of natural or legal
person to whose accounts financial institutions within its
jurisdiction will be expected to apply enhanced scrutiny,
the types of accounts and transactions to which to pay
particular attention and appropriate account-opening,
maintenance and recordkeeping measures to take concerning
such accounts; and
(b) Where appropriate, notify financial institutions within its
jurisdiction, at the request of another State Party or on
its own initiative, of the identity of particular natural or
legal persons to whose accounts such institutions will be
expected to apply enhanced scrutiny, in addition to those
whom the financial institutions may otherwise identify.
3. In the context of paragraph 2 (a) of this article, each State
Party shall implement measures to ensure that its financial
institutions maintain adequate records, over an appropriate
period of time, of accounts and transactions involving the
persons mentioned in paragraph 1 of this article, which
should, as a minimum, contain information relating to the
identity of the customer as well as, as far as possible, of
the beneficial owner.
4. With the aim of preventing and detecting transfers of
proceeds of offences established in accordance with this
Convention, each State Party shall implement appropriate and
effective measures to prevent, with the help of its
regulatory and oversight bodies, the establishment of banks
that have no physical presence and that are not affiliated
with a regulated financial group. Moreover, States Parties
may consider requiring their financial institutions to refuse
to enter into or continue a correspondent banking
relationship with such institutions and to guard against
establishing relations with foreign financial institutions
that permit their accounts to be used by banks that have no
physical presence and that are not affiliated with a
regulated financial group.
5. Each State Party shall consider establishing, in accordance
with its domestic law, effective financial disclosure systems
for appropriate public officials and shall provide for
appropriate sanctions for non-compliance. Each State Party
shall also consider taking such measures as may be necessary
to permit its competent authorities to share that information
with the competent authorities in other States Parties when
necessary to investigate, claim and recover proceeds of
offences established in accordance with this Convention.
6. Each State Party shall consider taking such measures as may
be necessary, in accordance with its domestic law, to require
appropriate public officials having an interest in or
signature or other authority over a financial account in a
foreign country to report that relationship to appropriate
authorities and to maintain appropriate records related to
such accounts. Such measures shall also provide for
appropriate sanctions for non-compliance.

Article 53. Measures for direct recovery of property
Each State Party shall, in accordance with its domestic law:
(a) Take such measures as may be necessary to permit another
State Party to initiate civil action in its courts to
establish title to or ownership of property acquired through
the commission of an offence established in accordance with
this Convention;
(b) Take such measures as may be necessary to permit its courts
to order those who have committed offences established in
accordance with this Convention to pay compensation or
damages to another State Party that has been harmed by such
offences; and
(c) Take such measures as may be necessary to permit its courts
or competent authorities, when having to decide on
confiscation, to recognize another State Party ’ s claim as
a legitimate owner of property acquired through the
commission of an offence established in accordance with this
Convention.

Article 54. Mechanisms for recovery of property through
international cooperation in confiscation
1. Each State Party, in order to provide mutual legal assistance
pursuant to article 55 of this Convention with respect to
property acquired through or involved in the commission of an
offence established in accordance with this Convention,
shall, in accordance with its domestic law:
(a) Take such measures as may be necessary to permit its
competent authorities to give effect to an order of
confiscation issued by a court of another State Party;
(b) Take such measures as may be necessary to permit its
competent authorities, where they have jurisdiction, to
order the confiscation of such property of foreign origin by
adjudication of an offence of money-laundering or such other
offence as may be within its jurisdiction or by other
procedures authorized under its domestic law; and
(c) Consider taking such measures as may be necessary to allow
confiscation of such property without a criminal conviction
in cases in which the offender cannot be prosecuted by
reason of death, flight or absence or in other appropriate
cases.
2. Each State Party, in order to provide mutual legal assistance
upon a request made pursuant to paragraph 2 of article 55 of
this Convention, shall, in accordance with its domestic law:
(a) Take such measures as may be necessary to permit its
competent authorities to freeze or seize property upon a
freezing or seizure order issued by a court or competent
authority of a requesting State Party that provides a
reasonable basis for the requested State Party to believe
that there are sufficient grounds for taking such actions
and that the property would eventually be subject to an
order of confiscation for purposes of paragraph 1 (a) of
this article;
(b) Take such measures as may be necessary to permit its
competent authorities to freeze or seize property upon a
request that provides a reasonable basis for the requested
State Party to believe that there are sufficient grounds for
taking such actions and that the property would eventually
be subject to an order of confiscation for purposes of
paragraph 1 (a) of this article; and
(c) Consider taking additional measures to permit its competent
authorities to preserve property for confiscation, such as
on the basis of a foreign arrest or criminal charge related
to the acquisition of such property.

