Abstract
This chapter delves into the critical issue of examining and combating corruption within Egyptian criminal legislation. It sheds light on the multifaceted nature of corruption by defining it, elucidating its various forms, causes, and repercussions, and emphasizing the role of legal penalties and illicit gains in curbing administrative and financial corruption crimes. The chapter concludes with a set of findings and recommendations, among which are: assigning all state agencies responsible for combating corruption to develop awareness programs on the dangers of corruption; ensuring active participation of various media outlets in this awareness campaign, in coordination with civil society institutions, universities, and research centers, with a particular emphasis on educating the younger generations; advocating for stricter penalties for individuals involved in administrative corruption crimes, especially those occupying high positions within the state's administrative apparatus, and enforcing measures to prevent them from securing any future public employment positions.
TopIntroduction
Corruption is one of the most critical issues concerning the international community due to its spread in many civilized and developing societies, where many suffer from the repercussions of corruption in its various administrative and financial forms. The seriousness of this phenomenon is due to its negative repercussions on society, significantly affecting the integrity and trust of individuals in state government agencies and the weak levels of development in those societies due to capital flight and the decline in the level of foreign investment.
All national legislations are keen to include in their penal codes texts that criminalize all forms of administrative and financial corruption, such as criminalizing trafficking in public employment and encroachment on public money, as national legislation is not free from criminalizing bribery of public officials, exploitation of influence and profiteering, misappropriation of public funds and appropriation of it, and so on of crimes against public officials.
As global indicators indicate that corruption has crossed the highest levels, the international community has relied on international and regional conventions to organize the foundations for legislative confrontation with this phenomenon. The United Nations General Assembly worked in 1975 to issue the first global resolution condemning corruption in all its forms, and then in 1994, the recommendations of the European Organization for Cooperation and Development “OECD” regarding combating corruption were issued until international efforts culminated in the conclusion of the United Nations Convention against Corruption “UNCAC” in 2003 (Abdel Moneim et al., 2009).