Recent Developments The most significant development in the legal framework in the past year was the publication of the General Scheme of the Criminal Law (Corruption) Bill 2012, which if adopted will replace the existing bribery statutes with new bribery offences and introduce a number of new related offences. The most significant aspects of the bill relating to the Convention are the proposed introduction of: a specific offence of bribing a foreign public official; two offences covering active and passive trading in influence; a new offence of bribing through an intermediary which can be committed recklessly; and a new failure to supervise type offence for corporate and unincorporated bodies. The government has also published the general scheme of the Protected Disclosures in the Public Interest Bill (2012), which introduces pan-sectoral whistleblower protection. These developments build on other recent developments including in particular the enactment of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act 2010, which amended the earlier prevention of corruption acts in order to take into account some of the then existing deficiencies in the Irish implementation of the Convention. Moreover, the Criminal Justice Act 2011, s. 19, introduced a new offence of withholding information relating to criminal offences. Lastly, Ireland ratified the UN Convention against Corruption in November 2011.
Recommendations for Priority Actions Enact the Criminal Justice (Corruption) Bill 2012 as a clear priority. Adopt a law on pan-sectoral whistleblower protection. Raise awareness on the foreign bribery offence. Clarify the basis for imposing liability of corporations on a statutory basis. Collect and proactively provide information on concrete enforcement efforts, including information on the number of complaints relating to foreign bribery investigated and/or sent to the director of public prosecutions for prosecution.
ISRAEL: LITTLE OR NO ENFORCEMENT.
Share of World Exports: 0.43 per cent
Foreign Bribery Cases and Investigations No cases or investigations recently commenced, underway or concluded.
Access to Information In theory, the number of cases and investigations would be available on request. However, there have been no cases or investigations so it is not possible to tell whether information or known case details would be accessible.
Inadequacies in Legal Framework There are no major inadequacies in the legal framework.
Inadequacies in Enforcement System While statutory protections for whistleblowers have been enhanced in recent years, there are still deficiencies in the law and its implementation.
Recent Developments The Encouragement of Integrity in Public Service Regulations 1994 was amended to broaden the definition of what can be considered a complaint and thus expanded protection for whistleblowers. The director general of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) issued an instruction to the ministry's Defence Export Controls Directorate (DECD) clarifying explicitly that an exporter's engagement in foreign bribery should be taken into consideration in licensing and registration decisions. Major
EXPORTING CORRUPTION – OECD PROGRESS REPORT 2013
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