I'm Not Going to Disneyland: Illusory Affirmative Defenses Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

31 Pages Posted: 12 Aug 2010 Last revised: 13 Aug 2010

See all articles by Kyle Sheahen

Kyle Sheahen

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - School of Law

Date Written: August 11, 2010

Abstract

This article analyzes the two affirmative defenses provided by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and argues that the defenses are virtually useless in practice. Recent restrictive judicial interpretation, developing international business customs and the statutory language itself have rendered the defenses – the local law defense and the promotional expenses defense – meaningless for FCPA defendants at trial. This article describes the problems with the defenses and suggests that Congress modify existing law to allow for greater fairness in FCPA prosecutions.

Keywords: Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, FCPA, corruption, bribery, affirmative defenses, local law defense, promotional expenses defense, Department of Justice

JEL Classification: K00, K22, K33, K42

Suggested Citation

Sheahen, Kyle, I'm Not Going to Disneyland: Illusory Affirmative Defenses Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (August 11, 2010). Wisconsin International Law Journal, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1657675

Kyle Sheahen (Contact Author)

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - School of Law ( email )

385 Charles E. Young Dr. East
Room 1242
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1476
United States

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