Prevención del riesgo penal de los directivos y de las empresas en Francia y en el extranjero.

Criminal liability is the risk directors most fear when their companies reach a critical size and the directors can no longer control everything directly.

Directors have a variety of tools at their disposal to manage risk, particularly the risk of criminal liability: putting in place procedures, organising internal control mechanisms, internal audits, involving judicial departments in regulatory matters, and more recently with the implementation of compliance programmes.

In certain legal systems, of which France is one, the delegation of authority denotes both the transfer of authority to make decisions and of potential criminal liability arising from such authority.

In France, the delegation of authority is both a management tool, which, on the one hand allows managers to take responsibility and, on the other, acts as a device to protect directors against criminal liability. However, the delegation of authority does not exonerate the corporate of criminal liability.

How about overseas, where in many cases, the directors of the parent company are also the directors of the subsidiaries, in order to exert control over these. Does the delegation of authority have the same exonerating effect for the directors? And how does this work in the context of compliance?

What policies must be put in place and in which countries, to avoid the directors and companies being put at risk, while at the same time ensuring that control of the subsidiaries is maintained through the parent company?