Joutsen, Matti --- "The United Nations Convention Against Corruption" [2011] ELECD 1003; in Graycar, Adam; Smith, G. Russell (eds), "Handbook of Global Research and Practice in Corruption" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: Handbook of Global Research and Practice in Corruption

Editor(s): Graycar, Adam; Smith, G. Russell

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781849805018

Section: Chapter 16

Section Title: The United Nations Convention Against Corruption

Author(s): Joutsen, Matti

Number of pages: 16

Extract:

16 The United Nations Convention
Against Corruption
Matti Joutsen


THE UNITED NATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL CO-
OPERATION ON CRIME AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE

One of the main purposes of the UN is `to create the conditions for stability
and well-being which are necessary for peaceful and friendly international
relations, based on mutual respect, equality and self-determination'.1
Issues related to crime and criminal justice have been on the UN agenda
since the outset, and the work on them has undergone considerable evolu-
tion over the years.2 At first, the focus was on the collection and exchange
of information, research and the development of international standards
and norms. This focus is understandable in the light of the membership of
the UN. During the early years, the UN membership consisted predomi-
nantly of Western industrialized countries, and the persons who took part
in the discussions were often practitioners, interested in trading ideas and
good practice with their colleagues from other countries sharing the same
immediate concerns.
This sharing of ideas and good practice resulted in a large number of
UN standards and norms, beginning with the Standard Minimum Rules
for the Treatment of Prisoners (1956). These standards and norms cover a
broad range of criminal policy issues, from the independence of the judici-
ary, a code of conduct for law enforcement officials, the role of lawyers
and the role of prosecutors, to the administration of juvenile justice, the
treatment of victims of crime, and capital punishment.
Another aspect of this early ...