International Instruments
Switzerland supports various international instruments aimed at fighting corruption and is actively involved in the further development of these measures.
The 35 industrialised nations of the OECD and 6 further states (Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Russia, Colombia and South Africa) have signed the Convention of 1997 on combating bribery of foreign officials in international business transactions. On this basis they have made amendments to their legislation in a coordinated action and made the bribery of foreign public officials a punishable offence. A far-reaching monitoring procedure has been set up to ensure that the Convention is implemented and applied in all participating states. The OECD country report on Switzerland was published and presented at a media conference in Bern in 2005. SECO has the lead role in representing Switzerland in the relevant OECD committee.
In 1999, the Criminal Law Convention on the fight against corruption was passed under the auspices of the Council of Europe . This convention goes beyond the OECD Convention as regards content in that it contains the general minimum requirements for criminal law provisions to fight corruption both private and public. Switzerland acceded to the Criminal Law Convention and became a member of the Group of States against Corruption in 2006.(GRECO)
The UN Convention against corruption was signed by more than 140 countries including Switzerland in December 2003 and came into force in 2005. The UN Convention differs from the conventions of the OECD and the Council of Europe due to its universal nature and the inclusion of provisions with respect to the restitution of funds acquired through illegal and corrupt practices. The UN Convention has been ratified by Switzerland in September 2009.
