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It has recently been announced that the UK Bribery Act 2010, which will apply to Irish companies that carry on business in the UK, will not come into force in April 2010 as planned.
It has recently been announced by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) that the UK Bribery Act 2010 will not come into force in April 2010 as planned. As outlined in a previous Legal News article, the Act will apply to Irish companies that carry on business in the UK.
The most controversial aspect of the Act is the corporate offence of failing to prevent bribery, the only defence available to which is proving that adequate procedures were in place to combat bribery. In September of last year the MOJ published a consultation paper setting out proposed guidance on what constitutes adequate procedures. The consultation process raised many concerns and requests for clarification, particularly regarding the lack of exclusion for facilitation payments or a de-minimus defence. Companies are also concerned that the Act, as currently drafted, may put them at a disadvantage when competing for foreign contracts.
Despite the delay, the MOJ and Serious Fraud Office are focused on creating an anti-bribery culture and companies should not delay in examining the procedures they currently have in place. It is anticipated that material amendments will not be made but the final guidance will be more detailed. It has been confirmed that there will be a 3 month grace period following the publication of the final guidance before the Act comes into force.
A spokeswoman for the MOJ has stated that the focus is now on making the guidance more practical and comprehensive for business and future details on timing will follow in due course. In a recent interview with the Financial Times, the Justice Secretary Ken Clarke stated that he did not want to “…put a burdensome cost on legitimate business when coming out of a severe recession…” and hoped that the guidance would be published “within weeks rather than months”.
In Ireland, the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act was signed into law on 15 December 2010. The main aspects of the Act are the extension of the categories of persons that are subject to the extra-territorial application of the Act and the additional provisions providing protection for whistleblowers. The Act is not as far reaching as its UK counterpart and does not apply to foreign companies carrying on business in Ireland. For further information on the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, please click here.
Contributed by Laura Dunne, David Carthy.