The Convention was adopted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on November 21, 1997.
In accordance with the Convention, the parties undertake to stipulate criminal liability in their legislation to individuals who “intentionally offer, promise or give any undue pecuniary or other advantage” to a foreign public official in order to promote or counteract the conclusion of an international business transaction. The national legislation of parties should also establish liability of legal entities for such actions.
At the same time, the Convention’s implementation requires that the national legislation of the parties contains an effective mechanism for mutual legal assistance on such crimes and administrative offences.
Any state can accede to the Convention, including countries that are not OECD members. Accession to the Convention is one of the prerequisites for joining the OECD.
Currently, the following states are parties to the: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey and the United States, as well as Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria and South Africa, which are not OECD members.