Article 55. International cooperation for purposes of
confiscation
1. A State Party that has received a request from another State
Party having jurisdiction over an offence established in
accordance with this Convention for confiscation of proceeds
of crime, property, equipment or other instrumentalities
referred to in article 31, paragraph 1, of this Convention
situated in its territory shall, to the greatest extent
possible within its domestic legal system:
(a) Submit the request to its competent authorities for the
purpose of obtaining an order of confiscation and, if such
an order is granted, give effect to it; or
(b) Submit to its competent authorities, with a view to giving
effect to it to the extent requested, an order of
confiscation issued by a court in the territory of the
requesting State Party in accordance with articles 31,
paragraph 1, and 54, paragraph 1 (a), of this Convention
insofar as it relates to proceeds of crime, property,
equipment or other instrumentalities referred to in article
31, paragraph 1, situated in the territory of the requested
State Party.
2. Following a request made by another State Party having
jurisdiction over an offence established in accordance with
this Convention, the requested State Party shall take
measures to identify, trace and freeze or seize proceeds of
crime, property, equipment or other instrumentalities
referred to in article 31, paragraph 1, of this Convention
for the purpose of eventual confiscation to be ordered either
by the requesting State Party or, pursuant to a request under
paragraph 1 of this article, by the requested State Party.
3. The provisions of article 46 of this Convention are
applicable, mutatis mutandis, to this article. In addition to
the information specified in article 46, paragraph 15,
requests made pursuant to this article shall contain:
(a) In the case of a request pertaining to paragraph 1 (a) of
this article, a description of the property to be
confiscated, including, to the extent possible, the location
and, where relevant, the estimated value of the property and
a statement of the facts relied upon by the requesting State
Party sufficient to enable the requested State Party to seek
the order under its domestic law;
(b) In the case of a request pertaining to paragraph 1 (b) of
this article, a legally admissible copy of an order of
confiscation upon which the request is based issued by the
requesting State Party, a statement of the facts and
information as to the extent to which execution of the order
is requested, a statement specifying the measures taken by
the requesting State Party to provide adequate notification
to bona fide third parties and to ensure due process and a
statement that the confiscation order is final;
(c) In the case of a request pertaining to paragraph 2 of this
article, a statement of the facts relied upon by the
requesting State Party and a description of the actions
requested and, where available, a legally admissible copy of
an order on which the request is based.
4. The decisions or actions provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2
of this article shall be taken by the requested State Party
in accordance with and subject to the provisions of its
domestic law and its procedural rules or any bilateral or
multilateral agreement or arrangement to which it may be
bound in relation to the requesting State Party.
5. Each State Party shall furnish copies of its laws and
regulations that give effect to this article and of any
subsequent changes to such laws and regulations or a
description thereof to the Secretary-General of the United
Nations.
6. If a State Party elects to make the taking of the measures
referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article conditional
on the existence of a relevant treaty, that State Party shall
consider this Convention the necessary and sufficient treaty
basis.
7. Cooperation under this article may also be refused or
provisional measures lifted if the requested State Party does
not receive sufficient and timely evidence or if the property
is of a de minimis value.
8. Before lifting any provisional measure taken pursuant to this
article, the requested State Party shall, wherever possible,
give the requesting State Party an opportunity to present its
reasons in favour of continuing the measure.
9. The provisions of this article shall not be construed as
prejudicing the rights of bona fide third parties.

