The Justice Secretary, Kenneth Clarke, has announced that the Bribery Act will become applicable on 1 July 2011.
Guidance for Relevant Commercial Organisations
The Bribery Act 2010 creates a new offence under section 7 which can be committed by commercial organisations which fail to prevent persons associated with them from bribing another person on their behalf.
An organisation that can prove it has adequate procedures in place to prevent persons associated with it from bribing will have a defence to the section 7 offence.
The guidance (see below), published under section 9 of the Act, is intended to help commercial organisations of all sizes and sectors understand what sorts of procedures they can put in place to prevent bribery, as mentioned in section 7.
A quick start guide (see below) has also been published which sets out the key points.
Guidance
Quick Start Guide