The fact that corruption is bad is not denied. From high stands, speeches about struggle and reforms are made. Nevertheless, this phenomenon does not change its indicators at all. Every year, a rating of the most corrupt countries is compiled, in which they only change places.
Domestic corruption is ... Definition, signs and examples
As you know, to solve any problem you need to know it from the inside. Corruption usually cannot survive without favorable conditions - a system. Hence the conclusions that it is necessary to change the system so that the elements change the motion vector.
In more advanced forms, corruption becomes systemic when it is taken for granted. A person heading to a kindergarten or school knows that the head or director needs to pay separately, past the cash register. And all participants are satisfied with this state of affairs.
Definition
The term “corruption” describes facts and phenomena in which an official uses his position against the interests of society, the norms of laws and morality. The word itself comes from the Latin corrumpere - "to corrupt." This definition also includes bribery of officials. Such traits are more often characteristic of mafia states. The term in its original understanding is much broader and covers various manifestations of illegal actions by officials.
The main feature of corruption is a conflict of interest. Interests may be public, of a particular person, group of persons or society. Some types of corruption in content are similar to fraudulent activities. From this point of view, business corruption, like domestic corruption (the term applicable to ordinary citizens), is similar to crimes against the state.
Kinds
Corruption is divided into two types: business nature and domestic. What many countries have struggled with over the years is business corruption. It exists between government officials and the business sector. It covers a very wide range of industries:
- Financial market.
- The scope of production.
- Services sector.
- Agrarian structure.
- Insurance.
- Other commercial structures.
Domestic corruption is bribery found in all other areas of public life. It covers:
- The scope of education.
- Medicine.
- The judiciary.
- The rest of the structure.
No matter how paradoxical it may sound, the everyday level of corruption is based on the good intentions of the population: in order to satisfy their needs to the fullest extent, people prefer to informally reward the performer. And here the true causes of this phenomenon are already looming. It develops when the state is not able to satisfy the social needs of citizens. In other words, all forms of domestic corruption arise in a weak state, which is unable to fulfill basic obligations to citizens.
Defendants
The main defendants are officials who are entrusted with resources that do not belong to them. For instance:
- A government official whose competence includes an entire industry, territorial unit, or part thereof.
- A deputy who has the opportunity to lobby the laws.
- A law enforcement officer who can decide the fate of people by managing the investigation process.
- Judge authorized to make decisions based on or against the law.
- And even a simple administrator with access to certain resources.
As an example of domestic corruption, we can consider a typical case when a pregnant woman goes to a medical center. She will have to receive medical care for a long time: registration, monitoring the development of pregnancy and childbirth. Perhaps at some stage other manipulations or treatment will be required.
But the reality is that citizens seek to agree with a doctor: for a fee, he will lead a pregnancy. At the final stage, you will need to offer the same to another doctor in order to have a birth. For all this, a certain amount is paid, which is not regulated anywhere and will not be fixed. This is just one manifestation of domestic bribery.
Motives
What motivates people to commit corrupt acts in a systematic manner? Regarding incentives, many options are put forward, among which the following can be noted:
- Low salaries of officials.
- The powerlessness of the law.
- The existing system in the environment.
- Lack of competence of performers.
- Lack of mechanisms to track their actions.
But at the heart of all of the above factors is one common motive - the goal of personal gain.
Even in the Renaissance, treatises were written on this subject and theories were deduced. In this field, the works of Nicola Machiavelli, Charles Louis de Montesquieu and Jean-Jacques Rousseau are popular. According to Machiavelli, business and domestic corruption is something like consumption: at the initial stage it is difficult to recognize, but it is easier to treat. At the advanced stage, it is in sight, but it is extremely difficult to fix such a society.
Interpretation in Russian law
Most interestingly, until recently, there was no definition of corruption in Russian law. It appeared in the framework of the adopted anti-corruption law in 2008. A definition is given there. According to Russian law, the term "domestic corruption" refers to the fact of abuse of official position, bribery, bribery of officials, as well as the use of official position against the interests of society and the state.
According to some scholars, in particular E.V. Maryina, the definition given in the law cannot be called exhaustive, since corruption actions can be committed not only by government officials, but also physical and legal, regardless of status.
A number of scholars are inclined to believe that definitions should take into account not only the legal aspects of this phenomenon. For example, according to V. N. Kudryavtsev and V. E. Eminov, business and domestic corruption is a violation of ethical and moral norms in society.
Research
Research on corruption began in the 1980s. A number of sociological works were carried out. The initiators were large international organizations represented by the EBRD, IMF and the World Bank. The result of the work was the creation of an international rating of corruption indicators in countries. In the framework of these studies, various levels of perception of corruption were considered: everyday, scientific, practical.
