The fight against trading in influence

Abstract

This article explains how considering the systemic character of influence market corruption can help the Council of Europe and its Member States in their fight against trading in influence. By applying article 12 of the Council of Europe's Criminal Convention on Corruption on two recent cases in the Netherlands and France, it is being tested whether the provision provides an effective solution for scrutinising the trading in influence phenomenon. Both cases provide an example of the trading in influence phenomenon, which is symptomatic in western influence markets and which has implications far greater than the ones immediately apparent.