Press review – Week of 30 May 2022

In the press review you will discover recent jurisprudence in criminal procedure with clarifications on the scope of the professional secrecy between a lawyer and his client, on the notion of a prior simple complaint during an investigation, or on a recent application of the principle of incompatibility between the offences of origin and consequence in matters of concealment. You will also find some news in the field of criminal business law, with the admission of the guilt from Glencore in the United States, or with an article on the evolution of the traditional model of commercial companies with regard to environmental issues.

1.5 billion fine for Glencore for corruption and market manipulation

Glencore pleaded guilty to bribery charges and agreed to pay a $ 1.5 billion fine to the U.S Treasury after violating extraterritorial laws aimed at combating bribery of foreign public officials (FCPA). > Read article

Legality of search and seizure operations to seek evidence regarding antitrust practices

Attorney-client privilege applies only when the lawyer is defending his client. Consequently, the Court of Cassation notes that privilege only applies to exhibits which relate only to documents pertaining to the investigation and that the attorney-client privilege does not apply to exchanges between court appointed representatives as part of insolvency proceedings and a company in the context of an anti-trust investigation (Cass. crim., April 20, 2022, n° 20-87.248). > Read article

Criminal exposure related to the exploitation and use of digital legal databases containing court decisions

The lack of intellectual property rights allows free access to court decisions on digital databases such as “Legifrance”. Thus, no criminal offence can be found in the exploitation and use of a database containing court rulings, unless there is an infringement of a criminally protected interest. > Read article

Concrete analysis of the existence of a prior complaint

The Court of cassation considers that a simple prior compliant does not require any particular formalism, and that a letter addressed to the public prosecutor is sufficient to grant the right to file a civil party complaint (Cass. crim., April 21, 2022, n°21-82.877). > Read article

Restatement of the incompatibility between the original offence and unlawful possession of the property obtained as a result of the offense

In a case in point, the Court of cassation reaffirms that the perpetrator of the original offence cannot be guilty of concealment obtained as a result of the commission of the offense because it is a consequential offense (Cass. crim., April 13, 2022, n°19-84.831). > Read article

The proliferation of climate resolutions is accelerating the evolution of the traditional business model

The request of TotalEnergie’s shareholders to include climate change resolutions on the agenda of an annual shareholder meeting suggests that environmental awareness is gradually influencing the management of companies. > Read article