Anti-bribery laws反商業(yè)賄賂法

　　Palms ungreased揩油

　　A long-delayed anti-bribery law will soon come intoforce

　　姍姍來(lái)遲的反賄賂法即將生效

　　THERE is a lingering assumption among Britons thattheir country stands for probity and fair play. Askabout it abroad, though, and you sometimes get adifferent reaction. Anti-corruption campaigners stillbring up Tony Blairs decision in 2006 to abandonan investigation into a ??43 billion weapons deal with Saudi Arabia. Then there is thepeculiar paucity of British sanctions imposed under an international bribery convention: twobetween 1999 and 2009, compared with 88 in America, 26 in Germany and 40 in Italy.

　　英國(guó)人一直自矜的認(rèn)為他們的國(guó)家建立在正直和公正的基石上。然而國(guó)外的反應(yīng)卻不盡如此。反腐競(jìng)選人依舊利用Tony Blair2006年的決定拒絕調(diào)查與Saudi Arabia的一項(xiàng)43億英鎊的軍火交易。因此國(guó)際賄賂協(xié)議對(duì)英國(guó)的約束力就罕見(jiàn)的微弱，在1999年和2009年之間只有2項(xiàng)受到制裁，相較而言美國(guó)有 88項(xiàng)，德國(guó)26項(xiàng)，意大利40項(xiàng)。

　　Stung by such talk, in 2008 the previous Labour government proposed a new law updating thecountrys antiquated rules on backhanders and bungs, including those dispensed overseas.Both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, now in government, backed the law inopposition. It reached the statute book in April last year; under it, miscreants risk big finesand up to ten years in prison. It was due to take effect in April this year, after the publication inJanuary of guidelines on how to apply it. But, as the date approached, the Ministry of Justicesaid the implementation of the law had been postponed to allow the guidelines to be tweaked,following intense lobbying from business groups such as the Confederation of British Industry.

　　被如此言論激怒的前工黨政府2008年提出了一項(xiàng)新法律，以改革對(duì)回扣和紅包的過(guò)時(shí)規(guī)定，在海外具有同等約束力。但是政府里的自由民主黨和保守黨都反對(duì)此法案。它涉及去年4月的法令全書(shū)，在該全書(shū)中，歹徒將被處以巨額罰款和最多10年監(jiān)禁。在今年1月實(shí)施指導(dǎo)條例公布之后，該法預(yù)定4月份生效。但是隨著日期臨近，在一些商業(yè)集團(tuán)如英國(guó)工業(yè)聯(lián)合會(huì)緊張的游說(shuō)之后，司法部說(shuō)該法會(huì)延遲施行以便修改指導(dǎo)條例。

　　On March 30th the ministry said the law would finally come into effect on July 1st and issued arevised set of guidelines. These clarify some of the things that were worrying bosses. To therelief of football clubs, swanky nightclubs and Formula 1, taking clients on company-sponsoredjollies seems unlikely to cause any problems. The question of how responsible British firms arefor the misbehaviour of contractors in other countries has been clarified.

　　在3月30日司法部說(shuō)該法最終將在7月1日生效，并發(fā)布了修改后的指導(dǎo)條例。這些闡明了一些正困擾著老板們的麻煩事。為了救濟(jì)足球俱樂(lè)部，驕傲的夜總會(huì)和F1方程式賽車(chē)，讓顧客參加公司贊助的娛樂(lè)活動(dòng)似乎不會(huì)引起任何麻煩。英國(guó)公司為合約商的失誤應(yīng)付多大責(zé)任的問(wèn)題也得到了解答。

　　On the other hand, facilitation payments, a euphemistic term for the small bungs sometimespaid to foreign officials to expedite a legitimate servicea licence application, for instancearediscouraged. Americas Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, one of the inspirations for the new law,allows them.

　　另一方面，便利費(fèi)不受鼓勵(lì)，實(shí)際上這只是有時(shí)支付給外國(guó)官員以加速合法業(yè)務(wù)如許可證申請(qǐng)的小額回扣。而讓英國(guó)的該新法受啟發(fā)的美國(guó)外國(guó)腐敗行為法案卻允許此類(lèi)行為。

　　Lawyers are still pondering precisely how much legal force these guidelines will have. Oneparticularly thorny question is whether foreign firms that are listed on British stockmarkets butconduct little other business in the country will be covered. The government has offered noopinion; the question might one day make for a fascinating court case.

