UN Convention against Corruption
Also called: UNCAC · Topic: Statutory, Regulatory and Quasi-judicial Bodies · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) is a United Nations treaty adopted in 2003. Countries that join it promise to do four things: prevent corruption, make it a crime, work with other countries across borders, and recover stolen assets (money or property taken through corruption and often hidden abroad). India ratified it in 2011. Ratified means India formally agreed to be bound by it. It matters because it sets the global standard against which India's anti-corruption laws are measured.
Example
India's 2018 amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 made giving a bribe a separate offence and made companies liable. This follows the treaty's call to treat corruption as a crime on both sides, the giver and the taker.
Don't confuse with
- Paris Principles (1993): these are UN standards for national human rights bodies such as the NHRC. They are not about corruption.
Related concepts
- Prevention of Corruption Act 1988
- Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act 2018
- Santhanam Committee (1962-64)
- Central Vigilance Commission
- Vineet Narain case