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► Full Reference: M.-A. Frison-Roche, "Risk mapping and Competition: the place and future of Compliance Law", Newsletter MAFR Law, Compliance, Regulation, May 26, 2024

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📧Read by freely subscribing other news of the Newsletter MAFR - Law, Compliance, Regulation

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🧱Competition and compliance: challenge and future of risk mapping

Thank to the organizers of the conference held in French on competition and compliance, notably about the risk mapping, on 24 May 2024, at the Centre de droit européen - Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas, with the support of Larcier-Intersentia, for asking me to give the concluding lecture.

Thanks to the very high quality of the speakers, Fabrice Picod, Frederic Puel, Pierre de Gouville, Gaëlle Hardy, Alix Voglimacci, Marie-Pascale Heusse and Christophe Corlouer, I was able to draw some conclusions, in particular from the concrete experiences of the risk mapping methods chosen and experienced by firms.

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📧read the article published on 25 May 2024 on this topic in the Newsletter MAFR - Law, Compliance, Regulation ⤵️

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► Full Reference: M.-A. Frison-Roche, "Synthèse" ("Synthesis"), in Concurrence : les enjeux de la Compliance​, May 24, 2024, Paris, Collège européen de Paris, Paris Panthéon-Assas University, 28 rue Saint-Guillaume

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🧮see the full programme of this event (in French): 

🌐read the  la newsletter MAFR Law, Compliance, Regulation on 26 Mai 2024 about this colloquium and this synthesis (in English)

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► Summary of this concluding conference:The conference was based on the 'framework document' on conformity programmes published by the French Competition Authority, the Autorité de la concurrence, on 24 May 2022 and focused on one of the tools used, namely risk mapping. The care taken to bring together academics whose job it is to give an account of reality by classifying and naming it, which makes it easier to handle, and people who every day in enterprises find solutions to anticipate difficulties so that they can be resolved, or even prevented from arising, has borne fruit.

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From all the presentations and discussions, 4 perspectives emerge, each showing what has been achieved, what may still emerge in interaction with all the other mechanisms in Compliance Law that incorporate risk mapping (for instance ,the French 2016 so-called "Sapin 2" law, the French 2017 so-called "Vigilance" law, the CS3D European directive, etc.) and the other mechanisms that are correlated with risk mapping (audit, internal investigations, evidence likely to be raised before a judge by the enterprise and/or by a stakeholder and what remains uncertain in this 2022 framework document.

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The first perspective is the basis of these recommendations, encouragement, methods, advice, etc.

The second perspective is the means developed to establish and implement these compliance programmes.

The third perspective is the scope of this framework document, which also depends to a large extent on the scope of the compliance programmes adopted by the firms themselves.

The fourth perspective is that of the subjects of law who are obliged, or who benefit from the adoption of such  compliance programmes in Competition Law.

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During this conclusion, based solely on what each speaker had to say, I continued my reflections in each of these 4 directions.

This reminded me of some of my work made in English on this subject: 

• M.-A. Frison-Roche (ed.), 📘Compliance Tools, ,2022

• M.-A. Frison-Roche, 🚧 Support from Compliance Law for day-to-day management of Competition Law, 2021

• M.-A. Frison-Roche, 🚧 Competition Law and Compliance Law, 2018

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► Full reference:  M.-A. Frison-Roche, "Compliance et management : la médiation plutôt que la sanction ?" ("Compliance and management: mediation rather than punishment?"), interview conducted by Jean-Philippe Denis as part of a series of interviews on Compliance Law, in Fenêtres ouvertes sur la gestion (Open windows on management), broadcast by J.-Ph. Denis, Xerfi Canal, recorded December 12, 2023, released on May 22, 2024

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🌐consult the December 2023 presentation of the interview on LinkedIn

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🌐read the MAFR. Law, Compliance, Regulation of April 2024 based on this interview 

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🧱consult the general presentation of this series of interviews on Compliance Law

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🎥view the full interview on Xerfi Canal

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► Starting point: Since 2016, Marie-Anne Frison-Roche has been building Compliance Law, notably through a collection co-published in French with Editions Dalloz and co-published in English with Editions Bruylant: 

🧱lire la présentation de la collection en langue française, Régulations & Compliance ➡️click HERE 

🧱read the presentation of the series in English, Compliance & Regulation ➡️click HERE

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► Summary of interview:

Jean-Philippe Denis. Question: To put it bluntly, isn't Compliance Law expressed by the BNP Paribas fine?

Marie-Anne Frison-Roche.  Answer: It is still through this fine that Compliance is often perceived. How regrettable...

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Jean-Philippe Denis. Q.: At least, that's how the Politician realised there was a subject....

Marie-Anne Frison-Roche.  A. : This is true, and not just for politicians and firms since this case has had an impact on European public opinion. This matter has therefore become known for the violence of the sanctions, and the intervention of heads of State to reduce their consequences. But we're talking about sanctions. Meanwhile, others talk about compliance through soft law, soft co-regulation, charters and soft commitments, the contours of which are sometimes uncertain. Today, adjustments are made regarding the Monumental Goals of preserving the systems on which this Compliance Law is based, and tools are used on this basis, tools with which lawyers are very familiar: contracts. Through contracts, enterprises structure their compliance obligations.

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Jean-Philippe Denis. Q.: You point out that Compliance Law is becoming more civilised and that more people are resorting to mediation.

Marie-Anne Frison-Roche.  A.: Yes, Compliance Law is becoming more civilised, and civil law is becoming increasingly important, particularly through Contract Law, with stipulations being inserted to prevent human rights or environmental infringements. As Compliance Law operates on an ex-ante basis, the enterprise will organise dialogue with stakeholders, in particular when vigilance plans are drawn up, Vigilance mechanism being the spear head of Compliance Law. If the situation becomes litigious and the matter is referred to the courts, the civil courts, whose role is growing, will themselves organise mediation. Mediation, which is now part is an instrument for bringing the parties together and finding solutions.

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► Full Reference: M.-A. Frison-Roche, "Pourquoi approuver les "puissances privées"? Pour mieux servir les droits humains grâce au Droit de la Compliance (Why endorse “private powers”? To better serve human rights through Compliance Law)", Newsletter MAFR Law, Compliance, Regulation, May 6, 2024

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🧱Compliance, especially Vigilance, needs power: that's why large companies are subject to it

In the book edited by J.Andriantsimbazovina, 📗Puissances privées et droits de l'Homme. Essai d'analyse juridique (Private powers and human rights. A legal analysis), the perspective is quite often to oppose the public power of the State, legitimate and virtuous, and private powers, selfish and harmful.

