In Short
The Situation: On August 22, 2019, the German
Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection presented the draft
Corporate Sanctions Act ("CSA"), a bill that would
establish corporate criminal liability in Germany.
The Result: The Bundestag (the
parliament of Germany) is expected to adopt the CSA, which would
authorize the criminal prosecution of a company under certain
circumstances, during its current term.
Looking Ahead: Companies should prepare for the
likely enactment of the CSA and, in particular, recognize that the
new criminal liability regime would not just penalize misconduct
attributable to corporate entities but also attach great
significance to having a robust compliance framework in place.