OAS MOVES AHEAD WITH PREPARATION OF MODEL ANTICORRUPTION LAWS 

Work is progressing at the OAS on draft model laws in two fundamental areas envisaged by the Inter-American Convention against Corruption that have been under review by the MESICIC, the mechanism for follow-up on implementation of that treaty. The first of these draft model laws concerns systems for declaring interests, income, assets and liabilities of persons performing public functions; the second is a draft model law to facilitate and encourage the reporting of acts of corruption and to protect whistleblowers and witnesses. 

As part of a methodology designed to allow broad participation in their preparation, as of September 7, 2011, the OAS General Secretariat, through the Department of Legal Cooperation of the Secretariat for Legal Affairs, has made the draft model laws available to the experts of the MESICIC states parties and OAS-registered civil society organizations involved in the fight against corruption, so as to enable them to submit comments, observations, or suggestions on the drafts. 

These draft model laws were prepared with the assistance of consultants. Furthermore, subsequently, as part of the participatory methodology adopted, the drafts were enriched through consultations pursued with government experts from different countries who specialize and have direct experience in the matters with which these model laws are concerned. Their contributions were collected at working meetings held in Buenos Aires, in the case of the first draft model law, and Lima, in the case of the second. 

Background information and the texts of the draft model laws “on the Declaration of Interests, Income, Assets and Liabilities of Persons Performing Public Functions” and “to facilitate and encourage the reporting of acts of corruption and to protect whistleblowers and witnesses” may be found at the Anticorruption Portal of the Americas at: www.oas.org/juridico/english/model_laws.htm

What is the MESICIC?

The Mechanism For Follow-up on the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, known as MESICIC for its Spanish acronym, is a tool to support the development of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption through cooperation between States Parties.

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