Taiwan – Corruption

III. The state duty to protect human rights

B. Actions taken

• Voluntary commitment to implementation of international covenants (page 6)

‘The Taiwan government has committed to fully implement human rights both at home and abroad. […] although Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, it has nevertheless signed and ratified important United Nations human rights covenants in recent years, including the […]”Convention against Corruption.”’

• Business-related human rights safeguards in Taiwanese legislation (page 7)

The Taiwan government has already incorporated the […] “Convention against Corruption,” and other such UN covenants and conventions into domestic legislation, so they can be directly applied as Taiwan law.’

V. Access to remedy

B. Actions taken

• Actions taken

Extraterritorial jurisdiction (page 18)

‘With respect to any human rights abuses that occur overseas, Taiwan already has laws and regulations which provide that such abuses are subject to the jurisdiction of Taiwan’s judicial authorities no matter where the abuses have taken place. For example, if a responsible person or an employee of a company […]offers a bribe to a public servant from Taiwan or a foreign nation in connection with cross-border trade, investment, or other business activities (as referred to in Article 11 of the “Anti-Corruption Act”), the offense will be subject to the jurisdiction of Taiwan’s judicial authorities regardless whether the offense is punishable or not under the law of the land where the crime is committed.’

Appendix 1: Concrete actions taken by Taiwan to fulfill the state obligation to protect

• Taiwan’s commitment to human rights and international participation (pages 23-24)

‘The “Act to Implement the United Nations Convention against Corruption,” which entered into force on 9 December 2016, was enacted in response to international trends and challenges in the fight against corruption. Our government issues periodic reports on the state of Taiwan’s implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption.’

Appendix 3: Concrete actions taken by Taiwan to provide effective remedy systems

• Extraterritorial jurisdiction

Article 11 of the “Anti-Corruption Act” provides that a public servant who offers (in connection with cross-border trade, investment, or other business activities) to bribe a public servant from Taiwan, the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, or Macao shall bear criminal liability, and the offender will be dealt with according to the provisions of the “Anti-Corruption Act” regardless whether the offense is punishable or not under the law of the land where the crime is committed.