Adopted: 31 October 2003 by the UN General Assembly
Signatories: 140 (as of 1 November 2007). Opened for signature on 9 December 2003
Ratifications/Accessions: 125 (as of 29 September 2008)
Entry into force: 14 December 2005
Open to: All countries and regional economic organisations
Website for updated information
Full convention text.

In its eight Chapters and 71 Articles, the UNCAC obliges the States Parties to implement a wide and detailed range of anti-corruption measures affecting their laws, institutions and practices. These measures aim to promote the prevention, detection and sanctioning of corruption, as well as the cooperation between State Parties on these matters. The UNCAC is unique as compared to other conventions, not only in its global coverage but also in the extensiveness and detail of its provisions.

The UNCAC was negotiated over a two-year period at the United Nations office in Vienna by representatives of more than a hundred countries from all regions. The secretariat for the negotiations was the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Representatives of civil society organisations, including Transparency International, also participated in this process. Following the conclusion of the negotiations in October 2003, the text of the Convention was presented for approval by the General Assembly on 31 October 2003. Once approved, it was opened for the states to sign, starting with a signing conference in Merida, Mexico on 9-10 December 2003. (International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December marks the anniversary of this signing conference.)

The UNCAC was initially signed by 111 states. The 30 ratifications required for entry into force of the Convention were reached on 15 September 2005, making the actual entry into force date 14 December 2005.

The obligations of the parties fall into the following categories:

1. Preventive measures: Of all existing anti-corruption Conventions, the UNCAC has the most extensive provisions on the ways, means and standards for preventive measures in the public and private sectors. However, an important deficiency is that the requirements on transparency in funding of political candidates and of political parties are not mandatory in the UNCAC.
2. Criminalisation: UNCAC calls for criminalisation of a wide range of offences and contains a broad definition of the term public official. Moreover it includes offences relating both to public sector corruption and private sector (private-to-private) corruption.
3. International cooperation: The UNCAC also provides an international cooperation framework which has the potential to improve mutual law enforcement assistance, notably in extradition and investigations. These provisions are potentially some of the most important in the Convention.
4. Asset recovery framework: One of its most noteworthy aspects is that it elaborates an asset recovery framework for the first time on a global basis, covering countries in the north and south.
5. Technical cooperation and information exchange: In terms of the overall composition and balance of the UNCAC, the provisions on technical cooperation and information exchange are key. These take account of the need for “enhanced financial and material assistance” to developing countries and technical assistance to developing countries and countries and countries in transition to help them implement the Convention. Without such assistance, some countries will not be in a position to implement UNCAC requirements.
6. Implementation mechanism: UNCAC Chapter VII provides for an implementation mechanism under the auspices of the Conference of States Parties The first Conference of State Parties to the Convention is to be convened within a year after entry into force of the Convention and regularly thereafter. The responsibilities of the Conference of States Parties include:

• reviewing periodically the implementation of the Convention by States Parties
• making recommendations to improve the Convention and its implementation, including recommendations about technical assistance needs
• using relevant information produced by other international and regional mechanisms
• putting into effect supplemental review mechanisms and establishing any review body it deems necessary to assess the measures taken by States Parties (and difficulties encountered) to implement the Convention.

In addition, the States Parties are required to provide information about the measures they have taken to implement the Convention.

Some specific noteworthy provisions in the UNCAC are

• Requirement of disallowance of tax deductibility of bribes of either foreign or national officials (Art. 12)
• Requirement of liability of legal persons i.e. companies (Art.26)
• Recognition of need for long statutes of limitations (Art.29)
• Recognition of the right of entities or persons who have suffered damages from corruption, to initiate legal proceedings for compensation. (Art.35)

See the summary overview for additional information about the UNCAC and its strengths and weaknesses.