Djibouti Adopts an Anti-Corruption Law

Law of 7 March 2024 No. 103/AN/24/9ème L “On Prevention of Corruption and Corruption-Related Offences” (Loi n° 103/AN/24/9ème L relatif à la prévention et à la lutte contre la corruption et les infractions assimilées) envisages, in particular, the following.

1. Anti-corruption body

Under the Law, Djibouti establishes a National Independent Commission for Preventing and Combating Corruption (Commission Nationale Indépendante pour la Prévention et la Lutte contre la Corruption; hereinafter, the Commission).

The Commission will perform the following functions:

Investigate corruption crimes and subsequently forward the evidence to the competent authorities;
Collect, store and process reports of corruption crimes;
In cooperation with other competent bodies, recover assets that are proceeds of illicit activities located in other jurisdictions;
Develop and implement a national strategy to prevent and combat corruption;
Carry out regular assessment of effectiveness of the anti-corruption measures adopted at the national level;
Formulate recommendations for preventing and combating corruption based on data on corruption risks gathered throughout the analysis of legal acts, administrative procedures and practices;
Provide anti-corruption advice to public bodies and organisations of the public and private sectors;
Give opinions on draft legal acts concerning the fight against corruption;
Promote interagency cooperation on combating corruption both at the domestic and international levels;
Raise public awareness about the fight against corruption;
Draft annual reports on the activities of the Commission submitted to the attention of the President, and others.

The structure of the Commission will consist of:

Secretariat-General (Secrétariat Général), a permanent governing body;
Assembly of Members (Assemblée des Membres), an ad hoc body consisting of nine members appointed by a decree of the Council of Ministers for a non-renewable four-year term.

Besides the establishment of the anti-corruption authority at the national level, every judicial authority will have judges and prosecutors with the responsibility to process corruption and corruption-related crimes.

2. Anti-corruption standards for officials

The Law imposes the obligation to submit asset declarations for a number of officials:

President of the Republic (Président de la République);
President and members of the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale);
Members of the Government (Gouvernement);
President and members of the Constitutional Council (Conseil Constitutionnel);
Ombudsman;
Ambassadors and consuls-general;
Director-General of the National Security Service (Sécurité Nationale);
Judges;
President of the Central Bank (Banque Centrale);
Heads of local government bodies;
Senior officers and decision-makers of the National Army (Armée Nationale), National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale), Republican Guard (Garde Républicaine), police and Coast Guard (Gardes-Côtes), as well as the Chief of the Civil Defence Corps (corps de la protection civile);
secretaries-general, technical advisors, joint chiefs and heads of public projects;
President and members of the National Commission for Human Rights (Commission Nationale des Droits de l’Homme);
President and members of the National Independent Commission for Preventing and Combating Corruption;
President and members of the National Communications Commission (Commission Nationale de la Communication);
President and members of the Public Procurement Commission (Commission des Marchés Publics);
President, members of the Board of Directors, senior management of the ports and free zones of Djibouti and related companies;
Inspectors-general of the regions and financial inspectors;
Heads of the State Treasury, Tax, Customs and State Registration and Cadastre Services;
Rectors of universities and deans of faculties;
Presidents and members of boards of directors, directors-general and accountants of public companies;
Other senior public officials.

The aforementioned officials submit declarations of their assets, as well as the assets of their spouses and minor children to the Commission:

Within two months upon taking the office;
In case of considerable change of the assets;
Within two months after the termination;
At the Commission’s request.

Additionally, all officials are obliged to notify their superiors about any activities that can lead to a conflict of interest, i.e. a situation where the personal interest of the official can affect or seems to affect the exercise of his/her duties.

The Law also establishes the right to state protection from retaliation against whistleblowers, i.e. persons disclosing information about crimes to competent authorities, including officials, witnesses, experts, victims and their relatives. The procedure for providing protection will be defined by a separate decree of the Council of Ministers.

