Abstract
The contribution examines the effects of corruption on the validity of bribery contracts and on the validity and binding force of contracts obtained through corruption in international trade, and the consequences of invalidity. Regarding the contracts obtained through corruption, the main focus is in private law contracts, but issues raised by corruption in administrative contracts are also briefly addressed.
The analysis is made in the perspective of Portuguese substantive law and of choice of law rules that, in the Portuguese legal order, determine the laws applicable to international bribery contracts, to international main contracts and to claims for unjust enrichment, as well as the effects of anti-corruption rules contained in laws which are not primarily applicable.
The suitability of the solutions provided or allowed by Portuguese law for tackling problems arising from corruption in international commercial contracts is evaluated in the light of the interests of the parties involved and of the implementation of the anti-corruption policies of the States. Difficulties arising from the enforcement of the law and the need for clarification and for improvement of some solutions are acknowledged.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
See also V Bhargava, ‘The Cancer of Corruption’ (2005), http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTABOUTUS/Resources/Corruption.pdf
- 3.
- 4.
Approved for ratification by the Resolução da Assembleia da República no 32/2000, of 31 March, and ratified by the Decreto do Presidente da República no 19/2000, of the same date. It entered into force for Portugal on 22 January 2001. Regarding this Convention, see C Uriarte, ‘The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention: More than a Criminal Law Instrument’ in O Meyer (ed), The Civil Law Consequences of Corruption (Baden-Baden, Nomos, 2009) 31–36.
- 5.
Approved for ratification by the Resolução da Assembleia da República no 68/2001, of 26 October, and ratified by the Decreto do Presidente da República no 56/2001, of the same date. It entered into force for Portugal on 1 September 2002.
- 6.
Approved for ratification by the Resolução da Assembleia da República no 47/2007, of 21 September, and ratified by the Decreto do Presidente da República no 97/2007, of the same date. It entered into force for Portugal on 28 October 2007.
- 7.
Regarding this Convention, see W Rau, ‘The Council of Europe’s Civil Law Convention on Corruption’ in O Meyer (ed), The Civil Law Consequences of Corruption (Baden-Baden, Nomos, 2009) 21–30.
- 8.
Approved for ratification by the Resolução da Assembleia da República no 72/2001, of 15 January, and ratified by the Decreto do Presidente da República no 58/2001, of the same date. It entered into force on 28 September 2005.
- 9.
See also O Meyer, ‘The Civil Law Consequences of Corruption – an Introduction’ in O Meyer (ed), The Civil Law Consequences of Corruption (Baden-Baden, Nomos, 2009) 15–20, 17 ff.
- 10.
See, namely, A Sayed, Corruption in International Trade and Commercial Arbitration (The Hague, Kluwer Law International, 2004); B Cremades, ‘Corruption and Investment Arbitration’ in G Aksen et al (eds), Liber Amicorum Robert Briner (Paris, ICC Publishing, 2005) 203–219; C Nicholls et al (eds), Corruption and Misuse of Public Office (Oxford, OUP, 2006) 250 ff; H Raeschke-Kessler and D Gottwald, ‘Korruption und internationales Vertragsrecht. Rechtliche Aspekte der Korruption im Bau- und Infrastruktursektor mit Auslandsbezug’ in Moll (ed), FS Hans-Jochem Lüer (Munich, Beck, 2008) 39–56; A Makinwa, ‘Civil Remedies for International Corruption: The Role of International Arbitration’ in O Meyer (ed), The Civil Law Consequences of Corruption (Baden-Baden, Nomos, 2009) 257–280; C Lamm, H Pham and R Moloo, ‘Fraud and Corruption in International Arbitration’ in D Arias and MÁ Fernández-Ballesteros (eds), Liber Amicorum Bernardo Cremades (Madrid, La Ley, 2010) 699–731; M Raouf, ‘How Should International Arbitrators Tackle Corruption Issues?’ in D Arias and MÁ Fernández-Ballesteros (eds), Liber Amicorum Bernardo Cremades (Madrid, La Ley, 2010) 1–16.
