The Emergence of the International Anti-Corruption Framework and Its Domestic Implementation: The Case of Italy

Abstract

The past twenty years have seen unprecedented international initiatives aimed at combating corrupt practices. Over the same period, Italy has ratified and implemented within its legal system five international anti-corruption treaties and amended its domestic legislation on different occasions. However, despite considerable efforts corruption remains a serious challenge in the country. With particular reference to the afore-mentioned conventions, this article explores the main international rules on criminalisation and prevention of corruption in order to, eventually, investigate the achievements and shortcomings of the Italian legislation in light of such provisions. The article is thus divided into four main sections. The first considers the development of the regional and other anti-corruption initiatives which culminated in the United Nations Convention against Corruption whilst the second explores the scope of the substantive criminal provisions contained in these conventions, including those on sanctions and liability of legal persons. The third discusses the main provisions on prevention and other non-criminal rules which have stimulated the recent developments of the Italian legislation. The last section examines the main achievements and shortcomings of the Italian anti-corruption legislation vis-à-vis the outcomes of the monitoring procedures set by the anti-corruption conventions ratified by Italy. The article concludes with some concise remarks.