Influence Peddling

Abstract

Trafficking in influence is addressed at the international level in the context of affirming the need for criminalization and law enforcement in this area, in art. 18 of the United Nations Convention against corruption, adopted in New York on October 31, 2003 and ratified by Romania through Law no. 365/2004 where it is stipulated that "each state party adopts the legislative measures and other measures that prove to be necessary to assign the character of a crime, in the event that the acts were committed with intent: a) the act of promising, offering or giving to a public agent or any other person, directly or indirectly, an improper benefit, with the aim that the respective agent or the respective person abuses his real or supposed influence, in view obtaining from an administrative authority or from a public authority of the state party an improper benefit for the initial instigator of the act or for any other person; b) the act of a public agent or another person to request or accept, directly or indirectly, an improper benefit for himself or for another person, with the aim of abusing his real or supposed influence, in order to obtain a improper use from an administrative authority or from a public authority of the state party”. It has been observed that the provisions of this convention have a much more extensive nature than the precedent of the instrument adopted in the matter of anti-corruption, as it addresses the requirements for the criminalization of various acts, including influence peddling. The criminal convention on corruption, adopted within the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg, on January 27, 1999, ratified by Romania through Law no. 27/2002, states, in art. 12, that "each party adopts the legislative measures and other measures that prove necessary to criminalize as a crime, according to its internal law, if it was committed with intent, the act of proposing, offering or giving, directly or indirectly, any use improperly, for remuneration, to anyone who affirms or confirms that he is able to exercise an influence in making a decision by any of the persons referred to in art. 2, art. 4-6 and of art. 9-11 [i.е. national public agents, members of national public assemblies, foreign public agents, members of foreign public assemblies, international officials, members of international parliamentary assemblies, judges and agents of international courts], regardless of whether the improper benefit is for oneself or for someone else, as well as the act of requesting, receiving or accepting the offer or promise, as remuneration, for such influence, regardless of whether the influence is or is not exercised or whether the alleged influence produces or does not produce the desired result"