FCA Will Soon Adopt A New Framework Document On Competition Compliance Programmes: Is Yours Up To Standard?

The French Competition Authority (FCA) recently opened a public consultation with a view to publish a new framework document on competition compliance programmes (deadline to submit contributions is 10 December 2021). This follows a request from stakeholders since the previous framework document published in 2012 was withdrawn following the reform of the settlement procedure in 2017. The FCA has therefore published a draft framework document (the "Framework document") which explains the advantages of compliance programmes and identifies "good practices" to ensure their effectiveness.

The Framework document first stresses, probably stating the obvious, that the main benefit of a compliance programme for a company is to prevent financial and reputational risks. Indeed, by allowing early detection of potential anti-competitive practices, a compliance programme offers companies the possibility of quickly triggering leniency proceedings before the FCA and