Word study

a Write down the word families of the following words:

perfect – perfection, to perfect, perfectible, perfectibility...........................................

to agree................................... to violate...................................................................

to corrupt............................... to express...................................................................

to commit............................... to aggravate...............................................................

b Match the English and Russian equivalents and write down a few word combinations with each word:

с Mark the meanings in which the following words are used in the text, with a tick:

d Group the words from the box into a few logical groups:

e Add as many nouns as you can which could be used with the following verbs:

to maintain friendly relations, high prises, status..............

to involve.....................................................................

to envisage.....................................................................

to inflict....................................................................

to confiscate.....................................................................

to requisition.....................................................................

f Explain the meaning of the following word combinations in English:

§ Suggested activities

g Complete the following sentences with the words from the box:

1 According to German, Austrian, Greek and Danish the legal................. interest that is protected by the................. law is violated by the simple collusive.................

2 With respect to an analysis of the.................. it can be noted that almost all countries envisage more severe for passive.................since the... of the bribe holds a public office and therefore represents the state.................

h Make a diagram showing the countries and their sanctions for corruption crimes, using the information of the text.

i Say which country has the most reasonable legislation in this respect, and substantiate your viewpoint.

Text 4

The corrupted person who reports the payment of a bribe to the legal authorities before being investigated is not punishable according to Article 236 of the Greek penal code. This is also the case in Germany which, in addition, allows for the acceptance of benefits that have been authorised beforehand. In Sweden, when sums amounting to less than 500 SK are involved, the act is not considered a corruption crime. According to British legislation, a passive actor who is in good faith and unaware of the illicit nature of the payment is not punishable for corruption. In Romania, the party that has been forced to pay the bribe has the right to be reimbursed the amount paid. A large number of states punish attempted corruption as well as accomplished corruption. Consequently, not only the concession or acceptance of benefit of a predominantly economic nature are punishable as a major offence, but also the mere promise to give or receive. The same penalties are applied for attempted corruption that are envisaged for committed corruption.

On the contrary, Germany envisages milder sanctions for attempted active or passive corruption. According to the laws of numerous states, the benefits resulting from corruption need not necessarily be of an economic nature, but can also be of an abstract nature, such as improved career prospects, speeding up of paper work, etc. The important thing is that the beneficiary, the corrupted person or his/her family can improve their position with respect to the previously held one. The states that have adopted the wider definition of the concept of «advantage» are Germany, Greece, the UK and the Netherlands, while there are of course countries like Austria Denmark, Finland, etc. that prefer a more material definition.

Only Denmark and Sweden have laws that expressly prohibit corruption in the private sector. This is positive and should be imitated by the other states in order to encourage a greater sense of morality and correctness among the economic operators.

§ Vocabulary notes