Identifying and Outlining the Governing Principles on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Anti-Corruption Laws, Policies, and Institutions

The increasing deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in public governance raises critical questions about its role, legitimacy, benefits and risks in discrete domains, including anti-corruption. While AI offers means and ways for detecting patterns of fraud, analyzing complex data, its use in anti-corruption laws, policies, and institutions (in particular those specialized anti-corruption bodies), remains hitherto under-regulated and insufficiently theorized. This article seeks to advance a normative framework of fundamental principles to guide the responsible use of AI in anti-corruption contexts. The core referential or inspirational basis comes out of the underlying principles enshrined in the Council of Europe's Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, and the Venice Commission's standards, including its Rule of Law Checklist, as those standards are already applied in contexts pertinent to good governance, such as the "Interpretative Declaration of the Code of Good Governance in Electoral Matters as Concerns Digital Technologies and Artificial Intelligence". Adapting key principles such as legality, transparency, accountability, non-discrimination, human oversight, and proportionality, the article outlines a set of safeguards necessary to preserve the rule of law, institutional independence, and human rights and fundamental freedoms in the face of expanding AI applications. It posits that without a clear regulatory and ethical framework, the use of AI risks reinforcing existing biases, undermining due process, and enabling politically motivated manipulation of anti-corruption mechanisms. The proposed framework emphasizes the necessity of legal clarity, human-centric oversight, independent evaluation, and public transparency. It further underscores the importance of inclusive design, data protection, and international cooperation in shaping AI use that is both effective and legitimate. By grounding AI deployment in consolidated democratic values and institutional integrity, the framework of principles seeks to ensure that AI serves as a tool to strengthen rather than compromise the global fight against corruption. The result of this proposal could be a Draft Declaration of Core Principles on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Anti-Corruption Laws, Policies, and Institutions. This article further illustrates the proposed principles through selected case vignettes and situates the analysis within a global anti-corruption framework, including the practice and implementation mechanisms of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.