Fazekas, Mihály & Nishchal, Shrey (2023) Corruption Risks in Emergencies. In Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Corruption Law. Chapter 38. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Following disasters, governments need to implement a range of responses, including the procurement of essential supplies in a short time to fulfil urgent needs. Good procurement principles such as open competition and value for money may hamper timely emergency response. Therefore, emergency clauses, which allow for deviations from open competition, are a standard component of government procurement laws. However, disaster situations and emergency clauses have the potential to be abused by corrupt public officials. In this chapter, we, first, highlight the potential corruption risks that can come about due to disasters. Second, we present a short discussion of emergency clauses in the European Union, South Africa, India, and New Zealand. We also discuss the susceptibility of the emergency clauses in these countries to corruption.
Read the full chapter HERE.