bribe
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GC: n

S: UNTERM – http://unterm.un.org/DGAACS/unterm.nsf/0/$searchForm?SearchView&Seq=1 (last access: 27 November 2014); http://www.transparency.org/topic/detail/humanitarian_assistance (last access: 11 December 2014).

N: 1. From Old French: bribe, “thing stolen” or “practice extorsion”.
Late 14c, “thing stolen”. From briber, brimber: “to beg”, a general Romanic word of uncertain origin. Old sources suggest Celtic (compare breva “to break”). Shift of meaning to “gift given to influence corruptly” is by mid-15c.
2. In legal terms, bribery is described as the act of accepting or offering something of value, such as money, in return for a certain action or influence on a government official. Bribes can take many different forms, but are always intended to influence or alter the action of various individuals. Bribery goes hand in hand with both political and public corruption.
3. Bribery law targets both sides of the transaction. It applies to:

  • A person who offers to bribe an official.
  • An official who seeks or takes a bribe.

4. There is no need for both sides to agree to the bribe. Someone can be convicted of bribery even though the person he or she tried to bribe never agreed to the plan.
5. Differences between bribe and bribery:

  • «Bribe» is the gift or promise which is accepted of some advantage as the inducement for some illegal act or omission; or of some illegal emolument as a consideration for preferring one person to another in the performance of a legal act.
  • «Bribery» is the receiving or offering any undue reward by or to any person whomsoever, whose ordinary profession or business relates to the administration of public justice, in order to influence his behaviour in office and to incline him to act contrary to his duty and the known rules of honesty and integrity.

6. In the fields of Offences, Crimes and Trade, bribe is an inducement offered to a person to act dishonestly or against the law for the benefit of the giver.
This survey asks detailed questions about various dimensions of governance … For example, it elicits specific information about the share of bribes paid in total revenue and on the percentage bribe fee “cut” in public procurement projects, rather than vague opinions regarding countrywide corruption.
7. boodle: used in old slang.
PHR – to offer, pay bribes; payment of bribes.

S: 1. OED – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bribe&allowed_in_frame=0 (last access 11 December 2014); http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bribe&allowed_in_frame=0 (last access 11 December 2014). 2. Legal Info- http://www.legalinfo.com/content/criminal-law/crime-overview-bribery.html (last access: 11 December 2014) 3 & 4. Shouse Law. http://www.shouselaw.com/bribery.html#2 (last access: 11 December 2014). 5. Lectlaw – http://www.lectlaw.com/def/b116.htm (last access: 11 December 2014). 6 & 7. TERMIUMPLUS.

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CR: bribery, clientelism, corruption, influence peddling, prevarication.