We present the latest news and current events in the sector
Molins Criminal Defense regularly publishes articles of interest and news, events and latest news related to our field of activity: Criminal Law, Compliance and crime prevention.
Lawfulness of the register of lockers or personal belongings of an employee
Article 18 of the Workers’ Statute. Commentary on judgment (Social chamber), Secc. 1.ª, n.º 874/2024, of 5 June. This publication comments the judgment (social chamber), Secc. 1.ª, n.º 874/2024, of 5 June, which analyses the validity or nullity of the… Read more
Compliance Newsletter 2024
Compliance is dynamism and constant evolution. To this end, it is essential to keep abreast of changes and improvements in this area, especially those that are most critical for each organisation. The Compliance Department of Molins Criminal Defence presents the… Read more
The role of workers’ representatives in drawing up policies on the use of digital devices (IT policies)
Comments on STS (Sala de lo social), Secc. 1.ª, n. º 225/2024, of 6 February. In its recent ruling no. 225/2024 of 6 February, the First Section of the Fourth Chamber of the Supreme Court upheld the nullity of the… Read more
Can personal data contained in communications received through the Internal Information System (IIS) be processed for purposes other than those provided for in Law 2/2023?
The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) analyses this issue in its Opinion 77/2023, following a consultation in which the possibility of using the information received through the Internal Information System (SII) for other purposes was raised, after verifying that it… Read more
Progress in the Implementation of the Independent Whistleblower Protection Authority
Tras un (1) año de expectativa desde la promulgación de la Ley 2/2023, de 20 de febrero, reguladora de la protección de personas que informen sobre infracciones y de lucha contra la corrupción (en adelante, Ley 2/2023), finalmente se ha… Read more
Three notes on the criminal liability of legal persons: Judgment no. 298/2024 of 8 April 2024
The very recent Judgment cited above, with a paper by the always suggestive Mr. Antonio del Moral, addresses three important aspects of the criminal liability of legal persons: i) the burden of proof regarding the effectiveness of Compliance models ii)… Read more
Spain continues its fight against corruption: A detailed analysis of judicial progress in 2023
The year 2023 stands out as a crucial period in Spain’s ongoing battle against corruption. The country’s courts have displayed a commendable activity in investigating and prosecuting cases linked to illegal practices in the public and political spheres. In this… Read more
Juan Segarra has been appointed Director of the Molins Defensa Penal Litigation Department in Barcelona’s office
We are pleased to announce that, after almost twenty years of constant dedication to our firm, with a career and professional experience forged in his discreet but excellent and successful work in many of the most important cases of our… Read more
Summary 2023. INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS.
Molins’ Internal Investigations team presents a summary of year’s 2023 normative and case-law milestones on Internal Investigations. Download PDF
More than 80% of Catalan companies fail to comply with Law 2/2023
Last Wednesday, the 13th of March, marked one (1) year since the Anti-Fraud Office of Catalonia (hereinafter referred to as the Anti-Fraud Office or OAC, for its acronym in Catalan) assumed the responsibilities for the protection of whistleblowers in accordance… Read more
The challenge of corporate sustainability reporting for organizations in relation to the new report “Supporting ESG reporting standards”
In January 2024, the Spanish Association for Standardization (hereinafter, UNE) issued a report entitled “Supporting ESG reporting standards“, with the aim of encouraging the application of specific standards by Spanish organizations in their sustainability reporting. The purpose of this note is to provide a comprehensive approach… Read more
Is there a succession of administrative liability in M&A? Brief commentary on Judgement 179/2023 of 11 December 2023 of the Second Chamber of the Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court (hereinafter, CC) has dismissed the appeal filed by Banco Santander against the resolutions of the Council of Ministers which, in 2019, imposed a sanction of €1,056,000 on it as the successor to Banco Popular. The sanction arose… Read more
Regarding the delicate balance between Equality and Compliance policies in relation to Protocols against Mobbing and Sexual Harassment
Mobbing and Sexual Harassment offences, as defined in articles 173.1 and 184 of the Spanish Criminal Code, respectively, are cross-cutting risks that can be observed in any environment where people interact and, therefore, in any company, foundation, association, among others, regardless of their activity. The purpose… Read more
The agreement details of the worldwide artist Shakira
