Corruption and the limits of legal education

Sara ChandlerNigel Duncan

Survey

An international survey to research: Understanding of the nature of corruption, its causes

and the ways in which lawyers impact on it.How best to prepare students to address it.

To date: 140 responses32 jurisdictions

The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development definition of corruption is: 'The active or passive misuse of the

powers of Public Officials (appointed or elected) for private financial or other benefits’.

Is this an adequate definition?

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0%

Yes

No

Corruption definition – suggestions for development

• Private individuals should be included• Corruption through non official channels eg abuse of

official position of a close relative• Consider cultural framework of political community• Creating an environment where corruption is trivialised

or encouraged through coercive means • Corruption is a systemic phenomenon not just individual• Include passive and system aspects, cultural connections • Clashes of different systems produce different scales of

corruption.

• Corruption should not be limited to so called "private financial benefits" because people justify their actions as not corrupt by suggesting it is not just for their own private benefit.

• Acts leading, directly or indirectly, to impoverishment of other citizens/ affecting development plans of the country/the fact of injustice or illegality associated with it

• Corruption allows there to be two forms of rules - those that are the formal codes (written or unwritten, customary or legal) and those that take place under the table and often through, monetary or otherwise, payments

• Rule of Law" can mean Rule of Western Law, in Western society corruption undermines the collective agreed forms of behaviour (expressed as rules and laws) of that society

• need for effective accountability of pay of public officials (BBC, University Vice Chancellors, local authority Chief Execs etc)

Other Issues and Concepts• We need to recognise that the term "Rule of Law" can mean

something very specific to students, especially those from emerging economies i.e the Rule of Western Law, the way Western society runs itself. What we should emphasise with students is that corruption undermines the collective agreed forms of behaviour (expressed as rules and laws) of that society. Corruption allows there to be two forms of rules - those that are the formal codes (written or unwritten, customary or legal) and those that take place under the table and often through monetary or otherwise, payments

• the impact of corruption on reputation and trust relationships as it can start in very subtle forms, then grow

Four main issues

• Impact of corruption on the Rule of Law• Impact of corruption on society and the economy• Roles of lawyers in combating corruption• Impact of corruption on the human rights of

individualsPlease work in groups of 4 – 6.What are the most important things you would like to

explore with your students as a mutual learning process?

Other suggestions for Learning Methods

• Simulation such as role playing: clinical experience usually difficult to realize.

• - Role play - 'what would you do...' scenarios (where the student is a hypothetical in-house counsel, hypothetical external legal adviser, hypothetical government legal adviser); 'is this corruption?' scenarios - with role plays followed by small group discussion to debate the merits of alternative approaches; case study analysis of real world corruption issues (for example Stern Hu and Rio Tinto)

• Experiential learning through role plays and whistle-blowing activities. To learn how to navigate and use the systems.

• Any naming and shaming activity. Encouraging SH lawsuits against companies that facilitate corruption for waste. Embarrassing public officials.

Contribute to the survey

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8VD9N35.

And contact us:

sarachandler.lawsociety@gmail.com N.j.duncan@city.ac.uk