2011
09/05
Working Paper No 11: Governance of Health Systems
As awareness of the role governance in the performance of health systems has increased, so has the need to come up with systematic means to evaluate governance shortcomings to develop adequate interventions. This working paper describes a framework to assess governance in the health systems of low-income countries that is intended to have empirical applicability with a problem-driven approach. The analysis is grounded on a re-categorization of governance dimensions for greater heuristic power, with an emphasis made on the importance of strategic systems design and accountability. The proposed methodology includes mapping of both formal and informal institutions, actors and networks. This underscores the idea that in order to properly address governance weaknesses it is of utmost importance to have an insight into whether the interplay of formal and informal norms facilitates or undermines system performance.
2011
09/05
Working Paper No 10: Accountability for better healthcare
Strengthening accountability in public service provision is increasingly recognized as a precondition to improve the performance of the health sector in low-income countries. However, progress in this field has been hampered to a great extent because of empirical difficulties in measuring and assessing accountability. This article provides a clear operational definition of the concept and discusses how and why accountability in public health service provision presents distinct challenges to the institutional capabilities of most developing countries. On the basis of both elements a set of guidelines to empirically assess accountability in health services is offered.
2010
11/18
New working paper released: The situation of financial intelligence units in central and eastern europe and the former Soviet Union by Kilian Strauss
The transition process in many countries in Central and Eastern Europe from a oneparty state to a democratic system has been long and difficult and has frequently been accompanied by institutional instability. The judiciary and law enforcement bodies have been no exception. Both have suffered from a weak legal tradition in many countries of the region, weak implementation of existing legislation, limited operational effectiveness, corruption and the influence of informal personal networks. These developments can also be observed in the area of financial intelligence. Following the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 and the events of September 2001, most countries of the region adopted legislation aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing, as required by their international commitments as well as EU entry requirements. In this context, most countries also set up the required institutions, notably a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
2010
10/04
New working paper released: The Recovery of Stolen Assets: Seeking to balance fundamental human rights at stake
The recovery of stolen assets is a fundamental principle of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). By including this element in the said Convention, the international community recognizes the negative impacts on countries and populations deprived of the billions of dollars that are diverted each year by their corrupt leaders and public officials.
The confiscation and restitution of these illicitly acquired funds may benefit affected, generally poor, countries in urgent need of resources to finance, for example, social programs or infrastructural projects. As these assets are essential for the well-being of the population, their repatriation can thus contribute to repairing the damage caused by the embezzlement.
This paper intends to analyze the way in which fundamental human rights are susceptible to being violated by the illegal acquisition of personal wealth; these are essentially economic, social and cultural rights. Furthermore, the paper tries to identify who the victims are. It shows not only the necessity of punishing the perpetrators of corrupt practices but also underlines the need to guarantee that their fundamental rights, such as the presumption of innocence and the guarantee of property rights, are respected in the process of asset recovery.
Approaching the issue of asset recovery with a human rights perspective it becomes clear that asset recovery is a process whereby it is essential to respect not only the victims’ interests but also to preserve the rights of all persons concerned.
2009
11/02
New working paper released: The Political Economy of Asset Recovery Processes
Since the mid-1990s, the fight against corruption has become an integral part of the international development agenda. Along with the growing concern about corruption, the problem of assets stolen by public officials came to the fore of the agenda. This is evidenced by a steady increase in international agreements, such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions adopted in 1997, and the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) signed in 2003. The UNCAC, in particular, includes specific mechanisms that facilitate repatriation of stolen public assets.
Since political will is the concentrated expression of powerful political and economic interests in a country, more attention must be paid to these interests when it comes to asset recovery measures. This is the aim of the working paper. By using the political economy framework, the paper identifies the political and institutional obstacles to effective policy implementation. The focus will be on the factors involved in the process of international recovery of stolen assets, although this process can and should not be analyzed separately from the broader challenge of the fight against corruption. Both these issues are interrelated and can have a significant impact on each other.
Download the working paper "The Political Economy of Asset Recovery
Processes"
2009
10/30
New working paper released: Managing Proceeds of Asset Recovery
This paper looks at the use of proceeds of asset recovered from Sani Abacha, Vladimir Montesinos, and Ferdinand Marcos and their families. It will also briefly address a much more recent case involving Kazakhstan. Repatriation of stolen monies makes available additional resources for development activities. The challenge is to ensure efficient, accountable and transparent use of such assets, given states may lack capacity or political will and that corruption may be prevalent at various levels of government. Transparency allows for better utilisation of recovered assets, and better targeting of resources into sectors that have potential to benefit the victims of corruption, who happen to be mostly the poor. Lack of effective follow up mechanisms may lead to the inappropriate allocation of resources into sectors that have little effect on alleviating poverty. The cases under review here offer lessons on how to manage repatriation and utilisation of proceeds of asset recovery. Further lessons relate to the participation of third parties and the benefits of making the results of the entire process public.
Download Working Paper "Managing Proceeds of Asset Recovery".
2008
12/20
Poverty and Corruption:About Poorer and Richer Ways of Life
by Lucy Koechlin, December 2008
2007
05/20
An Evaluation of National Integrity Systems from a Human Rights Perspective
by Lucy Koechlin
> Download as PDF (420 kb)
2007
01/20
Verhaltensregeln für die Verwaltung von Vorsorgeeinrichtungen
by Mark Pieth, Lukas Handschin, Hans-Peter Bauer, Andreas Müller, and Gretta Fenner
> Download as PDF (388 kb)
2006
05/20
Multistakeholder Initiatives to Combat Money Laundering and Bribery
by Mark Pieth
> Download as PDF (346 kb)
2003
05/20
Anti-Money Laundering: Levelling the Playing Field (Summary of a study commissioned by the Stiftung Finanzplatz Schweiz)
by Mark Pieth and Gemma Aiolfi.
> Download as PDF (317 kb)
Occasional papers
Compliance in the financial industry
Dr Hans-Peter Bauer, Finanzplatz - Information and Analyses on the German Financial Centre (vol 4, July 2007), pp 10-12.
> Download as PDF (1.7 mb)
International aspects of corporate liability and corruption
Gemma Aiolfi/Mark Pieth, in: Stephen Tully (ed.), Handbook of Corporate Legal Responsibility, Edward Elgar Publishers Cheltenham (UK) and Northhampton (USA) 2005; 689.
> Download as PDF (364 kb)
The private sector becomes active: The Wolfsberg process
Mark Pieth/Gemma Aiolfi, in: A Practitioner's Guide to International Money Laundering Law and Regulation, City & Financial Ltd., London 2003, p. 267 ff. and Journal of Financial Crime Volume 10/Number 4, April 2003, p. 359 ff.
> Download as PDF (111 kb)
Guidelines
> Download Guidelines as PDF (40 kb)