Shakira’s defense reached an agreement with the accusations on November 20, 2023, putting an end to the criminal procedure followed against the artist for the tax crimes for Individual Income Tax and Net Worth Tax (years 2012, 2013 and 2014)…. Read more
The new Foreign Extortion Prevention Act
El pasado mes de diciembre se aprobó por parte del Congreso de los Estados Unidos la nueva “Foreign Extortion Prevention Act” (Ley de Prevención de Conductas de Extorsión en el Extranjero; en adelante, FEPA). Complementando a la “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act” (Ley de Prácticas de Corrupción… Read more
The deadline for adapting the use of cookies has expired
The deadline for implementing the necessary changes for the use of cookies, according to the criteria set out in the Guide on the Use of Cookies, has expired, after a transitional period of six months. On 11 July 2023, the Spanish Data… Read more
Current developments in Compliance: the publication of the UNE 19603 on Compliance Management Systems regarding free competition
Recently, the Spanish Association for Standardisation (UNE) has published the standard UNE 19603, Compliance Management Systems in matters of free competition (hereinafter, UNE 19603). This standard provides the necessary guidelines to establish, develop, implement, evaluate, maintain and continuously improve a Compliance Management System in this… Read more
ComplianceKeys – Monográfico/Monogràfic/Monograph
Desde el Departamento de Compliance de Molins Defensa Penal se ha preparado el presente monográfico de todos los ComplianceKeys publicados en nuestro web y en las redes sociales hasta la fecha. Como se puede comprobar, este serie de ComplianceKeys trata cuestiones básicas y de interés en… Read more
Corporate control of WhatsApp conversations and secrecy of communications
Comment to the Judgment of the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid no. 405/2023, of 8 June, rapporteur Maria del Carmen Prieto Fernández. Subject matter: corporate control of WhatsApp conversations held by an employee on a corporate mobile phone. Scope… Read more
The shared function of Legal & Compliance in Spain and the United States. Is it possible to unify in the same person or department?
Despite the long history of criminal liability of legal entities, both in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in Spain, and the development of different self-regulatory norms and standards regarding ethical and regulatory Compliance, it does not exist today an… Read more
Limits to police video-surveillance as a valid source of evidence. Commentary on STC no. 92/2023.
On 11 September 2023, the Constitutional Court handed down Ruling no. 92/2023. In this decision, the Court ruled on a request for defence which, according to the Court, is of particular constitutional importance in relation to the fundamental right to… Read more
Compliance and data protection: integration and governance
Properly managing the protection of personal data within an organization is of vital importance today. We are constantly witnessing administrative sanctions and reputational judgments to which those organizations that do not comply with the regulations in this area and/or have… Read more
The new ISO 37008: guide for internal investigations
Last July, ISO 37008 was published, consisting of a guide for conducting internal investigations in any kind of organization. The standard comes after the transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/1937, on the protection of whistleblowers, in most of the countries of… Read more
New public call for the awarding of subsidies for the financing of Compliance programs
On September 18, 2023, was published in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Resolution of September 14, 2023, under which the Catalan Competition Authority opens a public call for subsidies to finance Compliance programs aimed to prevent antitrust irregularities. The subsidies contemplated in this call are… Read more
Recent Supreme Court case law on Compliance – Compliance Keys #24
#Compliancekeys24 After more than (10) ten years since the introduction of the criminal liability of legal entities in the Spanish Criminal Code, the Supreme Court has had the opportunity to rule on issues affecting Compliance on numerous and diverse occasions. Thus, this ComplianceKeys24 will provide a list of the most… Read more
Corporate criminal liability and Compliance in the wake of the Women’s World Cup final case
Following the events that took place in the final of the Women’s World Cup in Australia, a profound debate has been opened on the possible criminal transcendence of acts such as kissing another person without consent. In this regard, the following… Read more
Criminal Compliance, what is it? Compliance Keys #23
The term Compliance can be defined as regulatory compliance, or compliance with that which must be complied with. The scope of the regulatory compliance that a given entity must ensure can be very broad, as well as the totality of… Read more
What is the ethical channel?
