During his political campaign, the newly elected President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski promised to tackle corruption arguing that it was one of the most important impediments to investment and growth in Peru. Using special legislative powers granted by Congress as a quick mechanism for the enactment of planned reforms, Kuczynski and his administration have already enacted 112 legislative decrees, including a number of significant anti-corruption measures.^[1]

One significant measure geared towards the prevention of corrupt activities bars entities convicted of corruption from participating in government contracts.^[2] Another measure created a body called the Autoridad Nacional de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información Pública (National Authority for Transparency and Access to Public Information), which, as its name suggests, is meant to increase government transparency and public access to information.^[3] Also included in the reforms is the widely-publicized and long-touted “civil death” law, which precludes government officials convicted of corruption from employment in the public sector.^[4]  The reforms are also intended to strengthen the independence and autonomy of prosecuting authorities, augment corporate liability for acts of corruption, and foster a culture of reporting corruption-related offenses.^[5]

Although President Kuczynski’s legislative decrees are potentially subject to legislative repeal, Marisol Perez Tello, Peru’s Justice and Human Rights Minister, expressed confidence that they will be met with approval by Peru’s Congress.^[6]

Peru’s fresh anti-corruption initiatives signal a clear trend towards increased enforcement of anti-corruption laws and decreased tolerance of public corruption. This will require companies and individuals engaging in business transactions in Peru to be aware of Peru’s modern climate of increasingly austere anti-corruption reform and enforcement.

_{[1] The recently enacted decrees, as all Peruvian legislation, are available for public viewing at http://www.leyes.congreso.gob.pe/ (in Spanish).}

_{[2] Fernando Zavala, Leyes para transformar el Perú, El Comercio (Jan. 8, 2017), available at http://elcomercio.pe/opinion/colaboradores/leyes-transformar-peru-fernando-zavala-noticia-1959001 (in Spanish).}

_{[3] Id.}

_{[4] Colin Post, Peru to enact ‘civil-death’ law in anti-corruption package, Peru Reports (Oct. 16, 2016), available at http://perureports.com/2016/10/18/peru-to-enact-civil-death-law-in-anti-corruption-package/}

_{[5] Zavala, supra note 2.}

_{[6] Peru Justice Minister confident Congress to support legislative decrees, Andina (Jan. 9, 2017), available at http://www.andina.com.pe/Ingles/noticia-peru-justice-minister-confident-congress-to-support-legislative-decrees-648649.aspx}