Legal Insights

On May 3, 2023, the European Commission presented proposals that represent a milestone in the fight against corruption at national and EU levels.

The proposed measures aim to prevent corruption and create a culture of integrity, criminalize all corruption offences under the United Nations Convention against Corruption, harmonize penalties across the European Union and establish a dedicated common foreign and security policy sanctions regime to target serious acts of corruption worldwide.

On June 23, 2023, the Paris Administrative Court handed down a judgment whereby the it decided to withdraw the accreditation of the anticorruption association Anticor, accreditation granted on April 2, 2021, which allowed it to act as a civil party in cases concerning in particular corruption and breaches of probity.

The World Law Group (WLG), a network of 61 leading independent law firms with more than 430 offices in major commercial centers worldwide, to which our Firm belongs, has launched its annual network-wide ESG initiative, WLG | impact ’23.

In this context, all WLG member firms are invited to implement an ESG initiative.

On April 20, 2023, the European Commission adopted a new merger control simplification package to further simplify its procedures for reviewing mergers.

This package is expected to bring significant benefits for businesses and advisers in terms of preparatory work and related costs.

The new rules will apply as from September 1, 2023.

Two new Conventions Judiciaires d’Intérêt Public (French-style Deferred Prosecution Agreements, hereinafter “CJIPs”) have been published on the website of the Ministry of Justice, following their approval by the Paris Judicial Court on May 17, 2023.

These two CJIPs concern legal entities accused of having committed acts that could be classified as influence peddling for the first CJIP, and of having participated in irregularities in public procurement for the second CJIP.

In a ruling issued on May 11, 2023, the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court) held that an employment contract may impose on an employee the obligation to repay part of his/her “welcome bonus” if he/she resigns before the date on which full payment of the bonus is due.