Blackstone's Guide to The Bribery Act 2010

BOOK REVIEW

BLACKSTONE'S GUIDE TO THE BRIBERY ACT 2010
Includes a copy of the Act

By Monty Raphael

ISBN: 978-0-19-957978-5

www.oup.com/uk/law


EXPANDING AND EXPLAINING THE MODERN LAW OF BRIBERY

An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers

Special Counsel at Peters and Peters, Monty Raphael, accurately describes the Bribery Act 2010 as fairly short for a radical measure which is designed to reform the law after 100 years of inactivity and inefficiency in tackling grand and petty corruption. The problem for lawyers is that this view could well cover a large number of legal areas.

Therefore, it's not surprising that Lord Woolf, in his Foreword, expresses immense relief for those who are concerned with Britain's reputation for probity that in the last days of Gordon Brown's government, the Act became law. Woolf accurately identifies the substantial improvements with this new piece of legislation which will have beneficial effects around the world- something which he and his fellow judges are well aware of because we are not dealing here with a local problem but one which infects every country. That's why we salute Monty Raphael for producing this excellent OUP/Blackstone guide.

Most practitioners find these Blackstone guides invaluable for their advice because they deliver concise and accessible commentaries on the latest legislative reforms, changes and amendments to statute law. The publishers have seen what we need which are publications soon after the legislative enactments with serious and experienced expert analysis by leading lawyers on the scope, extent and effects of the statutes.

In addition, the Blackstone Guides Series is always cost-effective giving us a copy of the Act plus key information needs quickly to act as the perfect companion for our main practitioner works to give us a unique additional updating service to compliment formal updates which often lack the depth we require without time-consuming legal research.

Raphael explains in 150 pages and 12 chapters how the Act reforms the law of corruption and introduces a controversial new corporate offence to enable the prosecution of companies associated with the individual or business accused of corruption. Of future interest to us will be the development of the defence of 'adequate provisions' for companies accused of committing the corporate.

This Guide is extremely timely although, as Lord Woolf suggests, it's clear that there will be demands for further editions as we see how the new law settles down, and whether it has worked or not. The bulk of the book covers an introduction and background to the general bribery offences and then looks specifically at the following important areas: bribery of foreign public officials; the failure of commercial organisations to prevent bribery; defences; facilitation payments, corporate hospitality, promotional expenditure, and commission payments; consent to prosecute; outcomes, penalties and remedies; investigation and prosecution; and international and domestic instruments.

Monty Raphael has set out a quick reference tool here which is logically organized and follows the structure of the Act which is set out in the first Appendix. Helpful explanations are given in their historical context which is a great plus factor for another excellent, welcome guide from Blackstone/OUP.

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News & Politics

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• Blackstone
• Bribery Act 2010
• oup
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