Student conference focuses on strategies for tackling corruption

On Nov. 9 the Harvard Law & International Development Society, an HLS student group, held its annual symposium, this year highlighting the increasingly global nature of anti-corruption efforts. The day-long event, “Development amidst Corruption | Developments against Corruption,” began with vivid personal narratives from the trenches: speakers included undercover agent Robert Mazur, ombudsman of the Philippines Conchita Carpio-Morales, and El Cid Butyayan, senior litigator for the World Bank.

The symposium also highlighted a series of ideas for tackling corruption. During an afternoon panel, Mark L. Wolf ’71, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, proposed the establishment of an international corruption court, analogous to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

James Hamilton, former director of public prosecutions in Ireland and president of the International Association of Prosecutors, focused his remarks on corruption in the political process and on the scope for corruption that private funding of political campaigns creates.

Read a more detailed account of the symposium on the Harvard Law School website.