Article 56. Special cooperation
Without prejudice to its domestic law, each State Party shall
endeavour to take measures to permit it to forward, without
prejudice to its own investigations, prosecutions or judicial
proceedings, information on proceeds of offences established in
accordance with this Convention to another State Party without
prior request, when it considers that the disclosure of such
information might assist the receiving State Party in initiating
or carrying out investigations, prosecutions or judicial
proceedings or might lead to a request by that State Party under
this chapter of the Convention.

Article 57. Return and disposal of assets
1. Property confiscated by a State Party pursuant to article 31
or 55 of this Convention shall be disposed of, including by
return to its prior legitimate owners, pursuant to paragraph
3 of this article, by that State Party in accordance with the
provisions of this Convention and its domestic law.
2. Each State Party shall adopt such legislative and other
measures, in accordance with the fundamental principles of
its domestic law, as may be necessary to enable its competent
authorities to return confiscated property, when acting on
the request made by another State Party, in accordance with
this Convention, taking into account the rights of bona fide
third parties.
3. In accordance with articles 46 and 55 of this Convention and
paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article, the requested State Party
shall:
(a) In the case of embezzlement of public funds or of laundering
of embezzled public funds as referred to in articles 17 and
23 of this Convention, when confiscation was executed in
accordance with article 55 and on the basis of a final
judgement in the requesting State Party, a requirement that
can be waived by the requested State Party, return the
confiscated property to the requesting State Party;
(b) In the case of proceeds of any other offence covered by this
Convention, when the confiscation was executed in accordance
with article 55 of this Convention and on the basis of a
final judgement in the requesting State Party, a requirement
that can be waived by the requested State Party, return the
confiscated property to the requesting State Party, when the
requesting State Party reasonably establishes its prior
ownership of such confiscated property to the requested
State Party or when the requested State Party recognizes
damage to the requesting State Party as a basis for
returning the confiscated property;
(c) In all other cases, give priority consideration to returning
confiscated property to the requesting State Party,
returning such property to its prior legitimate owners or
compensating the victims of the crime.
4. Where appropriate, unless States Parties decide otherwise,
the requested State Party may deduct reasonable expenses
incurred in investigations, prosecutions or judicial
proceedings leading to the return or disposition of
confiscated property pursuant to this article.
5. Where appropriate, States Parties may also give special
consideration to concluding agreements or mutually acceptable
arrangements, on a case-bycase basis, for the final disposal
of confiscated property.

Article 58. Financial intelligence unit
States Parties shall cooperate with one another for the purpose
of preventing and combating the transfer of proceeds of offences
established in accordance with this Convention and of promoting
ways and means of recovering such proceeds and, to that end,
shall consider establishing a financial intelligence unit to be
responsible for receiving, analysing and disseminating to the
competent authorities reports of suspicious financial
transactions.

Article 59. Bilateral and multilateral agreements and
arrangements States Parties shall consider concluding bilateral
or multilateral agreements or arrangements to enhance the
effectiveness of international cooperation undertaken pursuant
to this chapter of the Convention.

