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Consolidated TPP Text – Chapter 26 – Transparency and Anticorruption

Section A: Definitions

Article 26.1: Definitions

For the purposes of this Chapter:

act or refrain from acting in relation to the performance of official duties includes any use of the public official’s position, whether or not within the official’s authorised competence;

administrative ruling of general application means an administrative ruling or interpretation that applies to all persons and fact situations that fall generally within the ambit of that administrative ruling or interpretation and that establishes a norm of conduct, but does not include:

foreign public official means any person holding a legislative, executive, administrative or judicial office of a foreign country, at any level of government, whether appointed or elected, whether permanent or temporary, whether paid or unpaid, irrespective of that person’s seniority; and any person exercising a public function for a foreign country, at any level of government, including for a public agency or public enterprise;

official of a public international organisation means an international civil servant or any person who is authorised by a public international organisation to act on its behalf; and

public official means:

Section B: Transparency

Article 26.2: Publication

1. Each Party shall ensure that its laws, regulations, procedures and administrative rulings of general application with respect to any matter covered by this Agreement are promptly published or otherwise made available in a manner that enables interested persons and Parties to become acquainted with them.

2. To the extent possible, each Party shall:

3. To the extent possible, when introducing or changing the laws, regulations or procedures referred to in paragraph 1, each Party shall endeavour to provide a reasonable period between the date when those laws, regulations or procedures, proposed or final in accordance with its legal system, are made publicly available and the date when they enter into force.

4. With respect to a proposed regulationFootnote 2 of general application of a Party’s central level of government respecting any matter covered by this Agreement that is likely to affect trade or investment between the Parties and that is published in accordance with paragraph 2(a), each Party shall: 

5. Each Party shall, with respect to a regulation of general application adopted by its central level of government respecting any matter covered by this Agreement that is published in accordance with paragraph 1:

Article 26.3: Administrative Proceedings

With a view to administering in a consistent, impartial and reasonable manner all measures of general application with respect to any matter covered by this Agreement, each Party shall ensure in its administrative proceedings applying measures referred to in Article 26.2.1 (Publication) to a particular person, good or service of another Party in specific cases that:

Article 26.4: Review and AppealFootnote 3

1. Each Party shall establish or maintain judicial, quasi-judicial or administrative tribunals or procedures for the purpose of the prompt review and, if warranted, correction of a final administrative action with respect to any matter covered by this Agreement. Those tribunals shall be impartial and independent of the office or authority entrusted with administrative enforcement and shall not have any substantial interest in the outcome of the matter.

2. Each Party shall ensure that, with respect to the tribunals or procedures referred to in paragraph 1, the parties to a proceeding are provided with the right to:

3. Each Party shall ensure, subject to appeal or further review as provided for in its domestic law, that the decision referred to in paragraph 2(b) shall be implemented by, and shall govern the practice of, the office or authority with respect to the administrative action at issue.

Article 26.5: Provision of Information

1. If a Party considers that any proposed or actual measure may materially affect the operation of this Agreement or otherwise substantially affect another Party’s interests under this Agreement, it shall, to the extent possible, inform that other Party of the proposed or actual measure.

2. On request of another Party, a Party shall promptly provide information and respond to questions pertaining to any proposed or actual measure that the requesting Party considers may affect the operation of this Agreement, whether or not the requesting Party has been previously informed of that measure.

3. A Party may convey any request or provide information under this Article to the other Parties through their contact points.

4. Any information provided under this Article shall be without prejudice as to whether the measure in question is consistent with this Agreement.

Section C: Anti-Corruption

Article 26.6: Scope

1. The Parties affirm their resolve to eliminate bribery and corruption in international trade and investment. Recognising the need to build integrity within both the public and private sectors and that each sector has complementary responsibilities in this regard, the Parties affirm their adherence to the APEC Conduct Principles for Public Officials, July 2007, and encourage observance of the APEC Code of Conduct for Business: Business Integrity and Transparency Principles for the Private Sector, September 2007.

2. The scope of this Section is limited to measures to eliminate bribery and corruption with respect to any matter covered by this Agreement.

