Corruption undermines sustainable development and hinders economic growth and success by actively discouraging foreign direct investment. Foreign companies and other commercial entities are unlikely to want to enter and do business in jurisdictions blighted by corruption, for the financial and reputational risks of being in any way associated with corrupt practices is real and often dire. Adherence to the rule of law and principles of good governance goes a significant way to defeating corruption and the problems caused by that pernicious practice.
Barristers within Pavocat Chambers are Rule of Law and Law Reform experts who have practised in many varied, challenging and demanding environments. Our members have significant experience in helping States to improve their respective counter-corruption systems, mechanisms and laws. They can be engaged to review and enhance the effectiveness of a State’s existing counter-corruption architecture or be instructed to redesign and implement entirely new and improved systems for combatting corruption. In doing so – and in drafting enabling legislation – we consistently recognise and embrace the core principles of:
Accountability – All within a State are accountable to the law, including the State itself;
Human Rights – All laws must be consistent with established international human rights standards;
Accessibility, Enforceability and Publication – Laws must be accessible by all, equally enforceable and publicly promulgated; and
Fair and Timely Adjudication – Laws must be adjudicated in public in a timely manner by suitably qualified and independent judges.
In implementing the counter-corruption systems that they have been called upon to design, Pavocat Chambers’ Barristers are often willing to stay behind and become embedded for a period of time in the architecture that they have helped to build. They can and have assisted States to prosecute some of their most complex and demanding corruption cases.
Law Reform services provided by members of our set are not confined to assisting States to overcome their corruption problems – they also include improving all aspects of a State’s criminal and civil justice systems. The pragmatic and effective services that Pavocat Chambers’ barristers provide are always empathetic to a State’s cultural requirements and legal traditions, and their advice, guidance, drafting and advocacy is only ever undertaken in an entirely collaborative manner.
