Grand corruption is a huge disaster in the modern world

As Transparence International reported grand corruption and impunity go hand in hand. Powerful perpetrators involved in massive corruption schemes can too often stymie enforcement against them by interfering with the justice system. Furthermore, investigations are complex and expensive. Grand corruption often crosses borders, involving public and private sector actors in schemes across multiple jurisdictions.

To tackle this “impunity problem”, members of the international anti-corruption community are thinking about reforms to international justice institutions. There is currently a unique opportunity to pursue a “big idea” ahead of the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) against Corruption in April 2021. Among the ideas being floated, the Government of Colombia and US Judge Mark Wolf have proposed creation of an international anti-corruption court with jurisdiction over grand corruption cases where countries themselves are unable or unwilling to pursue them.

The proposal for a stand-alone court deserves careful study. So too, do six other potential reforms to the international criminal law infrastructure:

- Extending the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC);

- Regional anti-corruption courts, similar to regional human rights courts that already exist;

- International or regional anti-corruption prosecutors or enforcement agencies;

- International or regional investigative agencies;

- A framework for ad hoc international anti-corruption courts, focused on one country;

- A framework for ad hoc international prosecution or investigative functions, focused on one country.

As Transparency International told this is a complex subject that needs in-depth study and multi-stakeholder discussion over an extended period. We need to evaluate the options, and possible combinations of options, according to a range of criteria, including political feasibility, effectiveness and cost — criteria that are to some extent interconnected. One benefit of the proposal for an international anti-corruption court is to draw attention to key questions and help catalyse much needed discussions.

As a first step in that discussion, it would be important to analyse and discuss the problem of grand corruption and its precise manifestations and challenges. This means first analysing the type of criminal activity, the negative impact, and the reason for impunity.

Transparency International has been working with a group of experts to develop a new legal definition of grand corruption: a definition that captures the problem we are trying to deal with when discussing new infrastructure. We define grand corruption as having three main features: a corruption scheme; involvement of a high level public official; and serious harm caused, which may take the form of large-scale misappropriation of public resources or gross violations of human rights.