Introduction

Scope of application

Compliance program

Protection of whistleblowers

Audit and sanctions

Rules arising from the Sapin II Law

EU law

French law

Rules derived from competition law

Sapin II Law/Competition

Scope ratione personae

Scope ratione materiae

Scope

Development of plan

Measures included in plan

Inclusion in management report

Vigilance plan

Injunctions

Civil liability

Sanctions

Duty of vigilance (devoir de vigilance)

CSR programs

Reporting

Communication

Reporting and communication

Judicial sanctions

Risk to reputation, strategy and stability

Corporate Social Responsability (CSR)

Middlenext Code

IFA Corpus

AFEP - MEDEF Code

Types

Principles of governance

Principles incorporating CSR values

Principles

Comply or explain

Binding force

Private codes of conduct

Compliance

Influence peddling by national public officials, whether passive or active, is punishable by ten years' imprisonment and a fine of EUR 1 million which may be increased to double the proceeds gained from the offense , in order to adapt the penalty to the actual profit derived by the accused. When influence peddling is committed as part of an organized gang, the fine is increased to EUR 2 million, o …

Principal penalties

Influence peddling by national public officials, whether passive or active, is punishable by ten years' imprisonment and a fine of EUR 1 million which may be increased to double the proceeds gained from the offense , in order to adapt the penalty to the actual profit derived by the accused. When influence peddling is committed as part of an organized gang, the fine is increased to EUR 2 million, or if this amount is exceeded, to double the proceeds due to the offense. Under Article 433-25 of the Criminal Code, legal entities held criminally liable for active influence peddling may be subject to the principal penalty of a five-fold fine for natural persons, in application of Article 131-38 of the Criminal Code, and to the complementary penalty of confiscation  or the posting or dissemination of the conviction.

Whether passive or active, influence peddling by foreign public officials is punished less severely than that of national public officials, since the guilty party, a natural person, is liable to five years' imprisonment and a fine of EUR 500,000, which may also be increased to double the proceeds of the offense . In addition, Article 435-6-2 of the Criminal Code stipulates that, in cases where the offense is committed abroad by a French national or by a person habitually residing or exercising all or part of his or her economic activity on French territory, French law is applicable in all circumstances.

In addition, Articles 432-11-1 and 433-2-1 of the Criminal Code provide for the offense of influence peddling by national public officials, and Article 435-6-1 of the same code provides for the offense by foreign public officials, the possibility of reducing by half the custodial sentence incurred by the offender or accomplice  if, having alerted the administrative or judicial authorities, he or she has enabled the offense to be brought to an end or, where applicable, the other offenders or accomplices to be identified.

Whether active or passive, private influence peddling is punishable by the same penalties as influence peddling by foreign public officials . In addition, the natural person implicated may also be subject to the prohibitions, as well as to the penalty of posting or disseminating the pronounced decision, provided for in Article 433-22 of the Criminal Code. Legal entities are liable to a fine five times higher than that imposed on natural persons, as well as the additional penalties set out in Article 433-25 of the Criminal Code, such as confiscation or the posting and dissemination of the decision of the court.

While the offense of influence peddling is an instantaneous offense, committed as soon as the pact between the bribe-seeker and the bribe taker is concluded, with the statute of limitations starting to run from the day on which the offense is committed, it is renewed with each act of performance of the pact, i.e. each time the individual abuses his or her influence, which makes it possible, as in the case of corruption, to postpone the starting point of the statute of limitations for public action. Similarly, in the absence of indivisibility between the payment of gifts or presents and the unlawful agreement under which they were made, there are as many successive offenses as there are gifts, as long as the fraudulent agreement continues . In the case of concealment, despite the instantaneous nature of the offense, the statute of limitations only begins to run from the day on which the offense became apparent and could be ascertained under conditions allowing prosecution .

Under Article 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a civil action for influence peddling is only admissible if the damage claimed by the plaintiff is the direct result of the acts in question, and if the plaintiff did not take part in the offense. Consequently, the civil action of a person who took part in the offense with the accused , or that of a person who in bad faith gave a sum of money to the principal perpetrator of influence peddling, or to his or her accomplice, with a view to obtaining a favorable outcome from a public authority , is not admissible. On the other hand, the State is entitled to claim compensation for its financial loss, consisting of unnecessary expenditure , and for its moral loss, resulting from the fact that the actions in question bring the entire civil service into disrepute and weaken the authority of the State in the eyes of the public .

Criminal Code, Art. 432-11, 2° and 433-1. See Cass. crim. 12 December 1989, LawLex202200009539JBJ, for an application of the doubling of the value of benefits derived from the offense.

See for an illustration, Cass. crim., 19 March 2008, LawLex202200009495JBJ.

Cass. crim., 10 March 2004, LawLex202200010270JBJ.

See Cass. crim. 20 February 2008, LawLex200800000756JBJ, on aiding and abetting public influence peddling.

Cass. crim., 15 March 2000, LawLex202200010274JBJ.

Cass. crim., 19 March 2008, LawLex202200009495JBJ.

Cass. crim., 13 June 1978, LawLex202300001624JBJ.

Cass. crim., 7 February 2001, LawLex202300001625JBJ.

Cass. crim., 20 April 2005, LawLex202200003380JBJ.

Compliance

24. Principal penalties

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

24. Principal penalties

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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