International Corporate Prosecutions

Abstract

This chapter deals with corporate prosecutions around the world, focusing on the approach adopted by federal prosecutors in the United States in which settlement negotiations with companies are resolved, either through a plea agreement or agreements entered largely out of court and without judicial oversight. These agreements, called deferred and non-prosecution agreements, have added new flexibility but also some additional uncertainty to the practice of corporate prosecutions. Before discussing how this U.S. approach has altered the international corporate prosecution landscape, the article considers varying standards for corporate criminal liability. It then examines underlying corporate crimes and how standards and enforcement approaches may vary depending on the type of crime, settlement approaches toward corporate criminal cases, criticisms of corporate crime settlement approaches, and international approaches and cooperation in corporate crime cases. It also explains how corporate or entity-based criminal liability is limited and unavailable for many types of crimes in most countries.