Corporate Liability Reforms in Transnational Anti-Corruption Law: Changing Course at a Time of Crisis or Continuing Historical Trajectories?

Abstract Corporate liability standards have become regarded as increasingly central to combating corruption since their inclusion in leading international anti-corruption conventions in the mid-1990s. Changes to those standards are now being pursued by international initiatives such as at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations. These initiatives are presented as reforms that are integral to fighting not just corruption but also crises facing international society. Focusing on the function of law reform and crisis language, this article critically assesses these initiatives. It does so by contextualizing them within a historical account of the international development of corporate liability standards to show how the standards’ centrality may be explained not merely by their perceived utility in fighting crime but also by their alignment with the ends of economic liberalization. Against this backdrop, the article argues that, while the current juncture offers opportunities to rethink corruption’s association with global crises and how it may be effectively addressed, contemporary international efforts to reform corporate liability standards are instead on a trajectory to deepen existing trends. In particular, it contends that the initiatives function to further enable transnational corporate power and authority while undermining public governance.