An International Anti-Corruption Court 

Grand corruption – the abuse of public power for private gain by a nation's leaders – is a major barrier to meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, fighting climate change, promoting democracy and human rights, establishing international peace and security, and securing a more just, rules-based global order. It does not endure due to a lack of laws. There are 191 parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), which requires them to have laws criminalizing varying forms of corruption. However, corrupt government officials – known as kleptocrats – have impunity in their own countries because they control the police, prosecutors, and courts.

An International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC) would fill the crucial enforcement gap in the international framework for combatting grand corruption. It would constitute a fair and effective forum for the prosecution and punishment of kleptocrats and their collaborators; deter others tempted to emulate their example; and recover, repatriate, and repurpose ill-gotten gains for the victims of grand corruption.

Integrity Initiatives International (III) is catalyzing and coordinating a rapidly growing network of individuals and organizations in the emerging international campaign for an IACC. More than 300 world leaders — including former Heads of State and Government, Nobel laureates, current and former government officials, and representatives of civil society, business, and faith communities — from over 80 countries call for the creation of an IACC. Read their Declaration here.

As a result of III’s advocacy, working with international partners to create the IACC is the official foreign policy of Canada and the Netherlands. Colombia was the first country to endorse the IACC in 2016. Ecuador, Moldova, and Nigeria also support the proposed Court and the European Parliament has passed a resolution calling for its creation.