Transatlantic relations: How can Europe build new Compliance and Negotiated Justice standards?

Keynote Speakers

Bernard Cazeneuve – Bernard Cazeneuve is former French Prime Minister and Minister of European Affairs. As Partner at August Debouzy, Bernard Cazeneuve mainly focuses on International Compliance and brings with him extensive knowledge of business ethics issues, corporate governance, and internal and international requirements in relation to the corporate duty of vigilance.

Astrid Mignon Colombet – Astrid is Partner at August Debouzy. Astrid is a recognized lawyer in white-collar crime, complex criminal litigation and crisis management. Astrid Mignon Colombet defends companies and executives implicated in cases of corruption of foreign public officials and assists them on sensitive aspects of transnational defense such as the application of blocking statutes and double jeopardy issues.

Description

Between 1977 and 1997, the well-known “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act” (FCPA) remained the only serious and efficient Anti-corruption regulation. Several attempts have been made to extend anti-corruption mechanisms to Europe. For example, OECD members signed the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions in 1997 which established legally binding standards to criminalize bribery of foreign public officials.

Nonetheless, in Europe, domestic policies to fight corruption remained ineffective. This allowed the US to promote an extraterritorial application of the FCPA. In the context of a failure of European authorities to prosecute European companies committing bribery abroad, the US Department of Justice imposed them high sanctions through the Deferred prosecution agreement procedure.

To rebalance the Euro-Atlantic relationship on these matters, some Europeans countries have started to adopt efficient regulations such as the UKBA (2010) and the Sapin II Law (2016). From now on, the EU should promote the implementation of a global level playing field through the unification of regulations combating corruption at the European level.

➢ For Bernard Cazeneuve, the EU should take the lead to impose every Member State to comply with the highest international standards on Anti-corruption, to strengthen the cooperation between European authorities and to coordinate the European action on combating corruption through the European Public Prosecutor’s Office;

➢ Astrid Mignon Colombet will focus on Negotiated Justice issues. To face the lack of an organized regulation of extraterritorial prosecutions under International Criminal Law, Astrid Mignon Colombet will advocate for the use of negotiated justice mechanisms in Europe to better coordinate resolutions between Members States and promote an effective application of the ne bis in idem principle in Europe and in fine between OECD Members States.

At the end of the speeches, the speakers will be happy to answer questions of the audience.