3. Elements of crimes and liability measures

The Law establishes a list of corruption crimes, including:

Active and passive bribery of officials, abuse of functions, misappropriation of any assets, including public funds, conclusion, intention to conclude or revision of a contract, agreement, and other documents in violation of the existing norms with the aim to get an undue advantage for another person; these crimes are punished by imprisonment from five to ten years and a fine between 5 million to 10 million DJF (roughly between 28,000 and 56,000 USD);
Receipt or attempt to receive an illicit advantage for another person by committing the actions against the norms aimed at securing freedom of access and equality of candidates in the conclusion of public contracts and recruitment in public bodies; this crime is punished by five-year imprisonment and the fine of 2 million DJF (around 11,000 USD);
Active and passive bribery of officials in public procurement entails imprisonment for a period between five and ten years, the fine twice the amount of the illegal reward, and the prohibition to participate in public procurement for a period of up to two years;
Receipt/giving of a gift of the value exceeding 20,000 DJF (roughly 113 USD), which may affect the exercise of duties by the official; this crime is punished by imprisonment ranging between two and five years and a fine from 2 million to 5 million DJF (from 11,000 to 28,000 USD);
Failure to inform competent authorities of a corruption crime that came to the knowledge of a person in the exercise of his/her professional duties is punished by imprisonment for a period between two and five years and a fine ranging from 500,000 and 2 million DJF (from 2,800 to 11,000 USD).

The Law also provides for the liability for a failure to comply with the existing standards, in particular:

disclosure, either full or partial, of information concerning the ongoing investigations and asset declarations by employees of the Commission is punished by two-year imprisonment and a fine between 50,000 and 3 million DJF (from 2,800 and 17,000 USD);
Failure to notify about a conflict of interest implies imprisonment between six months and two years and a fine ranging between 2 million and 5 million DJF (from 11,000 and 28,000 USD);
Failure to submit the declaration, submission of incomplete or inaccurate information in the declaration, submission of knowingly false information in the declaration is punished by a fine between 500,000 and 3 million DJF; late filing of the declaration entails the increase of the basic amount of the fine by 100,000 DJF (564 USD) for every month of delay; if the declaration is not submitted within six months, the offender is subject to imprisonment for a period between six months and two years and a fine ranging between 2 million and 5 million DJF (from 11,000 to 28,000 USD);
Retaliation against whistleblowers, witnesses, experts, victims and their relatives is punished by imprisonment between two and five years and a fine from 500,000 and 2 million DJF (from 2,800 to 11,000 USD);
Reporting of knowingly false information about a crime is punished by imprisonment between six months and two years and a fine ranging between 500,000 and 2 million DJF.

Complicity, aiding and abetting in the above-listed crimes are punished the same way as the main crimes.

In case of conviction of corruption and corruption-related crimes, the court can impose one or several of the following sanctions:

Prohibition to exercise civil rights for up to five years;
Deprivation of the right to hold public office or be employed for up to five years;
Prohibition to accept any distinctions or awards given by public bodies.

Under the Law, legal persons can also be held liable for corruption and corruption-related crimes if the latter are committed by their managers and/or representatives on their behalf.

4. Corruption prevention

The Law also contains a number of provisions aimed at preventing corruption.

In particular, the Law obliges public bodies and organisations to:

Enhance effectiveness of management and transparency of their activities;
Develop the guidance defining and clarifying the decision-making procedure at all levels, in particular, the associated deadlines, and the rules determining the provision of information about the decision-making process to the general public;
Comply with the rules of public contracting;
Establish an internal audit unit and oblige it to report on the verifications conducted to the competent bodies;
Adopt a code of conduct for the servants (employees);
Facilitate administrative procedures;
Develop and implement awareness-raising programmes about the impact of corruption for the servants (employees);
Duly respond to the requests and complaints of the general public, explain the grounds for the decisions taken not in favour of the complainant, inform about the existing possibilities to appeal against decisions;
Publish information aimed at raising awareness of public bodies (organisations) about corruption risks;
Recruit employees on a competitive basis;
Ensure that the servants (employees) comply with the professional ethics;
Encourage integrity of the servants (employees).

The organisations of the private sector, in turn, must:

Encourage cooperation with the law enforcement bodies;
Develop the standards and procedures to ensure integrity, in particular, codes of conduct;
Promote transparency in the private companies’ interactions;
Prevent the misuse of regulatory procedures by private organisations;
Perform internal audit;
Implement accounting and auditing standards aimed at preventing corruption.