Handbook: A comparative analysis of anti-corruption instruments

This handbook is intended as a tool for those who have the responsibility of ensuring that domestic anti-corruption legislation is updated.

The global challenge to combat corruption has many facets. One of them relates to the implementation of recent regional and international anti- corruption instruments. For countries in Southern Africa three such international instruments are of immediate relevance:

SADC Protocol against Corruption (2001)

AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (2003)

UN Convention against Corruption (2003)

Policy and decision makers, legal drafters, and parliamentarians have the daunting task of making sense of the multitude of international instruments that come their way and of translating their provisions into effective domestic legislation. Fortunately all three anti-corruption instruments overlap each other to a significant extent. This handbook compares the main provisions of the three legal instruments and points out where they overlap or differ. Some recommendations are offered. The handbook is intended as a tool for those who have the responsibility of ensuring that domestic anti-corruption legislation is updated, made effective and brought into line with internationally agreed upon good practice. For non-state actors the handbook should assist to monitor the implementation of all three key anti- corruption instruments into domestic law.