经济学人31:姗姗来迟的反贿赂法即将生效

 　　Anti-bribery¹ laws反商业贿赂法Palms ungreased揩油

　　A long-delayed anti-bribery law will soon come into force

　　姗姗来迟的反贿赂法即将生效

　　THERE is a lingering assumption among Britons that their country stands for probity² and fair play. Ask about it abroad, though, and you sometimes get a different reaction. Anti-corruption campaigners still bring up Tony Blair’s decision in 2006 to abandon an investigation⁴ into a ??43 billion ($70 billion) weapons deal with Saudi Arabia. Then there is the peculiar⁵ paucity⁶ of British “sanctions” imposed under an international bribery convention: two between 1999 and 2009, compared with 88 in America, 26 in Germany and 40 in Italy.

　　英国人一直自矜的认为他们的国家建立在正直和公正的基石上。然而国外的反应却不尽如此。反腐竞选人依旧利用Tony Blair2006年的决定拒绝调查与Saudi Arabia的一项43亿英镑（70亿美元）的军火交易。因此国际贿赂协议对英国的约束力就罕见的微弱，在1999年和2009年之间只有2项受到制裁，相较而言美国有88项，德国26项，意大利40项。

　　Stung by such talk, in 2008 the previous Labour government proposed a new law updating the country’s antiquated⁷ rules on backhanders and bungs, including those dispensed⁸ overseas. Both the Liberal Democrats⁹ and the Conservatives, now in government, backed the law in opposition¹⁰. It reached the statute¹¹ book in April last year; under it, miscreants¹² risk big fines and up to ten years in prison. It was due to take effect in April this year, after the publication in January of guidelines on how to apply it. But, as the date approached, the Ministry¹³ of Justice said the implementation¹⁴ of the law had been postponed¹⁵ to allow the guidelines to be tweaked, following intense lobbying from business groups such as the Confederation of British Industry.

　　被如此言论激怒的前工党政府2008年提出了一项新法律，以改革对回扣和红包的过时规定，在海外具有同等约束力。但是政府里的自由民主党和保守党都反对此法案。它涉及去年4月的法令全书，在该全书中，歹徒将被处以巨额罚款和最多10年监禁。在今年1月实施指导条例公布之后，该法预定4月份生效。但是随着日期临近，在一些商业集团如英国工业联合会紧张的游说之后，司法部说该法会延迟施行以便修改指导条例。

　　On March 30th the ministry said the law would finally come into effect on July 1st and issued a revised set of guidelines. These clarify some of the things that were worrying bosses. To the relief of football clubs, swanky nightclubs and Formula 1, taking clients on company-sponsored jollies seems unlikely to cause any problems. The question of how responsible British firms are for the misbehaviour of contractors¹⁶ in other countries has been clarified.

　　在3月30日司法部说该法最终将在7月1日生效，并发布了修改后的指导条例。这些阐明了一些正困扰着老板们的麻烦事。为了救济足球俱乐部，骄傲的夜总会和F1方程式赛车，让顾客参加公司赞助的娱乐活动似乎不会引起任何麻烦。英国公司为合约商的失误应付多大责任的问题也得到了解答。

　　On the other hand, “facilitation payments”, a euphemistic term for the small bungs sometimes paid to foreign officials to expedite a legitimate¹⁷ service—a licence application, for instance—are discouraged. America’s Foreign Corrupt³ Practices Act, one of the inspirations for the new law, allows them.

　　另一方面，“便利费”不受鼓励，实际上这只是有时支付给外国官员以加速合法业务如许可证申请的小额回扣。而让英国的该新法受启发的美国外国腐败行为法案却允许此类行为。

　　Lawyers are still pondering precisely¹⁸ how much legal force these guidelines will have. One particularly thorny¹⁹ question is whether foreign firms that are listed on British stockmarkets but conduct little other business in the country will be covered. The government has offered no opinion; the question might one day make for a fascinating court case.

　　律师们仍在深思这些指导条例会有多大的法律效力。一个特别棘手的问题是该法律对那些参与英国股票市场但是几乎没有在英国开展其他业务的外国公司是否有法律效力。政府没有给出选项，或许有一天这会诉诸司法并引起广泛关注。

1 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

2 probity   

n.刚直；廉洁，正直

参考例句：

• Probity and purity will command respect everywhere.为人正派到处受人尊敬。
• Her probity and integrity are beyond question.她的诚实和正直是无可争辩的。

3 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

6 paucity   

n.小量，缺乏

参考例句：

• The paucity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果缺乏是由于干旱造成的。
• The results are often unsatisfactory because of the paucity of cells.因细胞稀少，结果常令人不满意。

7 antiquated   

adj.陈旧的，过时的

参考例句：

• Many factories are so antiquated they are not worth saving.很多工厂过于陈旧落后，已不值得挽救。
• A train of antiquated coaches was waiting for us at the siding.一列陈旧的火车在侧线上等着我们。

8 dispensed   

v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• Not a single one of these conditions can be dispensed with. 这些条件缺一不可。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage. 他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

12 miscreants   

n.恶棍，歹徒( miscreant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I ordered the miscreants to let me out. 我命令这些土匪放我出去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Local people demanded that the District Magistrate apprehend the miscreants. 当地人要求地方法官逮捕那些歹徒。 来自辞典例句

13 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

14 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

15 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

16 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

18 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

19 thorny   

adj.多刺的，棘手的

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。