Conflict of Interest for Corruption and Abuse of Public Power

Abstract

The chapter presents a conflict of interest as a new pioneering measure for combating corruption and abuse of public power. The study is based on an analysis of the conflict of interest legislations of about 15 European countries. European legislators' legislative decisions on several key criteria relating to conflict of interest have been analyzed. These criteria include the presence or absence of a special law, conflict of interest as a criminal or administrative offense, accountable persons, legal definition, prohibitions, competent authorities and procedures for ascertaining conflict of interest, sanctions, etc. A scientific definition of conflict of interest has also been proposed based on the characteristics of the phenomenon derived from the analysis of the national legislation in force on the European continent. The chapter also outlines the direction in which the phenomenon may develop in national legislations and includes examples of interesting cases of conflict of interest which have arisen in different European countries.