Implementation Of The Bribery Act Delayed

Ministry of Justice announcement

This Act has generated a large amount of public interest and some adverse press comment. This outcry may have contributed to the Ministry of Justice's decision to delay implementation of the Act and postpone issuing guidance on what "adequate procedures" means for the purpose of defending the new corporate offence of failing to prevent bribery. The Act will not now come into force in April. Instead it will come into force three months after the guidance issued. It looks as though the Act itself will be not be reviewed or amended, so presumably the guidance is being amended to make much clearer what behaviour is and is not an offence under the Act.