- 11.
See further Art 6(2) of the Criminal Code regarding the application of the law of the country where the conduct occurred when this law is more beneficial to the offender.
- 12.
Compare, namely, C Mota Pinto, A Pinto Monteiro and P Mota Pinto, Teoria Geral do Direito Civil, 4th edn (Coimbra, Coimbra Editora, 2005) 557, and P Pais de Vasconcelos, Teoria Geral do Direito Civil, 7th edn (Coimbra, Almedina, 2012) 498 and 500 f, who relate Art 280(2) to the contract’s content, with F Pires de Lima and J Antunes Varela, Código Civil Anotado, vol I, 3rd edn (Coimbra, Coimbra Editora, 1982) Art 280 comment 3; J de Oliveira Ascensão, Direito Civil. Teoria Geral, vol II – Acções e Factos Jurídicos, 2nd edn (Coimbra, Almedina, 2003) 333 ff, and A Menezes Cordeiro, Tratado de Direito Civil Português, vol I – Parte Geral, tomo I, 3rd edn (Coimbra, Almedina, 2005) 707 ff, who omit this reference.
- 13.
Regarding the solution offered up by German law, compare H Schlüter, Schmiergeldvereinbarung und Hauptvertrag in Deutschland, England und Spanien (Bielefeld, Osning, 2004) 103 ff, and the doubts concerning the dogmatic soundness of accepting a ratification of the contract by analogous application of Art 177(1) of the Civil Code on the ratification of contracts concluded by “agents” outside their authority.
- 14.
For a divergent view, however, see A Soveral Martins, Os Poderes de Representação dos Administradores de Sociedades Anónimas (Coimbra, Coimbra Editora, 1998) 258 ff.
- 15.
On the characterization of the abuse of authority, see Menezes Cordeiro (n 12), vol I – Parte Geral, tomo IV, 112.
- 16.
Cf R Ventura, Sociedades por Quotas, vol III (Coimbra, Coimbra Editora, 1991) 176; and J Espírito Santo, Sociedades por Quotas e Anónimas – Vinculação: Objecto Social e Representação Plural (Coimbra, Almedina, 2000) 445 ff, but sustaining that the contract does not bind the corporation only if the third party knew or should have known that the conduct of the manager was contrary to the interest of the corporation. Compare, in favor of the nullity of contracts concluded with collusion between the manager and the third party to the detriment of the corporation, Soveral Martins (n 14), 258; and J Coutinho de Abreu, ‘Vinculação das Sociedades Comerciais’ in A Menezes Cordeiro, P Pais de Vasconcelos and P Costa e Silva (eds), Est. José de Oliveira Ascensão, vol II (Coimbra, Almedina, 2008) 1213–1239, 1236.
- 17.
See also, regarding Swiss law, P Tercier, ‘La corruption et le droit des contrats’ (1999) 121 La semaine judiciaire 225–271, 258 ff.
- 18.
See Menezes Cordeiro (n 12), vol I – Parte Geral, tomo I, 824–825.
- 19.
See Menezes Cordeiro (n 12), vol I – Parte Geral, tomo I, 834–835.
- 20.
See J de Oliveira Ascensão, Direito Civil – Teoria Geral, tomo III – Relações e Situações Jurídicas (Coimbra, Almedina, 2002) 198–199.
- 21.
See M Rebelo de Sousa and A Salgado de Matos, Contratos Públicos. Direito Administrativo Geral, tomo III (Lisbon, Dom Quixote, 2008) 34–35.
- 22.
See D Freitas do Amaral, P Machete and L Torgal, Curso de Direito Administrativo, 2nd edn (Coimbra, Almedina, 2011) 434 and 449, and n 753.
- 23.
ibid 614–615.
- 24.
According to M João Estorninho, A Fuga para o Direito Privado: Contributo para o estudo da actividade de direito privado da Administração Pública (Coimbra, Almedina, 1996) 171–172, any activity carried out by the Administration that deviates from the pursuit of public interest amounts to a situation of “deviation of power” [desvio de poder].