Chapter VI
Technical assistance and information exchange

Article 60. Training and technical assistance
1. Each State Party shall, to the extent necessary, initiate,
develop or improve specific training programmes for its
personnel responsible for preventing and combating
corruption. Such training programmes could deal, inter alia,
with the following areas:
(a) Effective measures to prevent, detect, investigate, punish
and control corruption, including the use of
evidence-gathering and investigative methods;
(b) Building capacity in the development and planning of
strategic anticorruption policy;
(c) Training competent authorities in the preparation of
requests for mutual legal assistance that meet the
requirements of this Convention;
(d) Evaluation and strengthening of institutions, public service
management and the management of public finances, including
public procurement, and the private sector;
(e) Preventing and combating the transfer of proceeds of
offences established in accordance with this Convention and
recovering such proceeds;
(f) Detecting and freezing of the transfer of proceeds of
offences established in accordance with this Convention;
(g) Surveillance of the movement of proceeds of offences
established in accordance with this Convention and of the
methods used to transfer, conceal or disguise such proceeds;
(h) Appropriate and efficient legal and administrative
mechanisms and methods for facilitating the return of
proceeds of offences established in accordance with this
Convention;
(i) Methods used in protecting victims and witnesses who
cooperate with judicial authorities; and
(j) Training in national and international regulations and in
languages.
2. States Parties shall, according to their capacity, consider
affording one another the widest measure of technical
assistance, especially for the benefit of developing
countries, in their respective plans and programmes to combat
corruption, including material support and training in the
areas referred to in paragraph 1 of this article, and
training and assistance and the mutual exchange of relevant
experience and specialized knowledge, which will facilitate
international cooperation between States Parties in the areas
of extradition and mutual legal assistance.
3. States Parties shall strengthen, to the extent necessary,
efforts to maximize operational and training activities in
international and regional organizations and in the framework
of relevant bilateral and multilateral agreements or
arrangements.
4. States Parties shall consider assisting one another, upon
request, in conducting evaluations, studies and research
relating to the types, causes, effects and costs of
corruption in their respective countries, with a view to
developing, with the participation of competent authorities
and society, strategies and action plans to combat
corruption.
5. In order to facilitate the recovery of proceeds of offences
established in accordance with this Convention, States
Parties may cooperate in providing each other with the names
of experts who could assist in achieving that objective.
6. States Parties shall consider using subregional, regional and
international conferences and seminars to promote cooperation
and technical assistance and to stimulate discussion on
problems of mutual concern, including the special problems
and needs of developing countries and countries with
economies in transition.
7. States Parties shall consider establishing voluntary
mechanisms with a view to contributing financially to the
efforts of developing countries and countries with economies
in transition to apply this Convention through technical
assistance programmes and projects.
8. Each State Party shall consider making voluntary
contributions to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
for the purpose of fostering, through the Office, programmes
and projects in developing countries with a view to
implementing this Convention.

Article 61. Collection, exchange and analysis of information on
corruption
1. Each State Party shall consider analysing, in consultation
with experts, trends in corruption in its territory, as well
as the circumstances in which corruption offences are
committed.
2. States Parties shall consider developing and sharing with
each other and through international and regional
organizations statistics, analytical expertise concerning
corruption and information with a view to developing, insofar
as possible, common definitions, standards and methodologies,
as well as information on best practices to prevent and
combat corruption.
3. Each State Party shall consider monitoring its policies and
actual measures to combat corruption and making assessments
of their effectiveness and efficiency.

Article 62. Other measures: implementation of the Convention
through economic development and technical
assistance
1. States Parties shall take measures conducive to the optimal
implementation of this Convention to the extent possible,
through international cooperation, taking into account the
negative effects of corruption on society in general, in
particular on sustainable development.
2. States Parties shall make concrete efforts to the extent
possible and in coordination with each other, as well as with
international and regional organizations:
(a) To enhance their cooperation at various levels with
developing countries, with a view to strengthening the
capacity of the latter to prevent and combat corruption;
(b) To enhance financial and material assistance to support the
efforts of developing countries to prevent and fight
corruption effectively and to help them implement this
Convention successfully;
(c) To provide technical assistance to developing countries and
countries with economies in transition to assist them in
meeting their needs for the implementation of this
Convention. To that end, States Parties shall endeavour to
make adequate and regular voluntary contributions to an
account specifically designated for that purpose in a United
Nations funding mechanism. States Parties may also give
special consideration, in accordance with their domestic law
and the provisions of this Convention, to contributing to
that account a percentage of the money or of the
corresponding value of proceeds of crime or property
confiscated in accordance with the provisions of this
Convention;
(d) To encourage and persuade other States and financial
institutions as appropriate to join them in efforts in
accordance with this article, in particular by providing
more training programmes and modern equipment to developing
countries in order to assist them in achieving the
objectives of this Convention.
3. To the extent possible, these measures shall be without
prejudice to existing foreign assistance commitments or to
other financial cooperation arrangements at the bilateral,
regional or international level.
4. States Parties may conclude bilateral or multilateral
agreements or arrangements on material and logistical
assistance, taking into consideration the financial
arrangements necessary for the means of international
cooperation provided for by this Convention to be effective
and for the prevention, detection and control of corruption.

