UK Bribery Act 2010, the comprehensive anti-bribery code

The UK Bribery Act 2010 a bill against corruption which received Royal Assent on 8 April 2010. The Act shall come into force on 1 July 2011, thus replacing England's old and controversial laws on bribery with a complete new anti-bribery code.

There are four offenses: general paying and receiving bribes, bribery of foreign public officials and the failure on part of business house and organisations to curb corruption. Business offense is the most significant one in this law compared to the old law as the onus will be on the companies to ensure that their anti-corruption regulations are in place.

Under the Act the government is required to provide guidance on adequate procedures. The guideline was published in March 30, 2011 and will require procedures to customise them accordingly to individual situation of each company based on a risk assessment. Finally, it will be left to the courts to assess whether a company has "adequate procedures" in place and it will be for the company to prove they have stringent measures in place to check corruption. In view of this the court will assess where a bribe was actually paid; the burden can be very high and might need companies to keep themselves transparent with all their transaction.