The relevancy and effectiveness of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption

Abstract

La Convention des Nations Unies contre la corruption, adoptée en 2003, est le premier outil international criminalisant la corruption de façon aussi détaillée. Ce mémoire tente d'évaluer sa portée en analysant les dispositions concernant la prévention, la criminalisation, la coopération internationale et le recouvrement d'avoirs. Il tente d’évaluer la pertinence et l'efficacité de la Convention en illustrant ses défis en matière de conformité, pour ensuite étudier d'autres outils internationaux existants qui lui font compétition. Malgré sa portée élargie, il est débattu que la Convention souffre de lacunes non négligeables qui pourraient restreindre son impact à l'égard de la conduite d'États Membres.

The United Nations Convention Against Corruption (adopted in 2003) is the first global in-depth treaty on corruption. This work attempts to assess its significance by analyzing its provisions, in particular concerning the areas of prevention, criminalization, international cooperation and asset recovery. It then seeks to assess its relevancy and effectiveness by giving an overview of the Convention's main compliance challenges, as well as other existing initiatives that tackle corruption. Although the Convention innovates in many respects, it is argued that it also suffers from weaknesses that cannot be overlooked, preventing it from having a real impact on States' behavior.