[Content from public call]
The Anti-Corruption Law Interest Group of the American Society of International Law (ACLIG), the World Bank’s Office of Suspension and Debarment (OSD) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)’s Anti-Corruption Division are organizing a symposium on “Supranational Responses to Corruption.” The conference will take place in Vienna, Austria, on November 18-19, 2021, with the possibility to participate remotely. The organizers are inviting paper or short essay proposals from scholars, private sector professionals, international organizations professionals, policymakers, public officials, civil society organizations, and the broader international anti-corruption community. The deadline to submit a proposal is May 15, 2021.
The main objective of the symposium will be to study and reflect upon current and prospective anti-corruption efforts that transcend national boundaries or governments. While states play a fundamental role in the global anti-corruption framework, public and private supranational actors, have developed essential tools to tackle the “demand” and “supply” sides of corruption. These supranational initiatives, however, have grown separately in an uncoordinated fashion. The organizations embarked on such efforts are not fully aware of each other’s specific objectives, capabilities, or information sets, which reduces the potential multiplier effect that joint learning, coordination, or collaboration can achieve in the fight against corruption.
The symposium will take stock of the current supranational anti-corruption mechanisms and standards, assess how to facilitate a multilateral understanding of these efforts, and discuss whether, to what extent, and how supranational anti-corruption responses can lean toward creating a regional and/or transnational anti-corruption ecosystem that does not depend on the actions of a specific state.
The symposium is expected to discuss ideas, plans, and priorities emerging from the first United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on corruption, scheduled to take place at the UN Headquarters in New York, in June 2021, and the Group of Twenty (G20) AntiCorruption Working Group’s meetings in 2021.
Themes of this symposium include, but are not limited to:
1. Efforts that can transcend national boundaries or governments structures when it comes to generating and operationalizing anti-corruption policies and measures, undertaken by:
- Intergovernmental organizations (i.e., the OECD, World Trade Organization, multilateral financial institutions (World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund, etc.), regional organizations;
- Institutional investors (i.e., Green Climate Fund, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, investment funds, etc.);
- Donors (i.e., public funds and private foundations, etc.);
- Services providers to private sector (i.e., banking, insurance, financial, legal, etc.);
- Private or public corporations with multinational activities, such as through compliance.
2. Efforts to establish regional/global investigative, prosecutorial, and adjudicatory anti-corruption institutions:
- Lessons learned from establishing the European Public Prosecutor Office (EPPO);
- The development of regional law enforcement networks;
- The case for creating multilateral, regional, and hybrid anti-corruption investigative, prosecutorial, and judicial institutions; experiences to draw upon when considering such institutions;
- The role and power of international human rights courts and other international courts and arbitral tribunals.
3. Efforts to enhance coordination and collaboration among the actors undertaking anti-corruption efforts at the international level:
- Coordination and cooperation of law enforcement authorities in the resolution of multi-jurisdictional cases and sanction allocation;
- The feasibility and potential of cross-application of sanctions via agreements among organizations;
- Assessing how information and data generated by the anti-corruption sanctions systems of various organizations can be used by these organizations or third parties – private or public;
- Establishing a dialogue mechanism among the relevant international organizations;
- Leveraging multi-stakeholder initiatives to combat corruption through collective action.
Guidelines for Proposals
Abstracts should indicate how the proposed paper (min. 5000 words) or short essay (min. 2500 words) relates to the theme or sub-themes of the symposium. Please submit your abstract in Word format (min 250 words, max. 500 words), along with a short biography (max. 250 words containing name, affiliation, and contact details). Please send your abstract and biography to acsymposium2021@gmail.com. A publication opportunity may follow the conference.
Timeline
- The deadline for submission of abstracts is May 15, 2021.
- Successful applicants will be informed by June 13, 2021.
- The deadline for submission of the paper or essay is September 25, 2021.
Organizing Committee
- Alexandra Manea, OSD, World Bank
- Elisabeth Danon, Anti-Corruption Division, OECD
- Jan Dunin-Wasowicz, Chair of the ACLIG, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
Partners
The following partners have kindly offered to collaborate in organizing the symposium:
- International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA)
- World Economic Forum – Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI)
- Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs