Contracting Out National Sovereignty? - FCPA Jurisdiction Clauses in Defense Contracts and a Proposal for a State-to-State Approach Alternative

摘要

Coping with corruption is a new but critical task concerning the global community at large. Specifically, bribery of foreign government officials is a serious cause of concern across multiple states. In the battle against corruption, the FCPA is arguably an important contribution to the global fight on. At the same time, robust application of the FCPA by U.S. authorities has led to various legal issues and problems, such as ambiguous statutory terms and uncertainty with regards to the statute's jurisdic-tional scope. In addition, using the FCPA for diplomatic strategic gains has occasionally ignited tension with other states. One area of robust FCPA application is the defense sector, where a vast amount of public budget is at stake and outside monitoring is regulated due to the sensitive nature of the industry. Moreover, contractors of the industry work closely under governmental oversight amidst a complex web of applicable laws and regulations and a labyrinth of security protocols, creating an environment conducive to FCPA enforcement. The exclusive environment in which defense contractors operate renders the defense industry an attractive target of the FCPA. As such, the FCPA has been consistently enforced against defense contractors and their transactions.