Chapter VII
Mechanisms for implementation

Article 63. Conference of the States Parties to the Convention
1. A Conference of the States Parties to the Convention is
hereby established to improve the capacity of and cooperation
between States Parties to achieve the objectives set forth in
this Convention and to promote and review its implementation.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall convene the
Conference of the States Parties not later than one year
following the entry into force of this Convention.
Thereafter, regular meetings of the Conference of the States
Parties shall be held in accordance with the rules of
procedure adopted by the Conference.
3. The Conference of the States Parties shall adopt rules of
procedure and rules governing the functioning of the
activities set forth in this article, including rules
concerning the admission and participation of observers, and
the payment of expenses incurred in carrying out those
activities.
4. The Conference of the States Parties shall agree upon
activities, procedures and methods of work to achieve the
objectives set forth in paragraph 1 of this article,
including:
(a) Facilitating activities by States Parties under articles 60
and 62 and chapters II to V of this Convention, including by
encouraging the mobilization of voluntary contributions;
(b) Facilitating the exchange of information among States
Parties on patterns and trends in corruption and on
successful practices for preventing and combating it and for
the return of proceeds of crime, through, inter alia, the
publication of relevant information as mentioned in this
article;
(c) Cooperating with relevant international and regional
organizations and mechanisms and non-governmental
organizations;
(d) Making appropriate use of relevant information produced by
other international and regional mechanisms for combating
and preventing corruption in order to avoid unnecessary
duplication of work;
(e) Reviewing periodically the implementation of this Convention
by its States Parties;
(f) Making recommendations to improve this Convention and its
implementation;
(g) Taking note of the technical assistance requirements of
States Parties with regard to the implementation of this
Convention and recommending any action it may deem necessary
in that respect.
5. For the purpose of paragraph 4 of this article, the
Conference of the States Parties shall acquire the necessary
knowledge of the measures taken by States Parties in
implementing this Convention and the difficulties encountered
by them in doing so through information provided by them and
through such supplemental review mechanisms as may be
established by the Conference of the States Parties.
6. Each State Party shall provide the Conference of the States
Parties with information on its programmes, plans and
practices, as well as on legislative and administrative
measures to implement this Convention, as required by the
Conference of the States Parties. The Conference of the
States Parties shall examine the most effective way of
receiving and acting upon information, including, inter alia,
information received from States Parties and from competent
international organizations. Inputs received from relevant
non-governmental organizations duly accredited in accordance
with procedures to be decided upon by the Conference of the
States Parties may also be considered.
7. Pursuant to paragraphs 4 to 6 of this article, the Conference
of the States Parties shall establish, if it deems it
necessary, any appropriate mechanism or body to assist in the
effective implementation of the Convention.

Article 64. Secretariat
1. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall provide the
necessary secretariat services to the Conference of the
States Parties to the Convention.
2. The secretariat shall:
(a) Assist the Conference of the States Parties in carrying out
the activities set forth in article 63 of this Convention
and make arrangements and provide the necessary services for
the sessions of the Conference of the States Parties;
(b) Upon request, assist States Parties in providing information
to the Conference of the States Parties as envisaged in
article 63, paragraphs 5 and 6, of this Convention; and
(c) Ensure the necessary coordination with the secretariats of
relevant international and regional organizations.

Chapter VIII
Final provisions

Article 65. Implementation of the Convention
1. Each State Party shall take the necessary measures, including
legislative and administrative measures, in accordance with
fundamental principles of its domestic law, to ensure the
implementation of its obligations under this Convention.
2. Each State Party may adopt more strict or severe measures
than those provided for by this Convention for preventing and
combating corruption.

Article 66. Settlement of disputes
l. States Parties shall endeavour to settle disputes concerning
the interpretation or application of this Convention through
negotiation.
2. Any dispute between two or more States Parties concerning the
interpretation or application of this Convention that cannot
be settled through negotiation within a reasonable time
shall, at the request of one of those States Parties, be
submitted to arbitration. If, six months after the date of
the request for arbitration, those States Parties are unable
to agree on the organization of the arbitration, any one of
those States Parties may refer the dispute to the
International Court of Justice by request in accordance with
the Statute of the Court.
3. Each State Party may, at the time of signature, ratification,
acceptance or approval of or accession to this Convention,
declare that it does not consider itself bound by paragraph 2
of this article. The other States Parties shall not be bound
by paragraph 2 of this article with respect to any State
Party that has made such a reservation.
4. Any State Party that has made a reservation in accordance
with paragraph 3 of this article may at any time withdraw
that reservation by notification to the Secretary-General of
the United Nations.

