The UK Bribery Act 2010 Offence of Failure to Prevent Bribery: An Assessment of the Ministry of Justice Guidance on the ‘Adequate Procedures’ Defence from a Corporate Perspective

Chris Cowton; Robert Smith

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-74523-2_18

The UK Bribery Act 2010 Offence of Failure to Prevent Bribery: An Assessment of the Ministry of Justice Guidance on the ‘Adequate Procedures’ Defence from a Corporate Perspective

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

Abstract

The UK Bribery Act 2010 stands out internationally as far-reaching in its scope. The Act creates the offence of failure by a commercial organisation to prevent bribery on its behalf. The offence is one of strict liability. However, if bribery does take place, the organisation has a defence if it can show that it had in place ‘adequate procedures’ designed to prevent associated persons from undertaking such conduct. Three months before the Act came into force in 2011, Ministry of Justice (MOJ) Guidance containing six principles to be followed by businesses was published by the Secretary of State. The aim of this chapter is to assess the MOJ Guidance as a source of practical guidance for companies. Having examined the Guidance and compared it with equivalents in other countries, especially the US, it is concluded that the MOJ Guidance is useful, but the advice it contains can be significantly enhanced by drawing on other sources.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Corporate Governance, Organizational Ethics, and Prevention Strategies Against Financial Crime
Editors	Hyacinthe Yirlier Somé, Narjess Boubakri, Omrane Guedhami
Place of Publication	Cham
Publisher	Springer, Cham
Pages	381-405
Number of pages	25
Edition	1st
ISBN (Electronic)	9783031745232
ISBN (Print)	9783031745225, 9783031745256
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-74523-2_18
Publication status	Published - 15 Mar 2025

Publication series

Name	CSR, Sustainability, Ethics and Governance
Publisher	Springer
Volume	Part F180
ISSN (Print)	2196-7075
ISSN (Electronic)	2196-7083

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

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Accepted chapter for info onlyAccepted author manuscript, 771 KBLicence: Unspecified

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Cowton, C., & Smith, R. (2025). The UK Bribery Act 2010 Offence of Failure to Prevent Bribery: An Assessment of the Ministry of Justice Guidance on the ‘Adequate Procedures’ Defence from a Corporate Perspective. In H. Y. Somé, N. Boubakri, & O. Guedhami (Eds.), Corporate Governance, Organizational Ethics, and Prevention Strategies Against Financial Crime (1st ed., pp. 381-405). (CSR, Sustainability, Ethics and Governance; Vol. Part F180). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-74523-2_18

Cowton, Chris ; Smith, Robert. / The UK Bribery Act 2010 Offence of Failure to Prevent Bribery : An Assessment of the Ministry of Justice Guidance on the ‘Adequate Procedures’ Defence from a Corporate Perspective. Corporate Governance, Organizational Ethics, and Prevention Strategies Against Financial Crime. editor / Hyacinthe Yirlier Somé ; Narjess Boubakri ; Omrane Guedhami. 1st. ed. Cham : Springer, Cham, 2025. pp. 381-405 (CSR, Sustainability, Ethics and Governance).

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abstract = "The UK Bribery Act 2010 stands out internationally as far-reaching in its scope. The Act creates the offence of failure by a commercial organisation to prevent bribery on its behalf. The offence is one of strict liability. However, if bribery does take place, the organisation has a defence if it can show that it had in place {\textquoteleft}adequate procedures{\textquoteright} designed to prevent associated persons from undertaking such conduct. Three months before the Act came into force in 2011, Ministry of Justice (MOJ) Guidance containing six principles to be followed by businesses was published by the Secretary of State. The aim of this chapter is to assess the MOJ Guidance as a source of practical guidance for companies. Having examined the Guidance and compared it with equivalents in other countries, especially the US, it is concluded that the MOJ Guidance is useful, but the advice it contains can be significantly enhanced by drawing on other sources.",

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Cowton, C & Smith, R 2025, The UK Bribery Act 2010 Offence of Failure to Prevent Bribery: An Assessment of the Ministry of Justice Guidance on the ‘Adequate Procedures’ Defence from a Corporate Perspective. in HY Somé, N Boubakri & O Guedhami (eds), Corporate Governance, Organizational Ethics, and Prevention Strategies Against Financial Crime. 1st edn, CSR, Sustainability, Ethics and Governance, vol. Part F180, Springer, Cham, Cham, pp. 381-405. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-74523-2_18

The UK Bribery Act 2010 Offence of Failure to Prevent Bribery: An Assessment of the Ministry of Justice Guidance on the ‘Adequate Procedures’ Defence from a Corporate Perspective. / Cowton, Chris; Smith, Robert.
Corporate Governance, Organizational Ethics, and Prevention Strategies Against Financial Crime. ed. / Hyacinthe Yirlier Somé; Narjess Boubakri; Omrane Guedhami. 1st. ed. Cham: Springer, Cham, 2025. p. 381-405 (CSR, Sustainability, Ethics and Governance; Vol. Part F180).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

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Cowton C, Smith R. The UK Bribery Act 2010 Offence of Failure to Prevent Bribery: An Assessment of the Ministry of Justice Guidance on the ‘Adequate Procedures’ Defence from a Corporate Perspective. In Somé HY, Boubakri N, Guedhami O, editors, Corporate Governance, Organizational Ethics, and Prevention Strategies Against Financial Crime. 1st ed. Cham: Springer, Cham. 2025. p. 381-405. (CSR, Sustainability, Ethics and Governance). Epub 2025 Mar 14. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-74523-2_18

The UK Bribery Act 2010 Offence of Failure to Prevent Bribery: An Assessment of the Ministry of Justice Guidance on the ‘Adequate Procedures’ Defence from a Corporate Perspective

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