Territorial Criminal Jurisdiction over Bribery in the UK: the Limits of the Bribery Act 2010

This article reviews the scope of the UKs territorial jurisdiction (or, as far as only English law is concerned, jurisdiction of England and Wales) over cross-border bribery offences under the Bribery Act 2010. It is suggested that the scope of the UKs territorial jurisdiction over bribery offences on the basis of s.12(1) of the Bribery Act is ambiguous since there is no authoritative guidance on how to determine whether a cross-border bribery offence is committed within or outside the UK. In particular, it may be difficult to determine whether a bribery offence is committed in the UK if it is perpetrated by means of electronic communications (e.g. via an email exchange containing a bribe offer) or by transfer of funds through a UK bank account. Whereas corporate defendants may face prosecution based on far-reaching jurisdictional provisions of s.7 of the Bribery Act irrespective of whether bribery takes place in the UK, differences between competing interpretations of territoriality may be significant if non-UK based individuals are prosecuted for cross-border bribery that involves the UK.