Article 67. Signature, ratification, acceptance, approval and
accession
1. This Convention shall be open to all States for signature
from 9 to 11 December 2003 in Merida, Mexico, and thereafter
at United Nations Headquarters in New York until 9 December
2005.
2. This Convention shall also be open for signature by regional
economic integration organizations provided that at least one
member State of such organization has signed this Convention
in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article.
3. This Convention is subject to ratification, acceptance or
approval. Instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval
shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations. A regional economic integration organization may
deposit its instrument of ratification, acceptance or
approval if at least one of its member States has done
likewise. In that instrument of ratification, acceptance or
approval, such organization shall declare the extent of its
competence with respect to the matters governed by this
Convention. Such organization shall also inform the
depositary of any relevant modification in the extent of its
competence.
4. This Convention is open for accession by any State or any
regional economic integration organization of which at least
one member State is a Party to this Convention. Instruments
of accession shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of
the United Nations. At the time of its accession, a regional
economic integration organization shall declare the extent of
its competence with respect to matters governed by this
Convention. Such organization shall also inform the
depositary of any relevant modification in the extent of its
competence.

Article 68. Entry into force
1. This Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day
after the date of deposit of the thirtieth instrument of
ratification, acceptance, approval or accession. For the
purpose of this paragraph, any instrument deposited by a
regional economic integration organization shall not be
counted as additional to those deposited by member States of
such organization.
2. For each State or regional economic integration organization
ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to this
Convention after the deposit of the thirtieth instrument of
such action, this Convention shall enter into force on the
thirtieth day after the date of deposit by such State or
organization of the relevant instrument or on the date this
Convention enters into force pursuant to paragraph 1 of this
article, whichever is later.

Article 69. Amendment
1. After the expiry of five years from the entry into force of
this Convention, a State Party may propose an amendment and
transmit it to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,
who shall thereupon communicate the proposed amendment to the
States Parties and to the Conference of the States Parties to
the Convention for the purpose of considering and deciding on
the proposal. The Conference of the States Parties shall make
every effort to achieve consensus on each amendment. If all
efforts at consensus have been exhausted and no agreement has
been reached, the amendment shall, as a last resort, require
for its adoption a two-thirds majority vote of the States
Parties present and voting at the meeting of the Conference
of the States Parties.
2. Regional economic integration organizations, in matters
within their competence, shall exercise their right to vote
under this article with a number of votes equal to the number
of their member States that are Parties to this Convention.
Such organizations shall not exercise their right to vote if
their member States exercise theirs and vice versa.
3. An amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 1 of this
article is subject to ratification, acceptance or approval by
States Parties.
4. An amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 1 of this
article shall enter into force in respect of a State Party
ninety days after the date of the deposit with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations of an instrument of
ratification, acceptance or approval of such amendment.
5. When an amendment enters into force, it shall be binding on
those States Parties which have expressed their consent to be
bound by it. Other States Parties shall still be bound by the
provisions of this Convention and any earlier amendments that
they have ratified, accepted or approved.

Article 70. Denunciation
1. A State Party may denounce this Convention by written
notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Such denunciation shall become effective one year after the
date of receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General.
2. A regional economic integration organization shall cease to
be a Party to this Convention when all of its member States
have denounced it.

Article 71. Depositary and languages

1. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is designated
depositary of this Convention.
2. The original of this Convention, of which the Arabic,
Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are
equally authentic, shall be deposited with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned plenipotentiaries, being duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this Convention.

(note 1) See E/1996/99.
(note 2) Official Journal of the European Communities, C 195, 25 June 1997.
(note 3) See Corruption and Integrity Improvement Initiatives in Developing Countries (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.98.III.B.18).
(note 4) Council of Europe, European Treaty Series, No. 173.
(note 5) Ibid., No. 174.
(note 6) General Assembly resolution 55/25, annex I.