3. The Parties recognise that the description of offences adopted or maintained in accordance with this Section, and of the applicable legal defences or legal principles controlling the lawfulness of conduct, is reserved to each Party’s law, and that those offences shall be prosecuted and punished in accordance with each Party’s law.

4. Each Party shall ratify or accede to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, done at New York on October 31, 2003 (UNCAC).

Article 26.7: Measures to Combat Corruption

1. Each Party shall adopt or maintain legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal offences under its law, in matters that affect international trade or investment, when committed intentionally, by any person subject to its jurisdiction:Footnote 4

2. Each Party shall make the commission of an offence described in paragraph 1 or 5 liable to sanctions that take into account the gravity of that offence.

3. Each Party shall adopt or maintain measures as may be necessary, consistent with its legal principles, to establish the liability of legal persons for offences described in paragraph 1 or 5. In particular, each Party shall ensure that legal persons held liable for offences described in paragraph 1 or 5 are subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal or non-criminal sanctions, which include monetary sanctions.

4. No Party shall allow a person subject to its jurisdiction to deduct from taxes expenses incurred in connection with the commission of an offence described in paragraph 1.

5. In order to prevent corruption, each Party shall adopt or maintain measures as may be necessary, in accordance with its laws and regulations, regarding the maintenance of books and records, financial statement disclosures, and accounting and auditing standards, to prohibit the following acts carried out for the purpose of committing any of the offences described in paragraph 1:

6. Each Party shall consider adopting or maintaining measures to protect, against any unjustified treatment, any person who, in good faith and on reasonable grounds, reports to the competent authorities any facts concerning offences described in paragraph 1 or 5.

Article 26.8: Promoting Integrity among Public Officials

1. To fight corruption in matters that affect trade and investment, each Party should promote, among other things, integrity, honesty and responsibility among its public officials. To this end, each Party shall endeavour, in accordance with the fundamental principles of its legal system, to adopt or maintain:

2. Each Party shall endeavour to adopt or maintain codes or standards of conduct for the correct, honourable and proper performance of public functions, and measures providing for disciplinary or other measures, if warranted, against public officials who violate the codes or standards established in accordance with this paragraph.

3. Each Party, to the extent consistent with the fundamental principles of its legal system, shall consider establishing procedures through which a public official accused of an offence described in Article 26.7.1 (Measures to Combat Corruption) may, where appropriate, be removed, suspended or reassigned by the appropriate authority, bearing in mind respect for the principle of the presumption of innocence.

4. Each Party shall, in accordance with the fundamental principles of its legal system and without prejudice to judicial independence, adopt or maintain measures to strengthen integrity, and to prevent opportunities for corruption, among members of the judiciary in matters that affect international trade or investment. These measures may include rules with respect to the conduct of members of the judiciary.

Article 26.9: Application and Enforcement of Anti-Corruption Laws

1. In accordance with the fundamental principles of its legal system, no Party shall fail to effectively enforce its laws or other measures adopted or maintained to comply with Article 26.7.1 (Measures to Combat Corruption) through a sustained or recurring course of action or inaction, after the date of entry into force of this Agreement for that Party, as an encouragement for trade and investment.Footnote 8

2. In accordance with the fundamental principles of its legal system, each Party retains the right for its law enforcement, prosecutorial and judicial authorities to exercise their discretion with respect to the enforcement of its anti-corruption laws. Each Party retains the right to take bona fide decisions with regard to the allocation of its resources.

3. The Parties affirm their commitments under applicable international agreements or arrangements to cooperate with each other, consistent with their respective legal and administrative systems, to enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement actions to combat the offences described in Article 26.7.1 (Measures to Combat Corruption).

Article 26.10: Participation of Private Sector and Society

1. Each Party shall take appropriate measures, within its means and in accordance with fundamental principles of its legal system, to promote the active participation of individuals and groups outside the public sector, such as enterprises, civil society, non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations, in the prevention of and the fight against corruption in matters affecting international trade or investment, and to raise public awareness regarding the existence, causes and gravity of, and the threat posed by, corruption. To this end, a Party may:

2. Each Party shall endeavour to encourage private enterprises, taking into account their structure and size, to:

3. Each Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure that its relevant anti-corruption bodies are known to the public and shall provide access to those bodies, if appropriate, for the reporting, including anonymously, of any incident that may be considered to constitute an offence described in Article 26.7.1 (Measures to Combat Corruption).