Without discussing this cosmogony, the Law of Compliance is in any case based on the idea that this branch of Law aims to preserve systems of risk, by making them sustainable and habitable by human beings: for these Monumental Goals to be attainable, it is necessary to target subjects of Law who have the power required to develop the necessary efforts. These are the “private powers” on which we rely today, both de facto and de jure, particularly if we are concerned about distant others in space and time.

This is not to say that these private powers exclude public power, since on the one hand it is Politics and Public Authorities who set the content of Monumental Goals, and on the other hand these authorities who supervise companies. The latter, however, choose the most appropriate means of fulfilling this duty, and are accountable for this obligation of means.

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📧read the article published on 6 May 2024 on this topic in the Newsletter MAFR - Law, Compliance, Regulation ⤵️

🌐follow Marie-Anne Frison-Roche on LinkedIn

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► Full Reference: M.-A. Frison-Roche, "Ne pas confondre process de conformité et Droit de la Compliance: les conséquences pratiques (Don't confuse compliance processes with compliance law: practical consequences)", Newsletter MAFR Law, Compliance, Regulation, May 5, 2024

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📧Read by freely subscribing other news of the Newsletter MAFR - Law, Compliance, Regulation

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► News summary : Reducing Compliance to conformity processes can be fatal for companies.

Reading Norbert Alter's book on management in a two-pronged movement which, according to the author, has consisted on the one hand in draining companies of all process and control, and on the other hand in injecting learning about ethics, benevolence and concern for others, has been detrimental in that the first movement has systemically destroyed meaning, meaning which is then so difficult to inculcate.

This is very instructive if we look at it from a legal perspective: in effect, it corresponds to what is happening between Compliance Law and Compliance Processes.

In the latter case, we might even consider that it is “liability” in the legal sense that is at stake: the company would incur liability at the slightest failure of the non-compliance process, whereas Compliance Law, a branch teleologically built on the Monumental Goals that constitute its legal standards (preservation of systems, e.g. banking, financial, health, energy, digital, climate systems, etc.), implies only an obligation of means. Compliance law does not require companies to follow processes blindly and to the letter, but to demonstrate the effects that have already been achieved and that it is reasonably plausible that they will achieve in the future. In this respect, compliance is essentially a probationary obligation.

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📧read the article published on 5 May 2024 on this topic in the Newsletter MAFR - Law, Compliance, Regulation ⤵️

► Référence complète : S. Pottier, "La contribution des entreprises à l'Europe de la Compliance", entretien mené par M.-A. Frison-Roche à l'occasion d'une série d'entretiens sur le Droit de la Compliance, in Fenêtres ouvertes sur la gestion, émission de J.-Ph. Denis, Xerfi Canal, enregistré le 12 décembre 2023, diffusé le 27 avril 2024

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🌐consulter sur LinkedIn la présentation en décembre 2023 de l'entretien avec Stanislas Pottier

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🌐lire la Newsletter MAFR. Law, Compliance, Regulation de mars 2024 sur la base de l'entretien avec Stanislas Pottier

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🎥visionner l'interview complète sur Xerfi Canal

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► Point de départ : En 2022, Stanislas Pottier a écrit une contribution : 📝Pour une Compliance européenne, vecteur d'affirmation économique et politique, dans l'ouvrage 📕Les Buts Monumentaux la Compliance

🧱lire la présentation de cette contribution ➡️cliquer ICI

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► Résumé de l'entretien : 

Marie-Anne Frison-Roche. Question : Quelle  

Stanislas Pottier. Réponse. : L'

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MaFR. Q. : Ainsi

S.P. R. : Oui, 

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MaFR. Q. : Ainsi

S.P. R. : Oui, 

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► Référence complète : A. Rouyère, “Approche sectorielle de quelques visages de l’entreprise en droit administratif”, L’entreprise compliante : une délégation de la puissance publique ?", RFDA 2024, p. 29.  

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🦉Cet article est accessible en texte intégral pour les personnes inscrites aux enseignements de la professeure Marie-Anne Frison-Roche

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► Full reference: E. Silva-Romero, "Droit de la Compliance : Arbitrage International et géopolitique" ("Compliance Law: International Arbitration and Geopolitics"), interview conducted by M.-A. Frison-Roche as part of a series of interviews on Compliance Law, in Fenêtres ouvertes sur la gestion (Open windows on management), broadcast by J.-Ph. Denis, Xerfi Canal, recorded December 12, 2023, recorded April 27, 2024

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🌐consult the presentation of Eduardo Silva-Romero's interview on LinkedIn

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🎥view the full interview on Xerfi Canal

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► Starting point: In 2023, Eduardo Silva-Romero wrote a contribution:📝What place is there for compliance in investment arbitration?, in the book 📘Compliance Jurisdictionalisation

🧱read the presentation of this contribution ➡️click HERE

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► Summary of interview:

Marie-Anne Frison-Roche. Question: What is the place of Compliance in international investment arbitration and, first of all, what is its specificity?

Edouardo Silva-Romero. Answer: International investment arbitration is based on a treaty, generally signed between two States, which agree to protect the investments that companies make in the host State. The resulting disputes may give rise to this specific type of arbitration.

Compliance has a special place here, because if the investment is tainted by corruption or fails to respect human rights, it will not be protected by the arbitrators, as the host state is no longer bound.

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MaFR. Q.: So, through Compliance, states can assert their sovereignty?

E.S-R. A.: Yes, through the social dimension of Compliance, States can assert their social conception and impose it in investment arbitration.

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MaFR. Q.: Is the attractiveness of the Paris marketplace enhanced?

E.S-R. A.: The International Court of Arbitration is headquartered in Paris, and it's clear that this presence, combined with Compliance's humanistic approach to investment arbitration, is an essential element of attractiveness. Because of the technicalities involved, it is essential for international arbitrators to master compliance law in order to participate in this new element of attractiveness, as it takes the form of rules of public order, and this is also how the Paris Court of Appeal exercises its control over awards.

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► Full reference: M.-A. Frison-Roche, "L’usage des puissances privées par le droit de la compliance pour servir les droits de l’homme" (Use of private companies by Compliance Law to serve Human Rights) , in J. Andriantsimbazovina (dir.), Puissances privées et droits de l'Homme. Essai d'analyse juridique, Mare Martin,  coll. "Horizons européens", 2024, pp. 279-295

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🚧read the  Bilingual Working Paper on which this article is based, with more technical developments, references and hypertext links

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► English Summary of this article: Following the legal tradition, Law creates a link between power with a legitimate source, the State, public power being its prerogative, while private companies exercise their power only in the shadow of this public power exercised ex ante.  The triviality of Economic Law, of which Competition Law is at the heart, consisting of the activity of companies that use their power on markets, relegates the action of the State to the rank of an exception, admissible if the State, which claims to exercise this contrary power, justifies it.  The distribution of roles is thus reversed, in that the places are exchanged, but the model of opposition is shared. This model of opposition exhausts the forces of the organisations, which are relegated to being the exception. However, if we want to achieve great ambitions, for example to give concrete reality to human rights beyond the legal system within which the public authorities exercise their normative powers, we must rely on a new branch of Law, remarkable for its pragmatism and the scope of the ambitions, including humanist ambitions, that it embodies: Compliance Law.

