The Revised Agreement on Government Procurement and Corruption

In March 2012, Parties to the World Trade Organization's (WTOs) plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement agreed to a revised text to govern public purchasing of goods and services. On 2 May 2013, the first Party to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) ratified the Amendment. While structurally significantly different from the current text, the revised Agreement's substantive differences are modest. One significant change, however, was the addition of direct language on corruption prevention. Given the extent of corruption plaguing procurement, there is no doubt that corruption prevention goals in this context are needed. The mention of corruption, therefore, is welcome. It is also noteworthy because it is the first time the WTO Members, or even a subset of them, have made an explicit reference to the issue. This article examines the direct and indirect references to the duties of corruption-reduction found in the revised agreement on government procurement and considers what such references are worth in practice and to the global efforts to control corruption.