Highlights

The bribery of foreign public officials in the course of cross-border investment and international business transactions, i.e. transnational bribery, raises FDI-related issues for host countries, transnational corporations (TNCs) and their host countries. This paper examines the topic of transnational bribery in the context of international investment agreements (IIAs), as well as other international instruments that address issues related to the making of such illicit payments.

The paper focuses on how IIAs and IIA related instruments have addressed the issue of combating transnational bribery through international obligations by States to criminalize such transactions within their national jurisdiction.