TLJ

Transnational Law and Justice (TLJ), hosted a global conference on legal measures aimed at preventing or reducing the incidence of corruption October 1-2, 2010, organized by Dr. Paul D. Ocheje, Director. The conference aimed to examine in broad strokes the role of law in the fight against corruption. The reliance on, and resort to, law as the principal tool against corruption, especially in the third world, is virtually total and almost exclusive of other measures. Legislation as a policy tool in the struggle against corruption is recommended regularly and almost reflexively by commentators and analysts. Yet, very little currently exists by way of an evaluation of how effective or efficacious legal intervention is or can be in controlling corruption. The truth is that the effectiveness of law in this regard is often assumed erroneously, and frequently exaggerated. The proceedings at this conference demonstrated the pathologies of law in the struggle against corruption, thereby exposing the limits of legislation as a tool of social engineering. They also directed attention at other measures that are currently largely ignored.

The broad organizing theme of the conference was  “Legal Measures for the Control of Corruption”. The conference was organized around three sub-themes, namely, the legal principles which animate the measures, the politics of the measures, and the prospects of the measures.

We acknowledge the kindness of all the sponsors of this conference, especially, the Law Foundation of Ontario.

Selected papers from the conference are published in the Law and Development Review, September 2011, Vol. 4 (3).