The attitude to this rating has developed ambiguous. Many did not believe in its objectivity. But despite this, an active anti-corruption struggle has begun in many countries. Proponents of the negative attitude believe that it is impossible to express the volume of such a widespread phenomenon with one indicator.
But there are more in-depth studies. Their data is based on the relationship of the state with its citizens. So, the higher the level of trust of citizens in the authorities, the lower the corruption, and vice versa. From this point of view, it can be said that business and domestic corruption are completely surmountable problems of society.
Trends in the present
Recent studies have focused more on the social and economic manifestations of corruption. All authors and research participants are unanimous in their opinion that, whether it is business or domestic corruption, this is a huge harm to the economy of any state, significantly inhibiting development. Resources are redirected in favor of a specific individual or group of individuals. Certain decisions made by corrupt methods can change the country's fate for the worse.
In addition, the fact of corruption in the state is a powerful factor against investment. As a result of this, a market economy of a completely criminal content is gradually being formed.
Russian reality in the field of corruption
In the field of anti-corruption, a number of bills have been adopted. Within their framework, work is ongoing to eliminate and prevent corruption schemes at various levels of government. One of the significant documents is the Order of the President of the Russian Federation of March 14, 2010. In order to fulfill this order, the Ministry of Economy and Development conducted a series of sociological studies. It was attended by Russian citizens from 18 years and above. Their goal is to determine the level and develop measures to eliminate the consequences of domestic corruption.
And so it turned out. Almost 51% of respondents said that at least 1 time they faced the need to make a choice: to give a bribe to an official or not. 29% said they were in a situation where it was necessary to “thank” representatives of government agencies. 47% said they were willing to bribe for a better service or to protect their interests. At the same time, the initiators of the project suggest that the indicators on the last point can be much higher, since those who underestimate the criminal significance of corruption have decided to be frank.
From this point of view, the term "domestic corruption" refers to reality, which is an indicator of citizens' confidence in the authorities.
Regulatory Fee
Another specificity of corruption is that citizens are often forced to pay a state person to fulfill their regulated duties. The reason for this is bureaucracy. But almost all survey participants noted that they had experienced deliberate delays in decision making, issuing documents or other issues. As a rule, after informal thanks, these processes are significantly accelerated.
Another interesting point is the formation of certain prices for the services of officials. As it turned out, the more we know about tariffs, the more likely it is to offer this amount. And vice versa, if citizens do not have an idea of how much money will be required, then they resort less to corruption decisions.
Punishment
Articles on household corruption are subject to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and other legal acts. In particular, in 2016 the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was supplemented by a new article 291.2 “Petty bribery”. This step was preceded by a national anti-corruption plan developed for implementation in 2016-2017. The purpose of introducing the article is to increase the effectiveness of the struggle and establish a strategic approach.
The same document provides a legal definition of domestic corruption. Under this law, household corruption is considered to be receiving or giving a bribe in person or through intermediaries in the amount of up to 10,000 rubles. It should be noted that such a rule is applicable not only to facts of bribery in the above areas (education, medicine, etc.). The article is valid regardless of the scope, circumstances, participants and other factors.
Another basis for the adoption of this article is described in the explanatory note to the draft of this law. It is noted that in the period from 2012 to 2015, the vast majority of criminal cases featured bribes of less than 10,000 rubles.
Penalties are determined depending on the specific amount of the bribe. General provisions read as follows:
- The intermediary faces a fine of up to 700,000 rubles, deprivation of income in the amount of wages for the last year or deprivation of the right to occupy a certain position.
- If the mediator is an official, the fine is increased to 1 million rubles, plus the provisions of the previous paragraph.
- Even the promise to provide intermediary services in giving or receiving a bribe is punished. In this case, the culprit faces a fine of up to 3 million rubles, plus the provisions of the first paragraph.
Giving or receiving a bribe as part of an organized group is punishable by the amount.
Disputes
After the adoption of the law, a number of specialists express their opinion regarding the observance of the principle of justice in it. So, according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the term "domestic corruption" refers to minor corruption offenses. Before the introduction of the new article, this wording appeared in relation to other crimes: petty hooliganism or petty theft. But the above examples, given the insignificance of the harm caused, relate to administrative offenses.
Experts believe that it would be more logical to introduce a new article, not in the Criminal Code, but in the Administrative Code with a bribe size of less than 1000 rubles. The reason for this is the existence of article 290 in the Criminal Code, which provides for punishment for corruption in the general sense.
Another topic for controversy is the equal responsibility of the recipient and the initiator of the bribe. According to lawyers, such a situation is fundamentally contrary to the principles of justice, since receiving a bribe definitely carries a greater danger to society than giving or offering.
But the main thing for society is not legal subtleties and theory, but real results. In a developed society, citizens must be sure that their rights will in no way be infringed and that money will be paid for their observance. In achieving this goal, the state plays an important role. But no less important is the conscious attitude of citizens.