Ownership of Proceeds of Corruption in International Law

Recovery of proceeds deriving from corruption is now increasingly recognized as a principle of contemporary international law. However, people's sovereign and ownership rights over their wealth and natural resources have remained more theoretical than real, especially in the global fight against corruption. As a result, the populations of victim-states often cannot hold their governments accountable for misusing proceeds of corruption, and do not benefit from the recovery, repatriation, management, and use of returned proceeds. In the first comprehensive study on the issue, Kolawole Olaniyan challenges the conventional notion that sovereign and ownership rights over wealth and natural resources - and by extension, the proceeds of corruption - should be exclusively exercised by states. Olaniyan's Ownership of Proceeds of Corruption in International Law examines the relationship between the right to wealth and natural resources, proceeds of corruption, and economic activities. Focusing on victims of corruption, the book argues that victim-states' populations ought to be empowered to pursue grand corruption and asset recovery actions against their governments. It proposes theoretical and legal remedies for recovering proceeds of corruption, encouraging the development of domestic laws.

Auteur

Kolawole Olaniyan is a Legal Adviser at Amnesty International's International Secretariat, London. He was previously director of the Africa Programme (2004-2007) and has been a researcher and visiting lecturer at universities in the United States and United Kingdom. He holds a doctorate in international law on corruption and economic crimes from the Law School of the University of Notre Dame. Olaniyan is the author of a seminal book on Corruption and Human Rights Law in Africa. He has authored many other book chapters and articles on international law on corruption, economic crimes, and human rights law. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association.