So Near Yet So Far
| DOI | 10.1177/0022018315626537 |
| Author | Michael Macaulay,Robert Gregory |
| Date | 01 February 2016 |
| Published date | 01 February 2016 |
| Subject Matter | Comment |
Comment
So Near Yet So Far: Implications
for the Organised Crime and
Anti-Corruption Legislation Bill*
Michael Macaulay
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Robert Gregory
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Abstract
This article explores some of the implications that arise from New Zealand’s Organised Crime
and Anti-Corruption Legislation Bill, (OCACL) which was passed into law on 5 November 2015
and comes into effect on 1 January 2016. As an Omnibus Bill, the OCACL makes amendments to
twelve different Acts; chief among these are legislative changes pertaining to bribery and
corruption. Despite New Zealand’s long-standing reputation for good governance it was one
of the very few signatories that had still to ratify the United Nations Conventions Against
Corruption (UNCAC). This article identifies a number of potential areas that potentially still
do not meet UNCAC requirements, which begs questions not only of the Bill but of the utility
of UNCAC itself. Furthermore the article explores a new offence of Trading in Influence,
which we suggest has potentially far reaching consequences, in theory at least.
Keywords
Bribery, corruption, trading in influence, UNCAC, New Zealand
Introduction
When is a bribe not a bribe? A surprisingly large number of times under current New Zealand law. So
many, in fact, that its outdated legislation has regularly been cited as a key reason why, despite its
* A version of this paper has previously been published in Policy Quarterly, the in-house journal of the Institute for Governance
and Policy studies (School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington). The Bill was passed after this article was
submitted but no further amendments were made.
Corresponding author:
Michael Macaulay, Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington.
Wellington, 6104, New Zealand.
E-mail: michael.macaulay@vuw.ac.nz
The Journal of Criminal Law
2016, Vol. 80(1) 17–27
ªThe Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/0022018315626537
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