Draft law on fighting corruption before Parliament [Archives:2006/939/Business & Economy]
Mahyoub Al-Kamali
Both Yemeni government and opposition have been lashing out at the corruption issue more than any other phenomenon, as it is very important in the political and economic reform process.
After the government finalized and submitted it to Parliament, Parliament has begun discussing a draft law resulting from Yemen's endorsement of the United Nations agreement to combat corruption at the beginning of last June.
Consisting of 47 articles distributed over five chapters, the law's first chapter deals with general provisions, the second with the topic of a national higher authority to fight corruption, the third tackles legislative arrangements, society's participation and international cooperation, the fourth deals with corruption crimes and punishments and the fifth is specified for concluding provisions.
Both the authority and the opposition are focusing on corruption as a phenomenon with the aim of winning the electorate's votes in upcoming local and presidential elections.
Following up the draft law's contents, it targets preventing corruption and staves off its dangers, as well as its impacts. It aims to pursue corruption perpetrators and freeze, retain and retrieve returns resulting from such criminal acts. It also will enhance the principle of cooperation and participation between states and international and regional organizations in international projects and programs aimed at combating and preventing corruption.
The law also aims to strengthen principles of justice and transparency in economic, financial and administrative dealings in a manner guaranteeing wise management of state property and revenues, activating the accountability principle and enhancing concerned apparatuses' monitoring role.
It stipulates facilitating measures to enable individuals access to information and approach to concerned authorities, as well as encourage and activate civil society organizations' role and participation in preventing and fighting corruption. The law's aim also is to enlighten individuals on causes and various dangers of corruption and ways to prevent and tackle it.
The new draft law considers crimes against the national economy, public service, violating justice and private sector embezzlement crimes of corruption. Among corruption crimes the draft law stipulates is bribing foreign employees and those working for international organizations with the purpose of making them work or decline from doing something in violation of their duties in order to obtain commercial benefit or undeserved advantage.
Forgery related to corruption and falsification stipulated in the law of crimes and punishments, customs and tax evasion and cheating in tenders and biddings also are considered among corruption crimes in the law on fighting corruption.
According to Article 4, the law will be applicable to all corruption crimes, some of which are perpetrated inside Yemen's territorial boundaries, regardless of the nature or nationality of the perpetrators. The law's authority extends beyond this to crimes occurring outside Yemeni territories and is the specialization of Yemeni courts, as stipulated in the law of punitive procedures and the law to fight money laundering, as well as agreements and pacts endorsed by Yemen's government or joined by them.
Prosecutions and courts specialized in public property will consider corruption cases, also deeming correspondence, information and reports related to corruption crimes as among secrets that must be preserved.
The law grants those involved in such crimes the right to benefit from acquittal and mitigation of punishment and also the initiative to report them to concerned authorities and offer information facilitating detection and arrest of perpetrators.
The national higher authority to fight corruption will be supervised directly by the president and composed of nine members. It will enjoy full independence and neutrality to practice its specialties, with no side having the right to interfere in its affairs in any form, as such interference will be considered a crime punishable by law. Higher authority officials also will be granted legal authority.
Among actions against corruption is the higher authority's coordination with concerned apparatuses to study, evaluate and develop employment and financial systems, purchases, tenders and biddings, as well as revenue management systems. The higher authority also will coordinate in developing various monitoring mechanisms and arrangements pertaining to the private sector.
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