The Justice Department plans to release "detailed new guidance on the (Foreign Corrupt Practices) Act's criminal and civil enforcement provisions" in 2012. The department gives no indication that it is slowing down its enforcement activity, despite a rising chorus of voices from the corporate side arguing that the law needs to be updated with brighter lines on several cloudy issues.

The department is certainly proud that it is in the midst of its fourth FCPA trial so far this year. At a recent conference, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said that,  "We in the Justice Department are always open--and I personally am--to working with Congress on ways to improve our criminal laws. That said, I want to be clear about one thing with respect to these proposals:  We have no intention whatsoever of supporting reforms whose aim is to weaken the FCPA and make it a less effective tool for fighting foreign bribery."

Breuer continued, adding that, "At this crucial moment in history, watering down the Act--by eliminating successor liability in the FCPA context, for example--would send exactly the wrong message.  Particularly since it has become increasingly clear over the past year that the trend across the globe is toward criminalization of foreign bribery.  The U.K. Bribery Act took effect in July.  Russia recently passed an anti-bribery law, has ratified the U.N. Convention against Corruption and is expected soon to accede to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.  China, too, recently passed an anti-bribery law and is an observer at the OECD's Working Group on Bribery."

Breuer also said that he remains open to suggestions. The department is working on a "layperson's" guide and detailed instructions for companies on the act's civil and criminal provisions, which will be released next year. In the meantime, lobbyists will likely also step up their activity and press the idea that the law should allow for a compliance defense to the FCPA (similar to one available under the UK Bribery Act), more specific definitions of foreign officials, limited liability for acts committed by a subsidiary or an acquired company and actions prior to acquisition and a "willfulness" requirement for prosecution.

For more:
- here are some remarks by Breuer

Related articles:
FCPA reform movement heats up  
Companies aim for FCPA bribery clarification