Abstract:

 

The purpose of this article is to draw attention to the problematic issues regarding the relationship between bribery and influence trading. While there are numerous types of corruption, the cornerstone of their manifestation is bribery, as well as a relatively new category of an official crime in our legislation – influence trading, which, although is not a corruption crime, contributes to the country’s corruption environment. The provision on influence trading has widened the legal framework for fighting corruption. In particular, legal scope of its application extends to conducts that do not come under the legislative definition of receiving and giving bribes.

In light of the foregoing, bribery and influence trading share some similarities and, for the most part, unique characteristics. As a result, it is rather complicated to properly separate these offences during legal procedure. It is particularly difficult in court practice to distinguish between the influence of “official authority” and that of kinship or friendship, resulting in frequent instances of incorrect legal qualification for confusion and misuse of these articles, which results in completely different legal consequences. Such cases are unacceptable, particularly, given that bribery is a serious crime while influence trading is a less serious one.

Thus, the article analyzes the primary characteristics of bribery and influence trading, as they represent the fundamental legal grounds for their separation, based on the examples from court practice.

Keywords:

Officiary, Authority, Influence

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