- 25.
See Art 285(1) and (2) of the Code of Public Contracts and above, 442 ff and 616 ff.
- 26.
Compare, raising the possibility of subjecting the bribery contract to the law governing the main contract, V Heuzé, ‘Corruption’, in Répertoire de droit international. Encyclopédie Dalloz, vol I (Paris, Dalloz, 1998) no 23.
- 27.
See Pires de Lima and Antunes Varela (n 12), Art 280 comment 3; de Oliveira Ascensão (n 20), 334–335; Mota Pinto, Pinto Monteiro and Mota Pinto (n 12), 558–559; and Pais de Vasconcelos (n 12), 500 ff.
- 28.
Regarding German law, see R Sethe, ‘Die zivilrechtlichen Folgen nationaler und transnationaler Bestechung’, in M Pieth and P Eigen (eds), Korruption im internationalen Geschäftsverkehr. Bestandsaufnahme. Bekämpfung. Prävention (Neuwied, Luchterhand, 1999) 449–491, 482 ff; Schlüter (n 13), 27 ff.
- 29.
See I Karsten, ‘Explanatory Report’ in Conférence de La Haye de droit international privé. Actes et documents de la Treizième session (1979) No 38 and 113.
- 30.
See L Menezes Leitão, O Enriquecimento sem Causa no Direito Civil (Lisbon, Almedina, 1996) 467 ff; Menezes Cordeiro (n 12), vol I – Parte Geral, tomo I, 874; idem, Tratado de Direito Civil Português, vol II – Direito das Obrigações, tomo III (Coimbra, Almedina, 2010) 263.
- 31.
Regarding Art 111 of the Criminal Code, see J de Figueiredo Dias, Direito Penal Português, Parte Geral II – As Consequências Jurídicas do Crime (Lisbon, Æquitas/Nobar, 1993) 629 ff (with reference to previous Art 109).
- 32.
See A Menezes Cordeiro, Tratado de Direito Civil Português, vol II – Direito das Obrigações, tomo II (Coimbra, Almedina, 2010) 649.
- 33.
See, in respect to the case Hilmarton, award ICC no 5622 (1988), (1993) R. arb. 327, and judgments of the Court of the Canton of Geneva 17 November 1989, (1993) R. arb. 342, and of the Swiss Federal Court 23/6/1992, (1993) R. arb. 691; see further judgment USCA Ninth Circuit, in the case Northrop Corporation v. Triad International Marketing (1987) [811 F.2d 1265].
- 34.
See also Heuzé (n 26), no 29.
- 35.
See also, in the context of transnational arbitration, P Fouchard, E Gaillard and B Goldmann, Traité de l’arbitrage commercial international (Paris, Litec, 1996) 868, and L de Lima Pinheiro, Arbitragem Transnacional. A Determinação do Estatuto da Arbitragem (Coimbra, Almedina, 2005) 548 ff.
- 36.
See also Sethe (n 28), 488.
- 37.
See also Sethe (n 28), 488.
- 38.
See L de Lima Pinheiro, Direito Internacional Privado, vol II – Direito de Conflitos/Parte Especial, 3rd edn (Coimbra, Almedina, 2009) 134 ff.
- 39.
See de Lima Pinheiro (n 38), § 59 D.
- 40.
See de Oliveira Ascensão (n 20), 198–199.
- 41.
See Rebelo de Sousa and A Salgado de Matos (n 21), 49.
- 42.
See, on the determination of the public interest, Freitas do Amaral, Machete and Torgal (n 22), 656–657.
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de Lima Pinheiro, L. (2015). Corruption in International Commercial Contracts – A Portuguese Substantive and Private International Law Perspective. In: Bonell, M., Meyer, O. (eds) The Impact of Corruption on International Commercial Contracts. Ius Comparatum - Global Studies in Comparative Law, vol 11. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19054-9_12
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