Ethical channels have acquired great relevance since the recent and novel publication of Law 2/2023, of February 20, regulating the protection of persons who report regulatory infringements and the fight against corruption (hereinafter Law 2/2023). Although Law 2/2023 has encouraged… Read more
Training and awareness in Compliance
In the last #ComplianceKeys we made a brief comment on one of the most important elements that make up a Compliance System: the Code of Ethics or Code of Conduct (ComplianceKeys20). In this #ComplianceKeys21, we follow the same line as… Read more
Is the Code of Ethics a key element of the compliance management system?
The Code of Ethics could be defined as the normative constitution of an organisation, that is, the fundamental regulation from which all others are derived. It will also be the soul of the organisation, a document that sets out the… Read more
The confession of the prosecutor in Lola Flores’ trial for defrauding the Treasury: “She was chosen as an example, for sure”
Thirty years after Lola Flores’ trial for defrauding the Treasury, La Sexta TV show analyzes the case with our managing partner in Madrid, Luis Jordana de Pozas Gonzálbez, who was the prosecutor who investigated it. You can see the full… Read more
Compliance body, internal or external?
In the last #ComplianceKeys we have offered a brief analysis of some of the main characteristics of a prominent figure of any Compliance System: the Compliance body. Thus, previous publications have dealt with issues such as its configuration as a… Read more
The functions and responsibilities of the Compliance Officer
In the last #ComplianceKeys (ComplianceKeys17) a brief introduction was made to one of the basic characteristics of Compliance bodies: their possible configuration as single-person bodies (for example, through the figure of the Compliance Officer) or as collegiate bodies (for example,… Read more
Compliance body: single-person or collegiate?
Having analyzed in the previous #ComplianceKeys the state of criminal liability of legal entities at the international level, the following publications will again take a national approach and analyze some issues related to the main elements that make up Compliance… Read more
The report and the criminal risk map
#ComplianceKeys16 Any Compliance Programme or System is made up of a set of elements that are usually always present regardless of the purpose or scope of the Programme or System in question. We are talking, for example, about elements such… Read more
Criminal liability of legal persons in the United States and Canada
#ComplianceKeys15 We close the #ComplianceKeys series on the state of regulation of the criminal liability of legal persons in different countries with an analysis of Canada and the United States. Before assessing the current state of this issue, it is… Read more
Criminal liability of legal persons in Africa
#Compliancekeys14 In this week’s #ComplianceKeys14, the second to last article on this subject, we will briefly analyse the regulation of the criminal liability of legal persons and the status of Compliance Systems as a mechanism for exemption from said criminal… Read more
Brief summary of the ECHR (Grand Chamber) Judgement on the case of Halet v. Luxembourg, on February 14th, 2023
Just a week before the publication in Spain of Act 2/2023 of February 20th, 2023, regulating the protection of persons who report regulatory infringements and of fight against corruption, transposing Directive 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and Council of 23rd… Read more
New law requiring companies to have an Ethical Channel
Today, the Official State Gazette (BOE) published the new Law regulating the protection of people who report regulatory infringements and the fight against corruption, the approval of which means the incorporation, at last, of the Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the… Read more
Criminal Liability of legal entities in Central and South America
#Compliancekeys13 In the last decade, the criminal liability of legal persons has been incorporated into the Criminal Codes of the different Ibero-American countries. Proof of this is that more than half of the countries already have a specific provision in… Read more