Slovakia is facing difficulties in meeting the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, according to a report acknowledged by the government on Wednesday, March 20. According to the report, which was prepared by an OECD working group, the long-term absence of effective accountability on the part of organisations is the biggest shortcoming.

The OECD recommends that Slovakia take a more active approach in penalising bribery of foreign public officials. This should include strengthening the powers of law-enforcement bodies to investigate such corruption, as well as strengthening the protection of whistleblowers via legislation.

The government approved a proposal for measures that should incorporate the OECD's advice, the TASR newswire wrote. The OECD report praised some Slovak laws adopted in this context, especially those that strengthened the anti-corruption framework, set up the Specialised Criminal Court and raised awareness and transparency via publication of all court decisions, thereby making them available to the public.

Source: TASR

Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.