Introduction

Matrix organization

Mergers by absorption

Risks related to the expansion of the scope of criminal liability of legal entities

Validity conditions

Proof of delegation

Exemption from individual liability of delegator

Attribution of offense to legal entity

Delegations of authority

Criminal risk management within business organizations

Complicity in crimes against humanity

Breaches of secrecy

Personal data breaches

Theft

Extortion

Blackmail

Fraud

Misappropriation

Receiving/concealment of unlawfully obtained property (recel)

Attacks on automated data processing systems

Money laundering

Misappropriation by public official (concussion)

Corruption and influence peddling

Unlawful acquisition of an interest

Favoritism

Forgery and use of forgeries

Violation of Criminal Code

Offenses under the Monetary and Financial Code

Offenses under the Commercial Code

Environmental Code violations

Offenses arising from other codes

Types of offenses

Offenses under the Criminal Code, the Commercial Code, or the Environmental Code, Criminal procedure

White Collar Crime (en cours)

Offenses of water pollution and abandoning waste in water are punishable, under Article L. 216-6 of the Environmental Code, by two years of imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 EUR. The same penalties apply to the offense of air pollution. The defendant may invoke a justification, which allows their liability to be dismissed, even if the discharge is harmful, when the operation has been authorized by …

Criminal sanctions

Offenses of water pollution and abandoning waste in water are punishable, under Article L. 216-6 of the Environmental Code, by two years of imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 EUR. The same penalties apply to the offense of air pollution. The defendant may invoke a justification, which allows their liability to be dismissed, even if the discharge is harmful, when the operation has been authorized by decree and the provisions of this decree have been complied with. The same prison sentence is incurred by the perpetrator of the offense of freshwater or fish farming pollution under Article L. 432-2, who is also liable to a fine of EUR 18,000.

The three new offenses established by the Climate and Resilience Law of 22 August 2021  are more heavily sanctioned. The offense of air or water pollution under Article L. 231-1 is punishable by five years of imprisonment and a fine of one million euros, while pollution by waste under Article L. 231-2 is punishable by three years of imprisonment and a fine of 150,000 euros, which can be increased up to five times the benefit derived from the commission of the offense. When these offenses are committed intentionally and constitute the ecocide under Article L. 231-3, the prison sentence is increased to ten years, and the fine to 4.5 million euros, with this amount potentially reaching up to ten times the benefit derived from the commission of the offense.

As an additional penalty, natural persons may incur one of the penalties listed in Article L. 173-7 of the Environmental Code: the posting and dissemination of the decision rendered, the penalty of confiscation, immobilization of the vehicle used by the convicted person to commit the offense, or the prohibition of professional activity in the exercise or on the occasion of which the offense was committed, for a duration not exceeding five years . Furthermore, since the ordinance of 11 January 2012 , measures intended to restore the damaged sites, accompanied by a daily penalty of up to 3,000 euros for a maximum duration of one year (Art. L. 173-9 Env. Code), may be imposed (Art. L. 173-5, 2°).

Environmental harm, often resulting from the activities of legal entities, is addressed by environmental criminal law through the ordinary criminal liability mechanism of Article 121-2 of the Criminal Code. The criminal liability of a legal entity requires establishing the commission of an offense, on its behalf, by its organs or representatives . Legal entities are subject to the fine provided for in Article 131-38 of the Criminal Code, with a maximum rate equal to five times that for natural persons, and certain penalties provided for in Article 131-39 of the same code (Art. L. 173-8 Environmental Code).

Since the Law of 8 August 2016 for the recovery of biodiversity, nature, and landscapes , the statute of limitations for public prosecution of water pollution offenses (Art. L. 216-6 and L. 432-3 Environmental Code) starts from the discovery of the damage and not from its triggering event . The same regime was provided for offenses established by the Climate and Resilience Law of 22 August 2021 in Articles L. 231-1, L. 231-2, and L. 231-3.

Law No 2021-1104 of 22 August 2021 on combating climate change and strengthening resilience to its effects.

Cass. crim., 27 June 2023, LawLex202400005257JBJ.

Ordinance No 2012-34 of 11 January 2012 on the simplification, reform, and harmonization of the provisions of administrative police and judicial police of the Environmental Code.

Cass. crim., 8 June 1999, LawLex202300008426JBJ; 13 January 2015, LawLex202300001320JBJ, LawLex202300001327JBJ; 7 March 2023, LawLex202300006265JBJ.

Law No 2016-1087 of 8 August 2016 for the recovery of biodiversity, nature, and landscapes, OJ of 9 August 2016, Art. 115.

The draft revision of Directive No 2008/99 retains the same starting point, opting for the day of the discovery of the offense, rather than the day of its commission.

White Collar Crime (en cours)

222. Criminal sanctions

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

222. Criminal sanctions

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise