A global court could curb corruption

Presently, there is no international institution to hold kleptocrats accountable when the countries they rule are unwilling or unable to do so.

- Karam Singh & Ruth Kolevsohn

The case for establishing an international anti-corruption court (IAC court) has been mooted as a feasible solution to address the constraints of domestic systems. Such a court would fill the enforcement gap in the international framework.

Countries who ratify the IAC court treaty will give the court jurisdiction to prosecute the core United Nations Convention against Corruption crimes — bribery, embezzlement, obstruction of justice, misappropriation and money laundering - constituting a fair and effective forum for the prosecution and punishment of kleptocrats and their collaborators.

It would also deter others tempted to emulate their example, and recover, repatriate and repurpose illgotten gains for the victims of grand corruption. As these crimes are often transnational, both source and destination countries for the proceeds of crime and corruption will have potential interest in the case.