Access to Information Enforcement statistics are available online, including the numbers of reported crimes, investigations and prosecutions.246 More developed statistics, such as the number of terminated investigations and the sanctions imposed in concluded cases are available on request from the Ministry of the Interior or the Prosecution Service. There is a separate statistical system for the courts on criminal convictions, but it includes no data on foreign bribery cases prior to 2011 and only limited information for 2011 and 2012.247
Inadequacies in Legal Framework Hungarian law requires in virtually all cases that a natural person be convicted and punished before liability of a legal person can be established.248 Legal entities can only be held vicariously responsible for criminal offences. This is serious barrier to holding companies accountable for corrupt activities including paying bribes abroad and could help explain why Hungary has, so far, failed to charge, prosecute or sanction any legal entity for foreign bribery offences.249 The OECD Working Group on Bribery noted in their March 2012 Phase 3 report on Hungary that “Hungary is currently unable to ensure that a legal person cannot avoid responsibility by committing an act of foreign bribery through an intermediary,” as the duty of companies to supervise their employees (except in some specific circumstances) does not extend to third parties.250
Inadequacies in Enforcement System The minister of the interior may instruct the police and currently there are no effective legal barriers to prevent the minister, being a politician, from interfering in individual cases. The investigative agencies in Hungary are not wholly free from political interference.251 The working group expressed concerns in their report “that the decision on whether to prosecute or dismiss a case could be subject to inappropriate considerations in sensitive cases, such as those involving bribery of foreign public officials.”252 Senior public prosecutors may withdraw or reassign cases to other prosecutors at any stage of an enforcement procedure without providing reason.253 No independent forum exists in which challenges to a prosecutor’s decision to reassign or withdraw a corruption case can be heard. Act No. CLXIII of 2009 on the Protection of Fair Procedures, which came into force on 1 April 2010, in theory provides protection for whistleblowers from the public and private sectors, but due to the fact that no public entity has been designated to enforce the act, it is completely ineffective in practice. Furthermore, a new act covering whistleblower protection is due to be passed soon which will repeal the current law and provide weaker protection. There is a lack of awareness of the offence of foreign bribery in the private sector and there could be better internal controls or ethics and compliance programs within Hungarian companies. There is still no designated anti-corruption agency in Hungary.254
Motion to Dismiss Denied”, www.texasfcpalawyers.com/index.aspx?id=news_magyar_telekom_foreign_bribery_mtd_denied 246 See www.//crimestat.b-m.hu/. 247 The statistics available from the courts are not comprehensive. Only data which has been previously requested are easily accessible. Data requests are processed slowly by the Hungarian authorities. Overall, the statistics for convictions only provide a very limited oversight of the courts’ work. 248 Section 2 of Act CIV of 2001 on Criminal Measures Applicable to Legal Persons 249 The OECD Working Group on Bribery, Phase 3 report on Implementing the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in Hungary, March 2012 (Phase 3 Report on Hungary 2012) page 8, www.oecd.org/daf/antibribery/Hungaryphase3reportEN.pdf. 250 Phase 3 Report on Hungary 2012, pages 12 and 14. It does constitute a crime if the head of an organisation omits to comply with supervision duties and such omission facilitates the commission of bribery by an employee. The head of organisation can also be held liable in case he/she negligently omits to fulfil his/her duties. 251 Point j, Section 5 Act XXXIV of 1994 on Police 252 Phase 3 Report on Hungary 2012, page 22. 253 Act CLXIII of 2011 on public prosecution, § 13 (1). 254 See www.transparency.hu/A_kozerdeku_bejelentesekrol_szolo_torvenyrol?bind_info=index&bind_id=0.
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