Editing Political corruption (section)

===Bribery===
{{Main|Bribery}}
[[File:Abramoff SIAC 20040929 2.jpg|thumb|[[Lobbying in the United States|American lobbyist]] and businessman [[Jack Abramoff]] was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation.]]
In the context of political corruption, a bribe may involve a payment given to a government official in exchange of his use of official powers. Bribery requires two participants: one to give the bribe, and one to take it. Either may initiate the corrupt offering; for example, a customs official may demand bribes to let through allowed (or disallowed) goods, or a smuggler might offer bribes to gain passage. In some countries the culture of corruption extends to every aspect of public life, making it extremely difficult for individuals to operate without resorting to bribes. Bribes may be demanded in order for an official to do something he is already paid to do. They may also be demanded in order to bypass laws and regulations. In addition to their role in private financial gain, bribes are also used to intentionally and maliciously cause harm to another (i.e. no financial incentive).{{citation needed|date=February 2016}} In some developing nations, up to half of the population has paid bribes during the past 12 months.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases/2005/09_12_2005_barometer_2005 |title= How common is bribe-paying? |quote=...a relatively high proportion of families in a group of Central Eastern European, African, and Latin American countries paid a bribe in the previous twelve months. |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120405045051/http://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases/2005/09_12_2005_barometer_2005 |archive-date= April 5, 2012 }}</ref>

The [[Council of Europe]] dissociates active and passive bribery and to incriminates them as separate offences:
* One can define [[active bribery]] as "the promising, offering or giving by any person, directly or indirectly, of any undue advantage to any of its public officials, for himself or herself or for anyone else, for him or her to act or refrain from acting in the exercise of his or her functions" (article 2 of the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (ETS 173)<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url= https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/rms/090000168007f3f5 |title= Criminal Law Convention on Corruption: CETS No. 173 |publisher= Conventions.coe.int |access-date= 2016-02-28}}</ref> of the [[Council of Europe]]). 
* [[Passive bribery]] can be defined as "when committed intentionally, the request or receipt by any ... public officials, directly or indirectly, of any undue advantage, for himself or herself or for anyone else, or the acceptance of an offer or a promise of such an advantage, to act or refrain from acting in the exercise of his or her functions" (article 3 of the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (ETS 173)).<ref name="autogenerated1"/>

This dissociation aims to make the early steps (offering, promising, requesting an advantage) of a corrupt deal already an offence and, thus, to give a clear signal (from a criminal-policy point-of-view) that bribery is not acceptable.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}} Furthermore, such a dissociation makes the prosecution of bribery offences easier since it can be very difficult to prove that two parties (the bribe-giver and the bribe-taker) have formally agreed upon a corrupt deal. In addition, there is often no such formal deal but only a mutual understanding, for instance when it is common knowledge in a municipality that to obtain a building permit one has to pay a "fee" to the decision maker to obtain a favorable decision. A working definition of corruption is also provided as follows in article 3 of the Civil Law Convention on Corruption (ETS 174):<ref name="conventions"/> For the purpose of this Convention, "corruption" means requesting, offering, giving or accepting, directly or indirectly, a bribe or any other undue advantage or prospect thereof, which distorts the proper performance of any duty or behavior required of the recipient of the bribe, the undue advantage or the prospect thereof.