DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Christian Monberg, Simon Evers Hjelmborg, Ann Sophie Juul Hird and Linn Dyrgaard Stinus, Accura Advokatpartnerselskab
1. Legal Framework 1.1 International Conventions
domestic and foreign arbitrators and jurors. It empha - sises the need for complementary criminal law meas - ures and improved international co-operation in the prosecution of corruption offences. Denmark signed the Protocol in May 2003 and ratified it in November 2005. The implementation of the Protocol is also mon - itored by GRECO, ensuring compliance and effective - ness in combating corruption. (See Complete list of the Council of Europe’s treaties – Treaty Office.) The Council of Europe: Civil Law Convention on Corruption – ETS No 174 The Civil Law Convention on Corruption emphasis - es the importance of civil law measures in the fight against corruption and promotes international co- operation in civil proceedings related to corruption cases. The Convention aims to provide effective rem - edies for persons who have suffered damage as a result of acts of corruption, enabling them to defend their rights and interests, including the possibility of obtaining compensation for damage. Denmark signed the Convention on 4 November 1999. (See Complete list of the Council of Europe’s treaties – Treaty Office.) 1.2 National Legislation The main provisions on anti-bribery and anti-corrup - tion are all set out in the Danish Criminal Code (Con - solidated Act No 1145 of 5 November 2024, straf- feloven ) (the “Criminal Code”). Sections 122 and 144 of the Criminal Code criminal - ise the act of bribing a public official and the act of accepting a bribe as a public official, respectively. In addition, bribery in the private sector was criminalised in 2013 with the introduction of Section 299 (2). Sections 278–280 of the Criminal Code provide for the provisions on embezzlement and fraud, including fraud committed by a public official. In addition to the Criminal Code, requirements for companies specifically in relation to anti-bribery and anti-corruption are set out, eg, in the Danish Book - keeping Act (Act No 700 of 24 May 2022, bogføring- sloven ) (the “Bookkeeping Act”), the Danish Finan - cial Statements Act (Consolidated Act No 1057 of 23 September 2024, årsregnskabsloven ) (the “Financial Statements Act”) and the Companies Act (Consoli -
Denmark has signed up to multiple international con - ventions regarding anti-bribery and anti-corruption as detailed below. The United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) Denmark is part of the UNCAC. It was adopted by the UN General Assembly in October 2003 and entered into force in December 2005. Denmark signed the Convention on 10 December 2003 and ratified it on 26 December 2006. The UNCAC tackles various topics such as bribery, embezzlement and misappropriation (in both public and private sectors), abuse of func - tions, money laundering and obstruction of justice. The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention is legally binding and targets bribery in international business transac - tions. It requires signatories to criminalise bribery of foreign public officials. It was adopted on 21 Novem - ber 1997 and entered into force on 15 February 1999. Denmark was one of the 20 founding member coun - tries of the OECD and is one of the current 38 member countries. (See OECD Legal Instruments.) The Council of Europe: Criminal Law Convention on Corruption – ETS No 173 Denmark is part of the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption which was adopted by the Council of Europe in January 1999. The Convention criminal - ises various forms of corruption, including bribery of public officials, bribery in the private sector, trading in influence, and money laundering. It also emphasises complementary criminal law measures and improved international co-operation in the prosecution of cor - ruption offences. The implementation of the Con - vention is monitored by the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO). (See Details of Treaty No 173 – Treaty Office.)
Additional Protocol to the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption – ETS No 191
The Additional Protocol to the Criminal Law Conven - tion on Corruption supplements the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption by addressing bribery of
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