Compliance Law is thus the branch of Law which makes the concern for others, concretised by human rights, borne by the entities in a position to satisfy it, that is to say the systemic entities, of which the large companies are the direct subjects of law (I). The result is a new division between Public Authorities, legitimate to formulate the Monumental Goal of protecting human beings, and private organisations, which adjust to this according to the type of human rights and the means put in place to preserve them. Corporations are sought after because they are powerful, in that they are in a position to make human rights a reality, in their indifference to territory, in the centralisation of Information, technologies and economic, human, and financial means. This alliance is essential to ensure that the system does not lead to a transfer of political choices from Public Authorities to private companies; this alliance leads to systemic efficiency. The result is a new definition of sovereignty as we see it taking shape in the digital space, which is not a particular sector since it is the world that has been digitalised, the climate issue justifying the same new distribution of roles (II). 

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📝read the article (in French)

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► Full reference: M.-A. Frison-Roche, Audition by the French National Assembly's Law Commission on the confidentiality of legal advice  (the "Legal Privilege à la française"), 8 April 2024.

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I had expressed my opinion on the need for French legal system to better ensure the confidentiality of legal opinions drawn up by internal lawyers in companies, in an article published in 2023 in the French academic journal Recueil Dalloz: "La compliance, socle de la confidentialité nécessaire des avis juridiques élaborés en entreprise (Compliance Law, the cornerstone of the necessary confidentiality of legal opinions drawn up by companies". Compliance, the cornerstone of the necessary confidentiality of legal opinions drawn up by companies). 

Following on from this article, and as a specialist in Regulatory and Compliance Law, I was invited by the French National Assembly's Law Commission to give my opinion on the proposed law n°2022 on the confidentiality of consultations by in-house lawyers ( Proposition de loi n°2022 relative à la confidentialité des consultations des juristes d'entreprises), often named in French Legal privilege à la française.

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► Summary of this presentation: I have shown that we must start not from the person (external lawyer / in-house lawyer, for instance) and not even centrally from the information in question (branch of Law by branch of Law), but from the Goals pursued, i.e. from Compliance Law.

In this respect, we must not be misled. We could do so by confusing mechanical "conformity" with this new branch of Law: Compliance Law. Conformity is merely a tool of Compliance Law. Out of concern for the correct use of the French language, as "Compliance" appears to many to be an American term, the proposed law uses the term "conformité" but refers to Compliance Law. Conformity" is merely the mechanical obligation to obey the applicable rules, which is the fate of any subject of law, subject to the mandatory rules, a passive position common to everyone in a State governed by the Rule of Law.

Compliance Law is quite different, with conformity being just one of its tools. On the one hand, Compliance Law imposes an active obligation, and on the other, it targets only certain legal subjects: companies.  For them, it is a matter of ensuring that certain goals set by the legislator are actually achieved, which becomes effectively and efficiently possible thanks to the power of companies (financial power, organizational power, management power, information power, location power, information power). These "Monumental Goals" are either negative (preventing systems from collapsing) or positive (ensuring that systems improve).

For companies to play this role - a role that is not required of other "ordinary" people, as they are not "in a position" to take on such a burden, particularly in terms of finance and organization - those in charge of organizing themselves and taking action, i.e. companies, must "detect and prevent" system failures (as required by laws such as US FCPA, French so-called Sapin 2 and Vigilance laws, European CSRD and CS3D, etc.). To "detect and prevent", which is an order from the Legislator, companies need to know the weaknesses of their organization and of the people they answer to, in order to remedy them: "remediation" is a "remedy" to ensure the "sustainability" of "systems".

This set of key concepts lies at the heart of Compliance Law, the branch of law That focuses on the future.

It is the legal opinions, for example, and in particular the report resulting from internal investigations, that enable those who decide and control this organization (the managers) to fulfill the role entrusted to them by the State. If these opinions are not confidential, the result is not the remediation and preservation of global systems (competitive, climatic, digital, energy, banking, financial systems, etc.): the effective managerial solution in Ex-Ante then consists not in seeking information but, conversely, in not seeking this information, since obtaining it will lead to the weakening of the company through the sanction that the information produces, for lack of confidentiality.

The interests of the system, the State and the company are disjointed, because Compliance Law implies their alliance, which is what the confidentiality of legal opinions produces.

This is why Compliance Law must, by its very nature, ensure the confidentiality of legal advice.

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When asked about the actual text of the proposal, I felt that the explanatory memorandum was particularly relevant, since the link between Compliance Law (admittedly called "conformité" in the proposed bill by a rather too mechanical respect for the French legal language, from which the French legislator has so far been unable to dispense....) is clear, that this confidentiality is attached to the document, that the company can waive it, and that it is clearly distinct from professional secrecy, all three of which should be approved.

For my part, I've suggested a change to the procedure, which must be open to the confidentiality process.

Indeed, public authorities, such as Competition and Regulatory Authorities, are rather hostile to this confidentiality.

Having contributed a great deal to the development of Regulatory Law, and continuing to do so, I believe that Competition and Regulatory Authorities have a logic that needs to be understood. It is as follows: Regulatory Authorities are Ex-Ante (this was less true for the Competition Authorities, but it too is increasingly so) and are in a situation of information asymmetry. Their first concern is to combat this asymmetry. If we translate this into legal terms, it means that in order to carry out their mission of general interest, they must seek out all available information. However, legal opinions, and in particular the internal investigation report, are what I have described as "evidence treasure". In their logic, the Competition and Regulatory Authorities want to seize it.

There is therefore a conflict between two general interest logics: the general interest of the Monumental Goals of Compliance Law actively served by companies, at the behest of the Legislation, which requires the confidentiality of legal opinions, and the general interest of the action of Regulators who fight against information asymmetry and seek to seize the evidential treasures of legal opinions.

For the reasons given above, I believe that the Monumental Goals of Compliance must prevail. All the more so as the rights of the defence converge to this end.

Ultimately, however, it is up to the Judge, in the event of open conflict, to balance these two claims, which are based on the service of the general interest. 

