In a signal of its intent to bringabout long overdue reform of anti-bribery and corruption laws in Ireland, theGovernment’s Autumn Legislative Programme lists the Criminal Justice(Corruption) Bill for priority publication.
The general scheme of the CriminalJustice (Corruption) Bill was first published by the last Government in 2012but its progress through the Oireachtas stalled.
While the final form of this Billhas yet to be confirmed, on the basis of the general scheme, the legislation islikely to have significant and far reaching implications for both doingbusiness in Ireland and Irish businesses doing business abroad. If enacted,Irish citizens doing business abroad will be liable for prosecution for actscarried out abroad that fall foul of the legislation.
The legislation is intended to bringIreland into line with international best standards in the area of combatingbribery and corruption (both domestically and internationally) and has beenbroadly welcomed by Transparency International and theOECD.
A more detailed update will followon the publication of the Bill.
Contributed by GerardJames