Article 26.11: Relation to Other Agreements

Subject to Article 26.6.4 (Scope), nothing in this Agreement shall affect the rights and obligations of the Parties under UNCAC, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, done at New York on November 15, 2000, the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, with its Annex, done at Paris on November 21, 1997, or the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption, done at Caracas on March 29, 1996.

Article 26.12: Dispute Settlement

1. Chapter 28 (Dispute Settlement), as modified by this Article, shall apply to this Section.

2. A Party may only have recourse to the procedures set out in this Article and Chapter 28 (Dispute Settlement) if it considers that a measure of another Party is inconsistent with an obligation under this Section, or that another Party has otherwise failed to carry out an obligation under this Section, in a manner affecting trade or investment between Parties.

3. No Party shall have recourse to dispute settlement under this Article or Chapter 28 (Dispute Settlement) for any matter arising under Article 26.9 (Application and Enforcement of Anti-Corruption Laws).

4. Article 28.5 (Consultations) shall apply to consultations under this Section, with the following modifications:

5. The consulting Parties shall make every effort to find a mutually satisfactory solution to the matter, which may include appropriate cooperative activities or a work plan.

Annex 26-A Transparency and Procedural Fairness for Pharmaceutical Products and Medical DevicesFootnote 9

Article 1: Definitions

For the purposes of this Annex:

national health care authority means, with respect to a Party listed in the Appendix to this Annex, the relevant entity or entities specified therein, and with respect to any other Party, an entity that is part of or has been established by a Party’s central level of government to operate a national health care programme; and

national health care programme means a health care programme in which a national health care authority makes the determinations or recommendations regarding the listing of pharmaceutical products or medical devices for reimbursement, or regarding the setting of the amount of such reimbursement.

Article 2: Principles

The Parties are committed to facilitating high-quality health care and continued improvements in public health for their nationals, including patients and the public. In pursuing these objectives, the Parties acknowledge the importance of the following principles:

Article 3: Procedural Fairness

To the extent that a Party’s national health care authorities operate or maintain procedures for listing new pharmaceutical products or medical devices for reimbursement purposes, or setting the amount of such reimbursement, under national health care programmes operated by the national health care authorities,Footnote 11 Footnote 12 the Party shall:

that may be invoked at the request of an applicant directly affected by a recommendation or determination by a Party’s national health care authorities not to list a pharmaceutical product or a medical device for reimbursement;Footnote 16 and

Article 4: Dissemination of Information to Health Professionals and Consumers

As is permitted to be disseminated under the Party’s laws, regulations and procedures, each Party shall permit a pharmaceutical product manufacturer to disseminate to health professionals and consumers through the manufacturer’s website registered in the territory of the Party, and on other websites registered in the territory of the Party linked to that site, truthful and not misleading information regarding its pharmaceutical products that are approved for marketing in the Party’s territory. A Party may require that the information includes a balance of risks and benefits and encompasses all indications for which the Party’s competent regulatory authorities have approved the marketing of the pharmaceutical product.

Article 5: Consultation

1. To facilitate dialogue and mutual understanding of issues relating to this Annex, each Party shall give sympathetic consideration to and shall afford adequate opportunity for consultation regarding a written request by another Party to consult on any matter related to this Annex. The consultations shall take place within three months of the delivery of the request, except in exceptional circumstances or unless the consulting Parties agree otherwise.Footnote 17

2. Consultations shall involve officials responsible for the oversight of the national health care authority or officials from each Party responsible for national health care programmes and other appropriate government officials.

Article 6: Non-Application of Dispute Settlement

No Party shall have recourse to dispute settlement under Chapter 28 (Dispute Settlement) for any matter arising under this Annex.

Appendix to Annex 26-A

Party-Specific Definitions

Further to the definition of national health care authorities in Article 1, national health care authorities means:

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