However, reading the proposition, it seems to me that the rather complicated procedure entrusts this to a multiplicity of judges... But since it is indeed Compliance Law which is the best basis for "legal privilege à la française", Compliance Law, which is the extension of Regulatory Law and whose advanced point is the Vigilance duty, it would be more appropriate and logical to entrust this litigation to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Paris Judicial Court. This court has already the exclusive competence for litigation about Vigilance.

This would have another fortunate effect: on appeal, the dispute would be brought before the Paris Court of Appeal, which has exclusive jurisdiction (barring exceptions) over disputes concerning decisions on French Competition and Regulatory Authorities. The judges of the "Pôle 5" (12 chambers specializing in economic law) of the very specific court are seasoned and would be well-suited to strike the necessary balance between the two general interests involved.

I think a procedural amendment to the proposed text along these lines would be welcome.

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► See in my work those that may be of interest with regard to this hearing (all with English summary, many with bilingual working paper) ⤵️

🕴️M.-A. Frison-Roche, 📝Le rôle du juge dans le déploiement du Droit de la Régulation par le Droit de la Compliance, in 📗Conseil d'État et Cour de cassation, De la Régulation à la Compliance : quel rôle pour le Juge ?, 2024.  

🕴️M.-A. Frison-Roche, 📝Compliance et conformité : les distinguer pour mieux les articuler, 2024.

🕴️M.-A. Frison-Roche (dir.),📕L'obligation de compliance, 2024.

🕴️M.-A. Frison-Roche et M. Boissavy (dir.), 📕Compliance et droits de la défense, 2024.

🕴️M.-A. Frison-Roche (dir.), 📕Compliance et droits de la défense, Les Buts Monumentaux de la compliance,  2022.

🕴️M.-A. Frison-Roche, 📝Contrat de compliance, clauses de compliance, 2022.

🕴️M.-A. Frison-Roche, 📝Le Droit de la compliance, 2016.

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► Full Reference: Conseil d'État (French Administrative Supreme Court) & Cour de cassation (French Judiciary Supreme Court), De la régulation à la compliance : quel rôle pour le juge ? Regards croisés du Conseil d'Etat et de la Cour de cassation, ("From Regulatory Law to Compliance Law: what role for the Judge?"), La Documentation française, coll. "Droits et Débats", 2024, 241 p.

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📗read the  coverback (in French)

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📗read the table of content (in French)

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► Summary of this book : "Compliance, sometimes translated in French by the word "conformité" ("conformity"), is an extension of Regulatory Law and represents from it a new and decisive step forward.

Compliance brings together all the mechanisms implemented within an organisation to achieve general interest goals (security, sustainability), thereby countering systemic risks. By relying on the rules, legal and ethical standards that embody these values, which are imposed on them and internalised by them, enterprises can both prevent the risk of sanctions and participate in this alliance between public authorities, economic operators and stakeholders to detect and prevent future systemic disasters. 

Organisé par le Conseil d’État et la Cour de cassation, le colloque du 2 juin 2023 analyse ce changement de paradigme créé par cette nouvelle branche du droit.". 

Organised by the Conseil d'État (French Administrative Supreme Court) and the Cour de cassation (French Judiciary Supreme Court), the conference on 2 June 2023, basis of this book, has analysed this paradigm shift created by this new branch of law: Compliance Law. 

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📝read the presentation in English of the concluding contribution of  Marie-Anne Frison-Roche : "Le rôle du juge dans le déploiement du droit de la régulation par le droit de la compliance"

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📝read the presentation in English of the contribution of François Ancel : "Quel rôle pour le juge aujourd’hui dans la compliance ? Quel office processuel du juge dans la compliance ?"

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► Référence complète : N Alter, Pour en finir avec le Machin. Les désarrois d'un consultant en management  EMS Editions, 2024, 245 p.

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📝lire l'article de Newsletter fait à partir de ce livre. 

► Référence complète : F. Ancel, "Quel rôle pour le juge aujourd’hui dans la compliance ? Quel office processuel du juge dans la compliance ?", in Conseil d'État et Cour de cassation, De la régulation à la compliance : quel rôle pour le juge ? Regards croisés du Conseil d'Etat et de la Cour de cassation - Colloque du 2 juin 2023, La Documentation française, coll. "Droits et Débats", 2024, pp. 101-119

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► Résumé de l'article : 

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► Full Reference: M.-A. Frison-Roche, "Le rôle du juge dans le déploiement du droit de la régulation par le droit de la compliance" ("Synthesis: The role of the Judge in the deployment of Regulatory Law through Compliance Law"), Synthesis in Conseil d'État (French Council of State) and Cour de cassation (French Court of cassation), De la régulation à la compliance : quel rôle pour le juge ? Regards croisés du Conseil d'Etat et de la Cour de cassation - Colloque du 2 juin 2023, La Documentation française, "Droits et Débats" Serie, 2024, pp. 173-182

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🎥this article follows the closing speech of the biannual symposium organised by the Council of State and the Court of cassation, which in 2023 was entitled De la régulation à la compliance : quel rôle pour le juge ? (From Regulation to Compliance, what role for the judge ?)

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🚧read the bilingual Working Paper which is the basis of this article, with additional developments, technical references and hyperlinks

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► Presentation of this concluding article: It is remarkable to note the unity of conception and practice between professionals who tend to work in administrative jurisdictions and professionals who tend to work in judicial jurisdictions: they all note, in similar terms, an essential movement: what Regulatory Law is, how it has been transformed into Compliance Law, and how in one and even more so in the other the Judge is at the centre of it.

Judges, as well as Regulators and European officials, explain this and use different examples to illustrate the far-reaching changes it brings to the Law and to the companies responsible for increasing the systemic effectiveness of the rules through the practice and dissemination of a Culture of Compliance.

The role of the judge participating in this Ex Ante transformation is renewed, whether he/she is a judge of Public Law or a judge of Private Law, in a greater unity of the legal system.

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► English Summary of this article: The tug-of-war between 'Compliance' and 'conformity', which is exhausting us, obscures what is essential, i.e. the great novelty of a branch of law that assumes a humanist vision expressing the ambition to shape the future so that it is not catastrophic (preventing systems from collapsing), or even better (protecting human beings in these systems).

The article begins by describing the emergence of Compliance Law, as an extension of Regulatory Law and going beyond it. This new branch of law takes account of our new world, brings its benefits and seeks to counter these systemic dangers so that human beings could be their beneficiaries and are not crushed by them. This branch of Ex Ante Law is therefore political, often supported by public Authorities, such as Regulatory Authorities, but today it goes beyond sectors, as shown by its cutting edge, the Obligation of Vigilance.

The "Monumental Goals" in which Compliance Law is normatively anchored imply a teleological interpretation, leading to an "empowerment" of the crucial operators, not only States but also companies, responsible for the effectiveness of the many new Compliance Tools.

