AD ALTA
JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
actus reus rest in directly or indirectly, corruptly demanding,
seeking, receiving, accepting, or agreeing to receive or accept
anything of value personally or for any other
person or entity.
The thing of value is exchanged for the fact that witness is
influenced in testimony under oath or affirmation as a witness
upon any such trial, hearing, or other proceedings, or for
absenting there from.
Sections 201 (b) (1 - 4) of the U.S. Code are subject to uniform
sentence range. Perpetrator may be sentenced to not more that
fifteen years in prison, or fine, or both. Perpetrator may be also
disqualified from holding any office of honor, trust, or profit
under the
United States. In terms of fine the value of thing given
is determining. Person may be sentenced to fine in an amount
not exceeding three times the monetary equivalent of value of
thing given or received.
Section 201 (c)(1)(A) of the U.S. Code refers to anyone (i.e. any
individual as well as corporations, companies, associations,
firms, partnerships, societies, and joint stock companies) who
directly or indirectly gives, offers, or promises anything of value
to any public official, former public official, or person selected
to be a public official, for or because of any official
act performed or to be performed by such public official,
former public official, or person selected to be a
public official,
otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of
official duty.
Section 201 (c)(1)(B) of the U.S. Code refers to specific subject.
Only public official, former public official, or person selected to
be a public official may be held criminally responsible under
section 201 (c)(1)(B). This subject, otherwise than as provided
by law, for the proper discharge of official duty, directly or
indirectly demands, seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive
or accept anything of value personally for or because of
any official act
performed or to be performed by such official or
person.
Section 201 (d) of the U.S. Code refers to remuneration of
witnesses for time lost in attendance of trial, hearing, or any
other proceeding, including
reasonable cost of travel, and
witness fees provided by law. At the same time, this section
regulates remuneration of experts for time spend in the
preparation of expert opinion, and in appearing and testifying.
These payments cannot be considered as giving or receiving
thing of value according to section 201 (b)(3) and (4) and 201
(c)(2) and (3) of the U.S. Code.
Section 203 of the U.S. Code
Section 203 of the U.S. Code describes the crime of
Compensation to Members of Congress, officers, and others in
matters affecting the Government. This criminal offence contains
specification that perpetrator is criminally liable when described
behavior occurs otherwise than as provided by law for the proper
discharge of his/her official duties.
Section 203 of the U.S. Code
prosecutes both, direct and indirect, active and passive
corruption. In the Slovak criminal code active and passive
corruption are regulated in separate sections. This makes the
orientation in criminal offences of corruption more complicated.
Corruption criminal offences incorporated in the Slovak criminal
code are written in complicated and unclear manner which
causes confusion. On April 17. 2019 the Slovak government
introduced new amendment to the Slovak criminal code and the
Slovak criminal procedural code. However, it does not address
the problematics of corruption criminal offences. It rather
introduces new criminal offence of Falsifying and making false
medical documentation which is a very up-to-date topic in
Slovakia. More than 60 doctors and medical personnel were
suspected of fraud connected to falsifying the medical evidence
and prescribing medications which patients never received. In
total, police officers summoned more than 1 500 persons in this
case. New amendment also intends to broaden already existing
criminal offence of Unauthorized production of alcohol. The
amendment broadens criminal liability and proposes to
criminalize unauthorized production of tobacco and tobacco
products too, introducing the criminal offence of Unauthorized
production of alcohol, tobacco and tobacco products. The
amendment did not pass yet. All interested parties will comment
on it, submit remarks. It will take time until all parties reach a
consensus on the text of new criminal offences and other
proposed changes.
Section 203 of the U.S. Code refers to the highest-ranking public
officials and representatives of the federal government. Section
203 of the U.S. Code is more concrete then section 201 and
refers to different subjects in comparison to section 201 of the
U.S. Code.
Under section 203 (a)(1) is criminally liable
perpetrator who directly or indirectly demands, seeks, receives,
accepts, or agrees to receive or accept any compensation for any
representational services, as agent or attorney or otherwise,
rendered or to be rendered either personally or by another.
Section 203 (a)(1) describes passive corruption practices.
Section 203 (a)(1)(A) of the U.S. Code apply to Member
of Congress, Member of Congress
Elect, Delegate, Delegate
Elect, Resident Commissioner, or Resident Commissioner Elect.
Criminally liable may be only persons holding exhaustively
enumerated positions.
Section 203 (a)(1)(B) of the U.S. Code refers to officer
or employee or Federal judge of the United States in the
executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government, or
in any agency of the United States. Section 203 (a)(1)(A) and
(B) of the U.S. Code furthermore contains clarification of
actions. The compensation must be demanded, sought, received,
accepted, or agreed to accept for the purpose stated in section
203 (a)(1) of the U.S. Code in relation to any proceeding,
application, request for a ruling or other determination, contract,
claim, controversy, charge, accusation, arrest, or other particular
matter in which the United States is a party or has a direct and
substantial interest, before any department, agency,
court, court-
martial, officer, or any civil, military, or naval commission. We
find this enumeration too broad. We do not understand reason of
such a broad definition. By the same token, making distinction
between section 203 (a)(1)(A) and 203 (a)(1)(B) of the U.S.
Code does not make a difference when these actions are
sanctioned in a same way. The aim could be to make clear
difference between subjects of this criminal offence.
Section 203 (a)(2) of the U.S. Code sanctions direct and indirect
active corruption and imposes higher standard for the form of
fault. Actus reus must be committed “knowingly”. Knowingly
means that the person is aware that the nature of his/her conduct
or the attendant circumstances set in elements of crime exist or
that his/her conduct is of that nature and he or she is aware that it
is practically certain that his/her conduct will cause a result
described in elements of crime. Secondly, criminally liable shall
be any person, not only e.g. Member of Congress or Delegate, as
stated in section 203 (a)(1) of the U.S. Code. Thirdly, this
section restricts to whom it is illegal to give, promise or offer
any compensation for any representational services rendered or
to be rendered. The person shall be criminally liable under
section 203 (a)(2) of the U.S. Code if he or she gave, promised,
or offered compensation to person who is or at the time when the
compensation was given, promised, or offered was Member
Elect, Delegate, Delegate Elect, Commissioner, Commissioner
Elect, Federal judge, officer, or employee
. According to section
202 (c) of the U.S. Code the term “employee” shall not include
Member of Congress, the President, the Vice President, or a
Federal judge.
Section 203 (b)(1) of the U.S. Code describes direct and indirect
passive corruption. Criminal responsibility for this offence is
restricted to officers or employees of the District of Columbia
who demands, seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or
accept any compensation for any representational services, as
agent or attorney or otherwise, rendered or to be rendered either
personally or by another in relation to any proceeding,
application, request for a ruling or other determination, contract,
claim, controversy, charge, accusation, arrest, or other particular
matter in which the District of Columbia is a party or has a direct
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