A/HRC/44/43 60. As at March 2020, nearly 80 per cent of the 890 corruption cases concluded under the OECD anti-bribery convention had been settled through non-trial resolutions.104 Nonetheless, judicial remedy remains an important prevention tool. In 2017, the Working Group underlined that there were many cases of successful cooperation to investigate and prosecute economic actors in areas closely linked to human rights, for example transnational bribery and corruption, and that those cases demonstrated that, with political will, States could work collectively to combat cross-border harm.105 However, despite numerous allegations implicating businesses in human rights abuses and international crimes, investigations and prosecutions against companies were almost non-existent.106 As this remains the case, law enforcement should increase criminal prosecutions in this area. Furthermore, offices of the attorney general, or their equivalents, should routinely consider the seriousness of any alleged corruption’s impact on human rights as an aggravating factor in decisions concerning how to proceed with a case. 61. Judicial remedy may be found in civil courts. This might be an effective forum for obtaining a remedy, as under article 35 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, States parties are required to open their courts to actions by victims of corruption against those responsible for the corruption in order to obtain compensation.107 Seeking civil damages for corruption is a relatively recent phenomenon; it remains to be seen how domestic law will govern the establishment of causation and proving of damages, especially for harm to groups or communities. However, article 35 provides for such principles to be interpreted broadly, without the need for interaction between the perpetrator of corruption and the victim, or the need for a perpetrator to have foreseen the injury caused to the victim. The “hidden debt” scandal of Mozambique may be one case where victims can sue the perpetrators for civil damages in one of many States’ courts,108 possibly through a class action. 62. There have been calls for an international anti-corruption court to combat grand corruption and prevent human rights abuses. 109 Certain States have supported this. While deliberations continue, this should not detract from achieving judicial remedy. C. Non-judicial remedy 63. The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are supported by an implementation mechanism of national contact points. These are established by the adhering Governments to promote and implement the Guidelines and assist companies and stakeholders in furthering the implementation of the Guidelines. They also provide mediation platforms. National contact points may provide access to remedy in cases concerning corruption and business and human rights, but this is often undermined by incoherent policy, insufficient funding, lack of independence and inadequate training.110 Nonetheless, as at February 2020, national contact points had handled 35 cases relating to combating bribery, bribe solicitation and extortion.111 Once the cases had been considered, the national contact points tended to focus on following up on human rights and labour issues. It is still instructive to see the overlaps and the relevance of corruption to cases lodged with national contact points. National contact points should build capacity with respect to the links between corruption and human rights. States should ensure that national 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 18 See www.oecd.org/corruption/Resolving-Foreign-Bribery-Cases-with-Non-Trial-Resolutions.htm. A/HRC/35/33, para. 6. Ibid., para. 87. See https://lawreview.law.ucdavis.edu/issues/49/2/Symposium/49-2_Ramasastry.pdf. See https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2020/02/18/civil-damage-actions-for-corruptionpossibilities-offered-by-the-mozambican-hidden-debt-scandal/. See www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/daed_a_00507 and https://humanrightscommission.house.gov/events/hearings/international-anti-corruption-court-iaccmitigate-grand-corruption-and-human-rights. A/74/198, para. 42. See https://mneguidelines.oecd.org/database/searchresults/?q=(Theme:(Combating%20bribery, %20bribe%20solicitation%20and%20extortion)).