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14 Dick. J. Int'l L. 207 (1995-1996)
The United States' Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the OECD Anti-Bribery Recommendation: When Moral Suasion Won't Work, Try the Money Argument

handle is hein.journals/psilr14 and id is 215 raw text is: The United States' Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the OECD Anti- Bribery Recommendation: When Moral Suasion Won't Work, Try the Money Argument Beverley Earle* I. Introduction When the United States passed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in 1977, it was the lone voice for reform in the international arena of business transactions.1 It was an attempt to regulate transactions by United States companies and individuals and their agents abroad. The legislation represented efforts to enforce a concept of morality and to level the playing field in forbidding the use of corrupt payments offered to foreign officials to obtain or retain business. The anticipated rush by other countries to follow the United States' lead never occurred.2 * Associate Professor of Law, Bentley College, Waltham, MA. B.A., University of Pennsylvania; J.D., Boston University School of Law. Special thanks to Margo Reder, J.D., Research Associate, Bentley College, for her assistance in research and editing. 1. See Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, Pub. L. No. 95-213, 91 Stat. 1494 (codified as amended at 15 U.S.C. §§ 78a, 78m, 78n, 78t, 78dd-1, 78dd-2, 78ff (1988 & Supp. V 1993); see also Securities and Exchange Commission, Report on Questionable and Illegal Corporate Payments and Practices (1976). See generally 1977 U.S.C.C.A.N. (91 Stat.) 1494-1500 (setting forth text of original FCPA); S. Rep. No. 114, 95th Cong., 1st Sess. 1-14 (1977), reprinted in 1977 U.S.C.C.A.N. 4098-4127 (setting forth legislative history of FCPA noting persistence of problem of improper payments to foreign government officials by American corporations). 2. See generally William L. Jennings & Craig A. Gillen, Complying With the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, NAT'L L.J., Apr. 17, 1995, at C10; Morton Mintz, Hill Considers Changing Law on Foreign Bribery, WASH. POST, Oct. 25, 1987, at H6 (noting FCPA law stems from events beginning in 1974 when United Brands paid a bribe in exchange for favorable tax treatment and such revelations caused global turmoil); Juan J. Walte, Antibribery Law Eased, UPI, Nov. 23, 1981, available in LEXIS, News Library, ARCNWS File (noting problematic implemen- tation of FCPA and reporting Senate's acknowledgement that standards were not realistic in practical world in which international commerce operates).

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