Topic: Corruption
In fighting COVID-19, Sierra Leone Should Learn from Ebola Mistakes
As Sierra Leone works to contain the pandemic, there has not yet been a proper reckoning for the high-level corruption that tainted the country's ultimately successful battle against Ebola.
COVID-19 Poses a Threat to Justice. We Must Respond.
Read about the Open Society Justice Initiative's global work to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
How Mozambicans Shoulder the Burdens of Corruption
While substantial progress has been made in identifying those involved in Mozambique's debt scandal, more must be done to secure a fair outcome for every day citizens.
Centre for Accountability and the Rule of Law et al v. Sierra Leone
Two health-workers involved in efforts to combat the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, who themselves contracted and survived the virus, are seeking redress for deaths and damages caused by the corrupt diversion of million of international emergency relief funds.
Almost a Decade after his Death, Sergei Magnitsky Gets a Measure of Justice
The ruling from Europe's human rights court validates the underlying rationale for the laws adopted by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and some other countries to impose sanctions on designated individuals implicated in gross human rights abuses.
Q&A: Mothers Are Leading the Search for Mexico’s Missing People
Mexico continues to break records for its rates of deadly violence and disappearances, but criminal accountability remains virtually absent. A group of mothers in the state of Coahuila have taken up their own fight for truth and justice.
Legal Remedies for Grand Corruption
This collection of essays explores how civil society groups have been taking innovative legal approaches to hold to account those responsible for high-level corruption, and looks at possible new strategies for the future.
International Prosecutors Fought Corruption in Guatemala. Now They’ve Been Ordered Out
The United States is acquiescing in the destruction of one of the few institutions that has shown success in targeting the main causes of Guatemala’s dysfunction.
Mexico’s Criminal Justice System Is Failing. It’s Time for a New Vision of Reform
Human rights advocates, as well as a diverse collection of artists and policymakers, are calling on the government to seek international support in order to reinvigorate a discredited justice system.
Corruption that Kills: Why Mexico Needs an International Mechanism to Combat Impunity
This report argues Mexico needs an international response to investigate and prosecute atrocity crimes.
Legal Troubles in Spain Loom for Equatorial Guinea’s Autocratic Ruler
The leading Spanish newspaper El Pais has reported that a long-running police investigation has exposed a series of corrupt arms deals carried out between Equatorial Guinea and Ukraine.
TRIAL v. Argor-Heraeus S.A.
This complaint sought to initiate an official investigation by Swiss federal prosecutors into allegations that a Swiss gold refinery processed several tons of goal pillaged from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Why a Trial in Paris Marks a Milestone for Anticorruption Activists
The vice-president of Equatorial Guinea faces charges of investing funds in France misappropriated from the national treasury in a precedent-setting trial in France.
France’s Biens Mal Acquis Affair: Lessons from a Decade of Legal Struggle
Teodorin Obiang, vice president of Equatorial Guinea, is facing trial in Paris on money laundering and corruption charges—due almost entirely to a 10-year legal campaign by French anti-corruption groups.
South Africa: Public Trust Theory as the Basis for Resource Corruption Litigation
South Africa’s 1994 Constitution has led to statutes that incorporate the doctrine of public trust into environmental and natural resources law—strengthening potential legal remedies for challenging corruption.
Legal Remedies for Victims of Bribery under United States Law
The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has enabled "follow on" claims from foreign governments and others who suffer losses as a result of corrupt dealings. But many questions about the status of such claims remain open.
Confronting Crimes against Humanity in Mexico
Mexico faces a deep national crisis of atrocity and impunity: extraordinary action is needed to address these crimes, and to strengthen the criminal justice system.
Private Prosecutions: A Potential Anticorruption Tool in English Law
Private prosecution may offer opportunities in combating corruption, when the criminal actor is part of the state, and state actors may be reluctant to act.
Lessons from Qui Tam Litigation in the United States
Private whistleblower legal complaints, or qui tam actions, have been successful in the United States, but it is a challenging model to emulate.
Against the Odds: CICIG in Guatemala
The UN-backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala offers a potentially powerful example of how to reinforce the rule of law in states beset by corruption and violence.