　　律師們?nèi)栽谏钏歼@些指導(dǎo)條例會(huì)有多大的法律效力。一個(gè)特別棘手的問(wèn)題是該法律對(duì)那些參與英國(guó)股票市場(chǎng)但是幾乎沒(méi)有在英國(guó)開(kāi)展其他業(yè)務(wù)的外國(guó)公司是否有法律效力。政府沒(méi)有給出選項(xiàng)，或許有一天這會(huì)訴諸司法并引起廣泛關(guān)注。

　　Anti-bribery laws反商業(yè)賄賂法

　　Palms ungreased揩油

　　A long-delayed anti-bribery law will soon come intoforce

　　姍姍來(lái)遲的反賄賂法即將生效

　　THERE is a lingering assumption among Britons thattheir country stands for probity and fair play. Askabout it abroad, though, and you sometimes get adifferent reaction. Anti-corruption campaigners stillbring up Tony Blairs decision in 2006 to abandonan investigation into a ??43 billion weapons deal with Saudi Arabia. Then there is thepeculiar paucity of British sanctions imposed under an international bribery convention: twobetween 1999 and 2009, compared with 88 in America, 26 in Germany and 40 in Italy.

　　英國(guó)人一直自矜的認(rèn)為他們的國(guó)家建立在正直和公正的基石上。然而國(guó)外的反應(yīng)卻不盡如此。反腐競(jìng)選人依舊利用Tony Blair2006年的決定拒絕調(diào)查與Saudi Arabia的一項(xiàng)43億英鎊的軍火交易。因此國(guó)際賄賂協(xié)議對(duì)英國(guó)的約束力就罕見(jiàn)的微弱，在1999年和2009年之間只有2項(xiàng)受到制裁，相較而言美國(guó)有 88項(xiàng)，德國(guó)26項(xiàng)，意大利40項(xiàng)。

　　Stung by such talk, in 2008 the previous Labour government proposed a new law updating thecountrys antiquated rules on backhanders and bungs, including those dispensed overseas.Both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, now in government, backed the law inopposition. It reached the statute book in April last year; under it, miscreants risk big finesand up to ten years in prison. It was due to take effect in April this year, after the publication inJanuary of guidelines on how to apply it. But, as the date approached, the Ministry of Justicesaid the implementation of the law had been postponed to allow the guidelines to be tweaked,following intense lobbying from business groups such as the Confederation of British Industry.

　　被如此言論激怒的前工黨政府2008年提出了一項(xiàng)新法律，以改革對(duì)回扣和紅包的過(guò)時(shí)規(guī)定，在海外具有同等約束力。但是政府里的自由民主黨和保守黨都反對(duì)此法案。它涉及去年4月的法令全書(shū)，在該全書(shū)中，歹徒將被處以巨額罰款和最多10年監(jiān)禁。在今年1月實(shí)施指導(dǎo)條例公布之后，該法預(yù)定4月份生效。但是隨著日期臨近，在一些商業(yè)集團(tuán)如英國(guó)工業(yè)聯(lián)合會(huì)緊張的游說(shuō)之后，司法部說(shuō)該法會(huì)延遲施行以便修改指導(dǎo)條例。

　　On March 30th the ministry said the law would finally come into effect on July 1st and issued arevised set of guidelines. These clarify some of the things that were worrying bosses. To therelief of football clubs, swanky nightclubs and Formula 1, taking clients on company-sponsoredjollies seems unlikely to cause any problems. The question of how responsible British firms arefor the misbehaviour of contractors in other countries has been clarified.

　　在3月30日司法部說(shuō)該法最終將在7月1日生效，并發(fā)布了修改后的指導(dǎo)條例。這些闡明了一些正困擾著老板們的麻煩事。為了救濟(jì)足球俱樂(lè)部，驕傲的夜總會(huì)和F1方程式賽車(chē)，讓顧客參加公司贊助的娛樂(lè)活動(dòng)似乎不會(huì)引起任何麻煩。英國(guó)公司為合約商的失誤應(yīng)付多大責(zé)任的問(wèn)題也得到了解答。

　　On the other hand, facilitation payments, a euphemistic term for the small bungs sometimespaid to foreign officials to expedite a legitimate servicea licence application, for instancearediscouraged. Americas Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, one of the inspirations for the new law,allows them.

　　另一方面，便利費(fèi)不受鼓勵(lì)，實(shí)際上這只是有時(shí)支付給外國(guó)官員以加速合法業(yè)務(wù)如許可證申請(qǐng)的小額回扣。而讓英國(guó)的該新法受啟發(fā)的美國(guó)外國(guó)腐敗行為法案卻允許此類(lèi)行為。

　　Lawyers are still pondering precisely how much legal force these guidelines will have. Oneparticularly thorny question is whether foreign firms that are listed on British stockmarkets butconduct little other business in the country will be covered. The government has offered noopinion; the question might one day make for a fascinating court case.

　　律師們?nèi)栽谏钏歼@些指導(dǎo)條例會(huì)有多大的法律效力。一個(gè)特別棘手的問(wèn)題是該法律對(duì)那些參與英國(guó)股票市場(chǎng)但是幾乎沒(méi)有在英國(guó)開(kāi)展其他業(yè)務(wù)的外國(guó)公司是否有法律效力。政府沒(méi)有給出選項(xiàng)，或許有一天這會(huì)訴諸司法并引起廣泛關(guān)注。