The article goes on to show that Judges are increasingly central to Compliance Law. Lawsuits are designed to make companies more accountable. In this transformation, the role of the judge is also to remain the guardian of the Rule of Law, both in the protection of the rights of the defence and in the protection of secrets. Efficiency is not what defines Compliance, which should not be reduced to a pure and simple method of efficiency, which would lead to being an instrument of dictatorship. This is why the principle of Proportionality is essential in the judge's review of the requirements arising from this so powerful branch of Law. 

The courts are thus faced with a new type of dispute, of a systemic nature, in their own area, which must not be distorted: the Area of Justice.

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📝read article (in French)

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► Full Reference: M.-A. Frison-Roche, "L’émergence du Contentieux Systémique" ("Emergence of the Systemic Litigation"), in Importance et spécificité du Contentieux Systémique Émergent (Importance and specificity of the Emerging Systemic Litigation), in cycle of conferences-debates "Contentieux Systémique Émergent" ("Emerging Systemic Litigation"), organised on the initiative of the Cour d'appel de Paris (Paris Cour of Appeal), with the Cour de cassation (French Court of cassation), the Cour d'appel de Versailles (Versailles Court of Appeal), the École nationale de la magistrature - ENM (French National School for the Judiciary) and the École de formation des barreaux du ressort de la Cour d'appel de Paris - EFB (Paris Bar School), under the scientific direction of Marie-Anne Frison-Roche, March 29, 2024, 11h-12h30, Cour d'appel de Paris, salle Masse

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🧮see the full programme of this event

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🧮see the programme of the entire cycle Contentieux Systémique Émergent

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🌐consult on LinkedIn the report of this speech (in French)

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🌐consult on LinkedIn a general présentation of this event, which links to a presentation and a report of each speech (in French)

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🧱consult the scientific coordination sheet of this event, which gives an account of the various speeches made

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🔲see the slides used to support this intervention (in French)

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🚧read the bilingual Working Paper which is the basis of this speech

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► English Summary of the conference: We are seeing the emergence of what should be referred to as a category of its own: the "Systemic Litigation". This concept, proposed in 2021📎!footnote-3521, refers to the hypothesis in which a system is 'involved' in a particular 'case' submitted to the judge. The presence of a system should not be confused with a systemic analysis of a phenomenon. The term 'cause' must be understood in the procedural sense, as used in article 5 of the Code civil (French Civil Code). Specifically, the prohibition contained in article 5 of the French Civil Code does not apply because a system thus involved calls for factual responses and solutions and not necessarily general and abstract solutions: the solution of a systemic nature and scope, that the presence of a system in a cause calls for, may be a factual solution, even if it radiates out from the system as a whole. But precisely because the presence of a system in the case often gives rise to a question that is itself systemic, the judge, if he wishes to comply with article 4 of the French Civil Code, must respond not only a minima by not evading the question, for example of systemic risks, but also fully by providing systemic solutions, for example remedies to preserve in the future the solidity and durability of the systems involved in the case. 

These systems may be of different kinds: banking, financial, transport, health, energy, digital, algorithmic or climatic. Their presence in cases brought to the attention of judges, the variety and difficulties of which will be seen in later contributions, leads to basic questions relating to the emergence of Systemic Litigation: firstly, how can Systemic Litigation be defined? Secondly, what makes this category of litigation emerge? The answers to these two questions have essential practical consequences. 

The new solutions must be based on a classic distinction, used in particular in criminal and administrative proceedings, which are more objective, but also in civil proceedings, notably by Hébraud, namely the distinction between the "party to the dispute/litigation" and the "party to the proceedings". Depending on whether it is accepted that the system should be considered as a "party to the litigation", which would allow it, through an entity that is legitimate in expressing it, to allege claims and formulate demands against an adversary, or as a "party to the proceedings", a much broader category, which would allow the judge to hear the interests of the systems involved without individuals being able, on behalf of a system, to formulate claims against or for the benefit of a party to the litigation.

This makes it possible to innovate while preserving the measure of which the judge is the guardian.

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► Full Reference: Importance et spécificité du Contentieux Systémique Émergent (Importance and specificity of the Emerging Systemic Litigation), in cycle of conference-debates "Contentieux Systémique Émergent" ("Emerging Systemic Litigation"), organised on the initiative of the Cour d'appel de Paris (Paris Cour of Appeal), with the Cour de cassation (French Court of cassation), the Cour d'appel de Versailles (Versailles Court of Appeal), the École nationale de la magistrature - ENM (French National School for the Judiciary) and the École de formation des barreaux du ressort de la Cour d'appel de Paris - EFB (Paris Bar School), under the scientific direction of Marie-Anne Frison-Roche, March 29, 2024, 11h-12h30, Cour d'appel de Paris, Masse room

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► Presentation of the conference-debate: The "Systemic Litigation" is emerging. Through and beyond the dispute, a system is involved: the banking, financial, digital, health and climate systems. How can such litigation be recognised? How do you make room for a system in a court of law? What can be done when several systems are in conflict? Who represents these systems and their interests? How can the temporality of systems and litigation be reconciled? In practical terms, the magistrate has a new role. Whether they are prosecutors or judges, they deal with systemic litigation in criminal, civil, commercial and other areas.

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🎤see the detailed presentation of the first speech of 🕴️Marie-Anne Frison-Roche : L'émergence du Contentieux Systémique (The Emergence of Systemic Litigation)

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🧮Programme of this event: 

Inaugural Conference

IMPORTANCE ET SPÉCIFICITÉ DU CONTENTIEUX SYSTÉMIQUE ÉMERGENT

(IMPORTANCE AND SPECIFICITY OF THE EMERGING SYSTEMIC LITIGATION)

Cour d’appel de Paris (Paris Court of Appeal), Masse room

🕰️11h-11h20. 🎤L’émergence du contentieux systémique (The Emergence of the Systemic Litigation), by 🕴️Marie-Anne Frison-Roche, Professor of Regulatory and Compliance Law, Director if the Journal of Regulation & Compliance (JoRC)

🕰️11h20-11h40. 🎤L’office du magistrat du parquet dans le contentieux systémique (The role of the Public Prosecutor in Systemic Litigation), by 🕴️François Vaissette, Avocat général près la Cour d’appel de Paris (Advocate General at the Paris Court of Appeal)

🕰️11h40-12h30. Debate

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🔴Registrations and information requests can be sent to: inscriptionscse@gmail.com

🔴For the attorneys, registrations have to be sent to the following address: https://evenium.events/cycle-de-conferences-contentieux-systemique-emergent/ 

⚠️The conference-debates are held in person only, in the Cour d’appel de Paris (Paris Court of Appeal).

