“Integrity, transparency and the fight against corruption have to be part of the culture. They have to be taught as fundamental values.” — Angel Gurría, OECD secretary general (2018).

Corruption is a timeless issue, which politicians, legislators, regulators and other social/economic actors have tried to address all over the world. Transparency is often hailed as one of the main tools to fight corruption. This course will approach the topics of corruption and transparency from a public law perspective at both international and EU levels. We will start by exploring the meaning, measurement and manifestations of corruption. We will also consider several examples of transparency mechanisms, such as whistleblowing, oversight by the civil society and open data. We will then critically assess the use of transparency measures as a means of curbing corruption. The course will focus on the field of public procurement (government contracts) as a paradigm of legal response to corruption and transparency issues.