15 Years of Teaching Anti-Corruption & the Rule
of Law & 15 Lessons Learned
A ProfessorUNCAC Tool for Professors, Trainers, International
Organizations, NGOs and Businesses
Keith Henderson, American University’s Washington College
of Law
Lesson One
Engage/Quiz the Class Upfront
Begin the class with a personal story that poses a moral/ethical dilema or
recount an inspirational book/story or hypothetical that poses at least two
questions/issues. Examples:
(i) Ask them to watch Professor Michael Sandel’s (Harvard) classroom videos
before class (You Tube): “What is the right thing to do?” Then pose some of
his Q’s to the class
(ii) Summarize a relevant book or a country development success story (How
the Scots Invented the Modern World, Arthur Herman). Then ask what are
some of the lessons learned (Rule of Law, citizen participation, developing
consensus)
(iii) Ask them how they define corruption and whether the UNCAC defines
corruption either directly or indirectly or ask them what some of the causes
and possible solutions are to addressing and preventing corruption (see next
2 pages)
Key Corruption Causes
Provide students some corruption theory and history to ponder &
challenge them to refine or develop their own formula within country,
sector or institutional context
Klitgaard’s formula:
C = M + D - A
Key Corruption Solutions?
Provide students with a possible formula that responds to the causes through
a global lessons learned lens & challenge them to develop their own or refine
and/or prioritize the formula within country, sector or institutional context
ProfessorUNCAC’s formula:
A/C = T + I + G + E + R + S
Lesson Two
• Key class messages/overview: Present the UNCAC as the only global
holistic framework for preventing and addressing corruption and
promoting a rule of law culture
• Note it complements and should be linked to the UDHR and the
ICCPR/ICESCR
• Illustrate how elements of it can also be linked to the UN Global Compact
and the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights (Ruggie
Principles)
• Explain how the model course is adaptable to various academic disciplines
and for multiple stakeholders, regions, countries and sectors/institutions
Lesson Three
•
•
•
•
Potential professors/trainers should note the course can also be used by
multiple stakeholders for multiple purposes:
continuing education, certification or business training courses or bar
association credits
teaching completely on-line
teaching face-to-face
teaching “hybrid” style
Lesson Four
•
•
•
Assign a video documentary like PBS’s “Black Money” (BAE)
Ask students to be prepared to identify issues related to the UNCAC in class
and to present the BAE case (key facts/players, issues, decisions, penalties,
laws, enforcement issues)
Highlight key elements of UNCAC: Grand corruption/princes/presidents/prime
ministers/banks/bribery/agents/money laundering/OECD
Convention/whistleblowers/national security/terrorism/international
cooperation/target sectors
Lesson Five
• Summarize the UNCAC syllabus & some of key UNCAC mandates, core
values, innovations and implementation challenges
• Ask students to take copious notes and to be prepared to identify which
elements of the UNCAC are of most interest & to think about how the
UNCAC defines corruption
• Call on students/volunteers to answer these questions
Lesson Six
• Clearly explain the key objectives of the course (as adapted to
country/sector context)
• Note the holistic approach to addressing a multi-faceted problem across
sectors, institutions and country borders
• Give examples of how some of the key issues and mandates are
inextricably linked (critical integrated analytic thinking).
Lesson Seven
• Ask students to theorize as to: (i) which UNCAC mandate they would make
their highest priority (ii) which are most closely linked and (iii) which
would be most difficult to implement in a country where corruption is
endemic
• Ask students what impact endemic corruption in the justice sector would
have on implementing different UNCAC & UDHR mandates
Lesson Eight
• Ask students to watch the Michael Sandel Video: “Justice: What’s the
Right Thing to do?” Provoke Class debate: Pose what’s the “right” thing to
do through Sandel’s or your own hypotheticals?
• Ask the same Q through the lens of treaties, laws, ethics codes, local
customs or global best practices
• Ask how do these guideposts support or conflict with each other? How do
you balance them?
• Ask what to do when the guidepost don’t clearly mesh with the facts and
circumstances?
Lesson Nine
• Ask students, through hypothetical Q’s or case studies what key values are
reflected in the guideposts (above)
• Ask what some of the research methodologies are to determine how
these guideposts compare on both paper and in practice -- from an
international lessons learned/best practice perspective
Lesson Ten
• The global syllabus was designed in such a way to allow professors to
select the issues and research for each class
• Err on the side of only assigning three or four readings/videos or cases for
each 2 hour class
• Ask students to identify the kinds of speakers they would like to invite and
on what topics (in person or on-line)
Lesson Eleven
• Ask students to do their own research and to present a case that
illustrates how enforcing global corruption mandates sometimes
exacerbates human rights abuses (country context)
• Also ask students to present a case that illustrates how global corruption
mandates promotes global rights (country context)
Lesson Twelve
Teach them to do multi-disciplinary research:
• Ask students to learn how to use key research anti-corruption websites,
such as UNODC/TRACK, U4, TI/ACRN & Business & Human Rights Resource
Centre.
• Give them specific topics to research
• You may need to devote a whole class to this topic and/or bring in a guest
lecturer
Lesson Thirteen
Use visual resources & corruption, legal, human
rights & doing business blogs/sites:
•
•
•
•
•
documentaries
social media
news sites
NGOs
country & corporate compliance sites
Lesson Fourteen
Enhance/Demonstrate Writing skills:
• require a student paper of publishable quality (any format,
any UNCAC related topic, framed within country context)
• provide students a sample paper
• discuss paper topics in open class and solicit suggestions and
encourage collaboration
Lesson Fifteen
• Note that research and implementation of the UNCAC is still in its infancy
• Outline emerging career opportunities
• Try to provide students an opportunity to publish their papers on various
web sites
• Link students up with internships & organizations in the compliance
business
Class Overview/Discussion
• Close the class by asking students to discuss the costs of
corruption to different stakeholders and to prioritize the
reasons why addressing and preventing corruption is
important to them personally
• Ask them to summarize the key legal, policy and institutional
mandates and recommendations under the UNCAC
• Ask them to give an example that illustrates the links between
the UNCAC and the UDHR