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🧮Read below a detailed presentation of this event⤵️

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► Référence complète : R.-O. Maistre, "La place du Droit de la compliance dans la régulation de l’espace numérique", entretien mené par M.-A. Frison-Roche à l'occasion d'une série d'entretiens sur le Droit de la Compliance, in Fenêtres ouvertes sur la gestion, émission de J.-Ph. Denis, Xerfi Canal, enregistré le 12 décembre 2023, diffusé le 16 mars 2024

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🌐consulter sur LinkedIn la présentation en décembre 2023 de l'entretien avec Roch-Olivier Maistre 

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🌐 lire la Newsletter Mafr Law-Compliance-Regulation de mars 2024 sur la base de l'entretien avec Roch-Olivier Maistre 

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🎥visionner l'interview complète sur Xerfi Canal

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► Point de départ : En 2022, Roch-Olivier Maistre écrit une contribution sur 📝Quels buts fondamentaux pour le régulateur dans un paysage audiovisuel et numérique en pleine mutation ?, dans 📕Les Buts Monumentaux de la Compliance.

🧱lire la présentation de cette contribution ➡️cliquerICI

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► Résumé de l'entretien : 

Marie-Anne Frison-Roche : Question : L’Arcom a un rôle central en matière de Compliance. Pourriez-vous nous présenter cette Autorité de régulation qu’est l’Arcom ?

Roch-Olivier Maistre : Réponse : le Président Roch-Olivier Maistre décrit le rôle de l'Arcom, autorité qui résulte du CSA et de l'Hadopi, le législateur décidant de créer un nouveau grand Régulateur en charge à la fois de l'audiovisuel et du numérique. Cette Autorité collégiale s'assure du bon fonctionnement de ce secteur et est engagée dans la régulation des nouveaux acteurs du numérique.

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MaFR : Q. : Comment Régulation et Compliance s’articulent-elles dans la mise en œuvre des missions de l’Arcom ? 

R.O.M. : R. : Il répond qu'il s'agit d'une approche complémentaire. Coercition, sanctions s'y articulent. Il s'agit de préserver la liberté d'expression et de communication. Pour cela, objectifs de valeur constitutionnelle, les opérateurs doivent agir pour que ces objectifs soient atteints. Pour cela, ils sont supervisés par l'Autorité qu'est l'Arcom, qui intervient qu'ils ne se conforment à ces obligations de compliance. Lorsqu'il ne s'agit pas de l'audiovisuel, où le contenu est encore possible car il s'agit d'un "monde fini", mais qu'il s'agit du monde numérique, où les contenus se répandent d'une façon virale, c'est aux opérateurs d'agir : la Régulation et la Compliance agissent donc d'une façon complémentaire.

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► Full Reference: M.-A. Frison-Roche, Births of a branch of Law: Compliance Law, Working Paper, November 2023.

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📕This Working Paper was drawn up as a contribution to the collective book given to Professor Louis Vogel (given on October 2024)

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► Summary of this Working Paper: The study looks at the various movements that have given birth to Compliance Law, with particular emphasis on Competition Law.

After a preliminary reflection on the construction of the legal system into branches of Law, their classification in relation to each other, the difficulty encountered in this respect by Economic Law, and the various movements that give birth to one of them, the diversity of which the branch subsequently keeps track of, the study is constructed in 4 parts.

To find out what gave rise to Compliance Law, the first part invites us to reject the narrow perspective of a definition that is content to define it by the fact of "being conform" with all the applicable regulations. This has the effect of increasing the efficacy of the regulations, but it does not produce a branch of Law, being just a set of tools like others.

The second part of the study aims to shed some light on what appears to be an "enigma", as it is often claimed that this is the result of a soft method, or of an American political decision, or of as many regulations as there are occasions to make. Instead, it appears that in the United States, in the aftermath of the 1929 crisis, it was a decision of establishing an authority and rules to prevent another atrocious collapse of the system, while in Europe in 1978, in memory of the use of files of personal and racial information, it was a question of establishing an authority and rules to prevent an atrocious attack on human rights. A common element that aims for the future ("never again") but not the same object of preventive rejection. This difference between the two births explains the uniqueness and diversity of the two Compliance Laws, the tensions that can exist between the two, and the impossibility of obtaining a global Law.

The third part analyses the way in which Competition Law has given rise to conformity: a secondary branch which is a guarantee of conformity with competition rules. Developed in particular through the soft law issued by the competition authorities, the result is a kind of soft obedience, a well-understood collaboration of the procedural type through which the firm educates, monitors and even sanctions, without leaving  the cercle of Competition Law, of which conformity is an appendix. The distance between a culture of conformity and the substantial Compliance Law can be measured here.

The fourth part aims to show that Competition Law and Compliance Law are two autonomous and articulated branches of Law. Since Compliance Law is a branch of Law built on Monumental Goals, in particular the sustainability of systems and the preservation of the human beings involved so that they are not crushed by them but benefit from them, the current challenge of European integration is to build the pillar of Compliance Law alongside the competitive pillar. Jurisdictions are in the process of doing this and of linking the two.

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🔓read the Working Paper below⤵️

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► Full Reference: M.-A. Frison-Roche, "Compliance et conformité : les distinguer pour les articuler" ("Compliance and conformity: distinguish them in order to articulate them"), D. 2024, chron., pp. 497-499

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📝read the article (in French)

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🚧read the bilingual Working Paper which is the basis of this article, with additional developments, technical references and hyperlinks

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► English Summary of the article: "Compliance" and "conformité" ("conformity") are sometimes presented as synonyms, with "conformité" simply being the translation of "compliance". On the contrary, they are two opposing concepts. "Conformity" refers to the obligation to obey all applicable regulations, regardless of their content. A godsend for the regulator... Compliance Law is quite different! Political and public authorities set systemic 'Monumental Goals' to ensure that systems do not collapse tomorrow, or even improve, and then entrust large companies with the task of activating the means to achieve these goals. Conformity then resumes its place in Compliance Law: being one of its tools.

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📚read the other articles published in this chronique of Compliance Law published in the Recueil Dalloz

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► Full Reference: M.-A. Frison-Roche, Compliance Obligation: build a compliance structure producing credible effects in the perspective of the Monumental Goals targeted by the Legislator, Working Paper, March 2024.

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📝 This Working Paper is the basis of the article "Compliance Obligation: build a compliance structure producing credible effects in the perspective of the Monumental Goals targeted by the Legislator", in📘 Compliance 'Obligation de Compliance,

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► Summary of this Working Paper: Rather than getting bogged down in definitional disputes, given that Compliance Law is itself a nascent branch of Law, the idea of this contribution is to take as a starting point the different legal regimes of so many different compliance obligations to which laws and regulations subject large companies: sometimes they have to apply them to the letter and sometimes they are only sanctioned in the event of fault or negligence. This brings us back to the distinction between obligations of result and obligations of means.

