ISO37001:2016 Anti-bribery management systems

Introduction

Bribery is a widespread phenomenon. It raises serious social, moral, economic and political concerns, undermines good governance, hinders development and distorts competition. It erodes justice, undermines human rights and is an obstacle to the relief of poverty. It also increases the cost of doing business, introduces uncertainties into commercial transactions, increases the cost of goods and services, diminishes the quality of products and services, which can lead to loss of life and property, destroys trust in institutions and interferes with the fair and efficient operation of markets.

Governments have made progress in addressing bribery through international agreements such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and the United Nations Convention against Corruption and through their national laws. In most jurisdictions, it is an offence for individuals to engage in bribery and there is a growing trend to make organizations, as well as individuals, liable for bribery.

However, the law alone is not sufficient to solve this problem. Organizations have a responsibility to proactively contribute to combating bribery. This can be achieved by an anti-bribery management system, which this document is intended to provide, and through leadership commitment to establishing a culture of integrity, transparency, openness and compliance. The nature of an organization’s culture is critical to the success or failure of an anti-bribery management system.

Scope

This document specifies requirements and provides guidance for establishing, implementing, maintaining, reviewing and improving an anti-bribery management system. The system can be stand alone or can be integrated into an overall management system. This document addresses the following in relation to the organization’s activities:

• bribery in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors;
• bribery by the organization;
• bribery by the organization’s personnel acting on the organization’s behalf or for its benefit;
• bribery by the organization’s business associates acting on the organization’s behalf or for its benefit;
• bribery of the organization;
• bribery of the organization’s personnel in relation to the organization’s activities;
• bribery of the organization’s business associates in relation to the organization’s activities;
• direct and indirect bribery (e.g. a bribe offered or accepted through or by a third party).