Corruptio Legis: law as a cause of systemic corruption -comparative perspectives and remedies also for the Post-Brexit Commonwealth

Law, as a set of sources including legislation, administrative regulations, custom, and judicial decisions, is one of the causes of systemic corruption, intended as the generalised practice of various forms of abuse of entrusted power for private gain as part of the culture and the institutional system of a country. This paper assesses the validity of the outcomes of the most significant research conducted in Europe on the unintended criminogenic effects of legislation and the viability of the mechanism of legislative crime proofing developed for EU law in the particular legal context of Commonwealth countries. The first objective is to offer some original theoretical perspectives and practical solutions, and, particularly, to develop a comprehensive, principled strategy capable of suiting the most disparate legal systems. A secondary objective of this paper is to stimulate further discussion and research on the crime and corruption risks of the law, as a necessary step towards the elimination of systemic corruption.