Criminal Law

The French Anticorruption Agency (Agence Française Anticorruption, hereinafter “AFA”) published its 2020 annual report in March 2021.

This provides the opportunity to review the key figures of its audit activities in one infographic, four years after its creation by the Law of December 9, 2016 on transparency, fight against corruption and modernization of economic life, known as the “Sapin II” Law.

While these figures help us identify a trend concerning the types of audits carried out and the entities concerned, the AFA could in the future extend these audits by deciding to subject more companies to the compliance scheme, as it seems to envisage in its latest guidelines.

On January 12, 2021, the French Anti-Corruption Agency published its new guidelines which will serve as the reference framework for its investigations, effective from July 13, 2021.

These new guidelines, which are both more demanding and pragmatic because they have been adapted to take into account the inspections and audits carried out by the AFA since the entry into force of the former guidelines, deserve, in our opinion, the full attention of entities subject to Article 17 of the Sapin II Law.

The conditions of detention, already well deteriorated due to the overcrowding that has been a constant feature of places of deprivation of liberty for several years, are necessarily and unfortunately adversely affected by the health situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic. How to implement social distancing, and more broadly, so-called “barrier gestures” (i.e. preventative measures that each individual should take to protect himself/herself and others against COVID-19) in places where the daily life is marked by the proximity between fellow inmates? It is impossible to do so.

Consequently, many requests for release from pretrial detention have been filed with the Liberty and Custody Judge. However, these requests for release have been dismissed. Following the upholding of a dismissal order, one inmate appealed to the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court). On August 19, 2020, the Criminal Chamber of the Cour de Cassation issued a ruling that confirmed the dismissal of the request for release.

On May 11, 2020, the state of health emergency was extended through the adoption of Law No. 2020-546 which supplemented existing provisions. One of the purposes of this legislation is to mitigate the employer’s liability in the event of infection or exposure to infection by the Covid-19.

Indeed, many companies had to continue operating since the outbreak of the crisis, thereby exposing employees to the risk of infection. In the event of infection of one of them by the virus, the employer, i.e. both the natural person who is at the head of the company and the company itself as legal entity, may be held liable.

On June 2, 2020, the French Minister of Justice sent to all competent public prosecutors a circular for immediate application specifying France’s “criminal justice policy in the fight against international corruption”.

This circular sets out guidelines for legal action at all stages of criminal proceedings, from the information gathering stage to the determination of the mode of prosecution.

In order to ensure the continued operation of French criminal courts necessary to maintain public order, the Government adopted on March 25, 2020 Ordinance 2020-303 in furtherance of the Emergency Law of March 23, 2020 . The Ordinance adapts the rules applicable to courts ruling on criminal matters.

These derogations from the procedural rules usually applicable in criminal matters were taken primarily for obvious health reasons, in order to reduce physical contacts, but also to ensure the continued operation of the French public Justice System.