The Portuguese Case of an Anti Corruption Agency

“Cândida Almeida, former director of the DCIAP (Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action) stressed that Portugal “is not a corrupt country”   “I say eye to eye: Our country is not corrupt, our politicians are not corrupt, our leaders are not corrupt”.

Forwards

To be successful, an anti-corruption agency must have the following:

- Governmental political support at the highest level;

- Operational and political independence to be able to investigate even the highest levels of government;

- Sufficient powers to access documentation and interrogate witnesses; and,

- Head of the agency with recognized high integrity.

It is also important that some special powers given to an anti-corruption agency comply with international human rights standards and that the agency works within the legal framework and is subject to judicial proceedings.

When setting the parameters for an anti-corruption agency, a government must ask itself whether it is doing something that it would itself accept if it were an opposition party.

A reasonable and valid formula must be found for everyone, whether government or not, that assigns adequate powers of investigation, powers of prosecution and, at times of greater importance, prevention capacity along with a character that allows it to survive the change of power.