The U.K. Bribery Act: A Benchmark for Anticorruption Reform in the U.S.

Abstract

This Note will argue that the U.S. should look to the U.K. Bribery Act in amending the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") to criminalize foreign bribery across the board. Part I will introduce the thesis. Part II will explain the relationship between public and private bribery, and outline how some nations have come to recognize that overlooking private bribery undermines anticorruption laws and policies in general. Part III will describe the FCPA and other anti-bribery laws in the U.S., and present the U.K. Act as an improvement on the FCPA. Part IV will then discuss U.S. prosecutions - especially U.S. v. Carson - demonstrating the inadequacy of American law against bribery in the foreign private sector. Part V will conclude.

Keywords: bribery, corruption, anticorruption, anti-corruption, anti-bribery, FCPA, Bribery Act, U.K., United Kingdom, Carson, private bribery, commercial bribery, private-to-private bribery