Sec. 704. Additional factors for assessing government efforts to combat public corruption
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/bill/115/s/1631/rs/section-704·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
In assessing a government’s efforts to combat public corruption, the Secretary should consider, to the extent reliable information is available— whether the country— has enacted laws and established government structures, policies, and practices that prohibit public corruption, including grand corruption and petty corruption; and enforces such laws through a fair judicial process; whether the country prescribes appropriate punishment for grand corruption that is commensurate with the punishment prescribed for serious crimes; whether the country prescribes appropriate punishment for petty corruption that provides a sufficiently stringent deterrent and adequately reflects the nature of the offense; the extent to which the government of the country— vigorously investigates and prosecutes acts of public corruption; and convicts and sentences persons responsible for such acts that take place wholly or partly within such country, including, as appropriate, requiring the incarceration of individuals convicted of such acts; the extent to which the government of the country vigorously investigates, prosecutes, convicts, and sentences public officials who participate in or facilitate public corruption, including nationals of the country who are deployed in foreign military assignments, trade delegations abroad, or other similar missions who engage in or facilitate severe forms of public corruption; the extent to which the government of the country has adopted measures to prevent public corruption, such as measures to inform and educate the public, including potential victims, about the causes and consequences of public corruption; steps taken by the government of the country to prohibit government officials from participating in, facilitating, or condoning public corruption, including the investigation, prosecution, and conviction of such officials; the extent to which the country government provides access, or, as appropriate, makes adequate resources available, to civil society organizations and other institutions to combat public corruption, including reporting, investigating, and monitoring; the extent to which an independent judiciary or judicial body in the country is responsible for, and effectively capable of, deciding public corruption cases impartially, on the basis of facts and in accordance with the law, without any improper restrictions, influences, inducements, pressures, threats, or interferences (direct or indirect) from any source or for any reason; the extent to which the government of the country is assisting in international investigations of transnational public corruption networks and in other cooperative efforts to combat grand corruption, including cooperating with the governments of other countries to extradite corrupt actors; the extent to which the government of the country recognizes the rights of victims of public corruption, ensures their access to justice, and takes steps to prevent victims from being further victimized or persecuted by corrupt actors, government officials, or others; the extent to which the government of the country refrains from prosecuting legitimate victims of public corruption or whistleblowers due to such persons having assisted in exposing public corruption, and refrains from other discriminatory treatment of such persons; and such other information relating to public corruption as the Secretary considers appropriate.