Although it would be risky to transpose the expression and regime of contractual obligations to legal obligations put by legislation, starting from this observation in the evidentiary system of compliance of a plurality of obligations of means and of result, depending on whether it is a question of this or that technical compliance obligation, we must first classify them. It would then appear that this plurality will not constitute a definitive obstacle to the constitution of a single definition of the Compliance Obligation. On the contrary, it makes it possible to clarify the situation, to trace the paths through what is so often described as a legal jumble, an unmanageable "mass of regulations".

Indeed, insofar as the company obliged under Compliance Law participates in the achievement of the Monumental Goals on which this is normatively based, a legal obligation which may be relayed by contract or even by ethics, it can only be an obligation of means, by virtue of this very teleological nature and the scale of the goals targeted, for example the happy outcome of the climate crisis which is beginning or the desired effective equality between human beings. This established principle leaves room for the fact that the behaviour required is marked out by processes put in place by structured tools, most often legally described, for example the establishment of a vigilance plan or regularly organised training courses (effectiveness), are obligations of result, while the positive effects produced by this plan or these training courses (effaciety) are obligations of means. This is even more the case when the Goal is to transform the system as a whole, i.e. to ensure that the system is solidly based, that there is a culture of equality, and that everyone respects everyone else, all of which come under the heading of efficiency.

The Compliance Obligation thus appears unified because, gradually, and whatever the various compliance obligations in question, their intensity or their sector, its structural process prerequisites are first and foremost structures to be established which the Law, through the Judge in particular, will require to be put in place but will not require anything more, whereas striving towards the achievement of the aforementioned Monumental Goals will be an obligation of means, which may seem lighter, but corresponds to an immeasurable ambition, commensurate with these Goals. In addition, because these structures (alert mechanisms, training, audits, contracts and clauses, etc.)  have real meaning if they are to produce effects and behaviours that lead to changes converging towards the Monumental Goals, it is the obligations of means that are most important and not the obligations of result. The judge must also take this into account.

Finally, the Compliance Obligation, which therefore consists of this interweaving of multiple compliance obligations of result and means of using the entreprise's position, ultimately Goals at system efficiency, in Europe at system civilisation, for which companies must show not so much that they have followed the processes correctly (result) but that this has produced effects that converge with the Goals sought by the legislator (effects produced according to a credible trajectory). This is how a crucial company, responsible Ex Ante, should organise itself and behave.

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🔓read the developments below⤵️

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► Full Reference: M.-A. Frison-Roche, Compliance et droits de la défense. Enquête interne - CJIP - CRPC : les lignes de force de l'ouvrage (Compliance and rights of the defence. Internal investigation – French Judicial Public Interest Agreement – French guilty plea procedure : the main themes of the book), Newsletter MAFR Law, Compliance, Regulation, March 5, 2024

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📧Read by freely subscribing other news of the Newsletter MAFR - Law, Compliance, Regulation

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► Full Reference: M. Boissavy, "Compliance et droits de la défense : toujours pour le respect des droits humains" ("Compliance and the rights of the defence: always in favour of respect for human rights"), in M.-A. Frison-Roche & M. Boissavy (eds.), Compliance et droits de la défense. Enquête interne – CJIP – CRPC, Journal of Regulation & Compliance (JoRC) and Dalloz, coll. "Régulations & Compliance", 2024, pp. 27-32.

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📕read a general presentation of the book, Compliance et droits de la défense. Enquête interne – CJIP – CRPC, in which this article is published

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► English Summary of the article (done by the Journal of Regulation & Compliance - JoRC): The author begins by describing Compliance, whereby the company's freedom is curtailed so that its power serves the goals set by the public authorities and prevents risks from occurring. These "Monumental Goals" are set by the public authorities either to prevent the occurrence of systemic risks, or to achieve beneficial objectives for society, human beings and the environment. In order to do this, companies will have to investigate themselves and denounce themselves, with this self-denunciation reducing the criminal penalties incurred as a result of infringements they have uncovered themselves. These surveillance tools facilitate the convention judiciaire d'intérêt public - CJIP (French Judicial Public Interest Agreement) mechanism. They work "for the better" if the aforementioned Monumental Goals are achieved. They work "for the worse", if this is at the cost of sacrificing the rights of the defence.

The second part of the paper recalls the importance of the rights of the defence, their roots in history, and even in Natural Law, their position at the very top of the hierarchy of norms and, according to the author, the integration of the adversarial principle within them, as well as the fact that they apply even outside trials, as has been imposed by case-law in matters of dismissal. 

This is why, thirdly, the paper argues that the rights of the defence must always be applied in all compliance mechanisms, even if this does not involve a trial or a sanction in the strict sense of the term, particularly in internal investigations, procedures without a trial which are above all evidentiary mechanisms for the next stage, which is usually judicial. In addition, the author questions the effectiveness of the consents expressed during the CJIP and comparution sur comparution sur reconnaissance préalable de culpabilité - CRPC (French French guilty plea procedure).

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🦉This article is available in full text to those registered for Professor Marie-Anne Frison-Roche's courses

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► Full Reference: B. Fiorini, "Approche doctrinale de l’enquête interne et de l’enquête pénale privée" ("Doctrinal approach to internal investigations and private criminal investigations"), in M.-A. Frison-Roche & M. Boissavy (eds.), Compliance et droits de la défense. Enquête interne – CJIP – CRPC, Journal of Regulation & Compliance (JoRC) and Dalloz, coll. "Régulations & Compliance", 2024, pp. 63-68

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📕read a general presentation of the book, Compliance et droits de la défense. Enquête interne – CJIP – CRPC, in which this article is published

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► English Summary of the article (done by the Journal of Regulation & Compliance - JoRC): The author sets out the two profoundly distinct, even opposing, cultures of inquisitorial and adversarial repressive procedural systems. The former gives confidence and power to public officials to find the truth, while the latter gives confidence and power to the opposing parties in the dispute. Private investigations naturally develop in the second system and not in the first.

This second system of thought is rooted in the United States, which naturally welcomes internal investigations carried out by companies and associates procedural principles such as the rights of the defence, adversarial proceedings and the right to a lawyer. The first system, characteristic of Continental Law systems, is resistant to the very idea of a private criminal investigation. This is why, when the internal investigation mechanism develops within a company, the procedural mechanisms mentioned above are less naturally associated with it.

