Articles for tag: Colombia, Korruption, Uribe

Colombia’s Ketchup-Bottle-Case

It may well be Colombian literary culture shining through when the presiding judge of the case against former President Álvaro Uribe cited the French aristocrat: “As Montesquieu rightly said, the law must be like death, which spares no one”. The verdict of 12 years in prison has been 14 years in the making. The most important implication of this case is neither the verdict itself, nor the length of the sentence – it is its nature as a “Ketchup-Bottle-Case”: the opening for more than 100 cases in the system that include crimes against humanity carrying life-in-prison sentences.

8. August 2025

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Assets Without Alibi

Păcurar is yet another version of the familiar cat-and-mouse game between anticorruption agencies and corrupt public officials: some public officials quietly amass real estate, luxury cars, financial investments, or cash, and – once confronted by anticorruption agencies to explain the difference from their declared legal income – rely on whimsical excuses. On 24 June 2025, the ECtHR held that wealth may be taken away if public officials cannot explain that very difference. This ruling completes the ECtHR’s endorsement of civil law instruments in the fight against corruption by fully disconnecting confiscation from any link to a crime.

13. Juli 2025

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Private Wealth, Public Doubt

Public officials having to disclose their private wealth is a powerful anti-corruption tool that led to the imprisonment or dismissal of hundreds of corrupt public officials across Europe. In Romania, this included ministers and a Parliamentary President. Despite this success, the Romanian Constitutional Court now substantially undermined the effectiveness of asset declarations: it declared the online publication of declarations unconstitutional and invalidated the provision on declaring wealth of adult family members of public officials. There are two reasons for other governance-reforming countries not to follow this case law.

27. Juni 2025

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Power, Profit, and Washington’s Paradox

The Trump administration has been accused of corruptly placing private financial benefit above the public interest, most recently in President Trump’s acceptance of the gift of a Boeing 747 from Qatar for his use as Air Force 1, and invitations to dinner at a private club and to a private White House tour, offered as perks for those who invested substantial sums in his Stablecoin. Although, here, the President’s self-enrichment is blatant, more troubling are his policies aimed at dismantling safeguards against corruption at home and abroad. These reveal a deep contradiction in the warring goals of those currently governing in Washington; a contradiction that may eventually burst into the open.

12. Juni 2025

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It’s Not a Trap

Despite most countries having trouble getting rid of bribery in daily life, only few so far have dared integrity testing: sending out undercover testers disguised as ordinary citizens to contact the public administration and check which public employees ask for bribes. The main argument against such undercover tests has been that they constitute “entrapment”. However, in Cavca, the ECtHR finally dispels the myth that these tests in and of themselves equal entrapment. Yet, the decision leaves one key question unaddressed: Just when does integrity testing become entrapment?

5. Juni 2025

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From Backlog to Breakdown

Albania’s Vetting Commission recently concluded its mandate, marking a pivotal moment in the country’s judicial reform effort. Since 2016, Albania has enacted significant constitutional amendments aimed at comprehensive reforms. The results of these reforms are now obvious, with notable improvements in the judiciary’s anti-corruption efforts. However, the process itself and some interim decisions have had a detrimental effect on the efficiency of the judicial system, that is now threatening to undermine the outcome of reforms unless urgent measures are taken.

26. März 2025

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Ein Wendepunkt für die globale Korruptionsbekämpfung

In der Kaskade aufsehenerregender Dekrete von US-Präsident Donald Trump sticht der letzte Woche verkündete Schritt, die Anwendung des Gesetzes gegen Auslandsbestechung für sechs Monate auszusetzen, auf den ersten Blick nicht heraus. Näher besehen könnte diese Executive Order aber die globale Antikorruptionspolitik unterminieren und die wirtschafts- und sicherheitspolitischen Interessen Europas nachhaltig schädigen. Zur Debatte steht mit dem Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) nämlich jenes Gesetz, mit dem die transnationale und globale Korruptionsbekämpfung im Jahr 1977 ihren Lauf nahm.

19. Februar 2025

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What Madonna Got and the EU Did Not

For the past three months, Serbian citizens have been actively protesting, demanding a shift from the rule by man to the one, governed by the rule of law. The protests followed the tragedy of November 1, 2024, when the recently renovated canopy of the railway station in Novi Sad collapsed and took 15 lives and severely injured 2 individuals. The Prime Minister has resigned, and massive protests are sweeping across the country. Meanwhile, the EU continues to prioritize regional stability over addressing the President’s abuse of power.

18. Februar 2025

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Clash of Prosecutors

In Kroatien spielt sich ein bislang beispielloser Konflikt zwischen der kroatischen Staatsanwaltschaft und der erst 2021 eingeführten Europäischen Staatsanwaltschaft (EUStA) ab, nachdem unter anderem der Gesundheitsminister, Vili Beroš, wegen eines Korruptionsskandals festgenommen wurde. Der Konflikt gipfelte in einem Schreiben an die Kommission, in dem die EUStA systematische Rechtsstaatsdefizite anprangert und sie zum Einschreiten auffordert. Insgesamt wird deutlich, dass sich die EU in Kroatien derzeit, insbesondere durch die Arbeit der EUStA, neue Legitimität erarbeitet, weil sie aktiv gegen Korruption vorgeht.

13. Dezember 2024

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Zwei- bis Drei-Klassen-Justiz in Österreich?

Seit der „Ibiza-Affäre“ vom Mai 2019 reißt die Kette an Skandalen in Österreich nicht ab. Zuletzt sorgte die Causa Pilnacek für Aufsehen. Der dazu nun veröffentlichte Kommissionsbericht attestiert Österreichs Justizsystem gravierende Mängel, insbesondere Korruption. In der europäischen Mehrebenenjustiz ist dies letztlich ein genuin europäisches Problem. Die zutage getretenen Schwächen sind damit nicht nur Schwächen der österreichischen Rechts- und Verfassungsordnung, sondern Herausforderungen für die europäische Rechtsstaatlichkeit insgesamt.

7. August 2024

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