Bribery - The Tradition, Modern Law, Problems, Conclusion, Bibliography
The act or practice of benefiting a person in order to betray a trust or to perform a duty meant to be performed freely, bribery occurs in relation to a public official and, derivatively, in private transactions. This article will deal with both species in terms of (1) the tradition; (2) modern law; and (3) problems.
JOHN T. NOONAN, JR.
DAN M. KAHAN
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Roots. Like many American legal concepts, the notion of bribery has its roots in the ancient Near East. As in most archaic societies, peaceful relations with strangers were here established in two ways, by gift and by contract. The gods or God were similarly made approachable by offerings or covenants. Against the norm of reciprocal relations ran two concepts. First, the ruler was the protector…
Nonstatutory sanctions. Bribery, along with treason, is one of two crimes for which the United States Constitution (art. ii, sec. 4) specifically prescribes impeachment for the President, Vice-President, and "all civil officers of the United States." Two federal judges have been impeached and convicted of corruption; more than a dozen others have resigned in the face of threatened impeachment. Ind…
Quantification. Bribery is not normally reported by briber or bribee, nor boasted of. No statistics exist as to the number or amount of bribes or the percentage of transactions affected by them. Consequently, although many historians speak of a government, a country, or an era as "corrupt," there is no quantifiable evidence on which they rest their judgments. By extrapolation from the disparate da…
There exists, however, a fourth position, the social-personalist one. It holds bribery to be a moral issue, that is, it affects both the good of society and the good of persons?the good of society by its impact on the ideals of the society, the good of persons by involving them in acts unworthy of their nature. A breach of trust and a sale of what should not be sold, bribery violates a divine para…
American Law Institute. Model Penal Code and Commentaries: Official Draft and Revised Comments. 3 vols. Philadelphia: ALI, 1980. Note. "Campaign Contributions and Federal Bribery Law." Harvard Law Review 92 (1978): 451?469. Note. "Control of Nongovernmental Corruption by Criminal Legislation." University of Pennsylvania Law Review 108 (1960): 848?867. …
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