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🦉This article is available in full text to those registered for Professor Marie-Anne Frison-Roche's courses

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► Référence complète : M.-A. Frison-Roche, "Le juge dans les contentieux de vigilance", participation à la "table ronde sur le devoir de vigilance", audition par la Commission d'enquête du Sénat sur les moyens mobilisés et mobilisables par l'État pour assurer la prise en compte et le respect par le groupe TotalEnergies des obligations climatiques et des orientations de la politique étrangère de la France, 26 février 2024, 16h-17h30

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 📺regarder la présentation préliminaire de Marie-Anne Frison-Roche relative à l'office du juge dans le devoir de vigilance

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📺regarder en différé l'ensemble de la table ronde

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📓lire le rapport de la commission d'enquête du Sénat

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⚖️ Cette audition a été menée en considération de règles spécifiques à ma situation dans la mesure où d'une part le Droit interdit sous peine de sanction pénale à la personne convoquée de refuser de se présenter et ou d'autre part j'ai immédiatement rappelé au secrétariat de la Commission d'Enquête qu'ayant été Amica Curiae dans le litige opposant les associations Les Amis de la Terre et  autres en demande et le groupe TotalEnergie en défense, l'objet du litige portant sur des manquements allégués d'obligations découlant de devoir de vigilance, le statut d'Amica Curiae a conduit pendant cette instance à ne pas connaître le dossier et à continuer de ne pas le connaître pendant une période raisonnable après l'audience du 26 octobre 2022 et le jugement du 28 février 2024 dans le cas dit "Total Ouganda", ce qui conduit nécessairement par application aux règles juridiques et de déontologie à ne pas répondre à certaines questions. 

Dans le respect de ces contraintes, il est répondu le mieux possible pour éclairer la Commission d'Enquête.

Cette audition est à mettre en corrélation avec l'audition qui s'est déroulée devant la Commission ... de l'Assemblée Nationale ....

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► Organisation de la Table Ronde : En accord avec le secrétariat de la Commission d'Enquête, et afin de rendre le plus fructueux possible le premier temps de cette table ronde ayant pour objet Le devoir de vigilance, dans la mesure où il apparaît que dans l'ensemble des auditions programmées, c'est sans doute là où se concentre le plus l'expertise juridique, les 4 intervenants se sont préalablement réunis pour éviter le double écueil soit de traiter deux fois la même chose soit de laisse une dimension du sujet non traité.

Ainsi la première intervenante traite de la façon dont les entreprises élaborent les plans de vigilance, le deuxième intervenant développe la façon dont elles intègrent leur devoir de vigilance dans leur déploiement international, notamment par des mécanismes contractuels, le troisième intervenant expose ce que, dans les contentieux, les demandeurs (qui sont souvent des ONG) allèguent, ce qui m'a conduit en dernier lieu à exposer ce qu'il en est de l'office du juge en la matière.

Il en résulte que mon intervention de 8 minutes aborde plus particulièrement de la question de l'office du juge dans la mise en application du devoir de vigilance.

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🔲consulter les slides servant de support à cette intervention

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► Présentation de l'intervention préliminaire : En premier lieu, j'ai souligné qu'en l'état du droit positif, le droit français repose sur le juge puisque la loi pose une Obligation de Vigilance, qui est à la fois une obligation générale et de moyens, l'entreprise devant montrer qu'elle fait ses "meilleurs efforts", cette obligation générale, qui n'est pas limitée à l'environnement, étant déclinée d'une façon particulière par l'entreprise en fonction de ses risques particuliers et de ses engagements propres, notamment contractuels, tandis que le juge applique ce système au cas par cas. 

La loi de 2017 a voulu confier ce pouvoir au juge et a voulu un système simple en donnant la seule compétence au seul Tribunal Judiciaire de Paris, ce qui permet d'obtenir une interprétation jurisprudentielle, aussi bien sur les questions procédurales et substantielles, immédiatement unifiée, le dialogue des juges devant être toujours favorisé, tandis que la spécialisation et la formation de ces juges étant un enjeu auquel les juridictions ont répondu concrètement, la Cour d'appel de Paris ayant mis en place une chambre spécialisée, tandis qu'une formation spécialisée sur ces "contentieux systémiques émergents" d'un type nouveau se met en place. Cette spécialisation rend moins impérieuse l'établissement d'une Autorité administrative de supervision.

Cette présence du juge ne doit pas être présentée ni perçue comme pathologique car le procès de vigilance est dans l'ordre des choses, les parties prenantes trouvant une voie d'expression : d'une part plus les entreprises développeront en amont le dialogue et moins il y aura de contentieux et d'autre part le procès lui-même, en continuum, doit favoriser ce dialogue, par le contradictoire et par la médiation.. C'est une part essentielle de l'office du juge qui doit aussi faire respecter le Droit et apporter des solutions à ces enjeux systémiques, la remédiation (plutôt que trancher et sanctionner) étant une voie de son office à développer.

Parce que les juridictions concernées ont su ajuster leur organisation interne et les juges adapter leur office, la généralité de la loi de 2017 permettant précisément cela, la question de l'adoption ou de la non-adoption de la directive CS3D n'étant de ce fait pas un enjeu dramatique parce que le juge est déjà au centre de la vigilance, il convient plutôt de laisser le temps que l'oeuvre de jurisprudence se fasse.

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► Full Reference: M.-A. Frison-Roche, Compliance and conformity: distinguishing them to articulate them, Working Paper, February 2024.

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📝 this working paper was drawn up to serve as a basis for the article published in French in the Chronique MAFR -  Compliance Law, published in the Recueil Dalloz.  

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► Summary of this Working Paper: The words "conformité" and "compliance" are sometimes used interchangeably, presenting "conformité" as the translation into good legal French vocabulary of "compliance", which would come from the American system. This is not true, however, because each of these terms refers to two distinct and even opposing concepts. 

"conformity"' would require companies to show that they are actively obeying all the 'regulations' applicable to them, regardless of their content. "Compliance Law" is a new substantial branch of Law that derives its normativity from the "Monumental Goals" targeted by the political and public authorities: these monumental goals are intended to ensure that systems do not collapse in the future (Negative Monumental Goals), or even improve (Positive Monumental Goals). The systems concerned are banking, finance, energy, health, transport, digital and climate systems. The scope of Compliance Law is therefore both much more limited and more ambitious.

Distinguishing between the two allows us to put conformity back where it belongs, as a tool of Compliance Law. As such, conformity justifies the collation and correlation of information, with the algorithmic system playing a major role in this. On the other hand, the human concern that underpins Compliance Law justifies making training and the actions of in-house lawyers, attorneys and judges, central to it. The evidentiary system of Compliance that is currently being developed is based on evidentiary techniques rooted on the one hand in the tool of conformity and on the other in the culture of Compliance, which can be articulated as soon as they are no longer confused.

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🔓read the working paper below⤵️