According to Sapin II, CJIPs must contain a statement of facts, as long as companies must recognize the facts and their legal importance, depending on the crown where the ECJ is registered. When a company is proposed at the preliminary stage of the investigation (i.e. before the opening of the prosecutor`s office), the company is not required to recognize the facts or their legal value. On the other hand, a company that is offered an ECJ after a formal investigation by an investigating judge must recognize the presentation of the facts and its legal importance. As noted in Sapin II, CJIPs act as a transaction agreement between the prosecutor and a company, which has the effect of deferring and terminating criminal proceedings, depending on the compliance with certain conditions set out in them. Since the adoption of Sapin II, the main French investigative and law enforcement agencies have concluded eleven agreements of the Law of Public Interest („CJIPs“), which constitute the French equivalent of a deferred prosecution… More 1 The agreement was executed on 30 October 2017 and announced by press release on 14 November 2017. The French bank Societe Generale has been doubly persecuted by the PRF and the US Department of Justice (DoJ) for active corruption of foreign officials. This is the only closed case to date in which a company has entered into a CJIP with the PRF and a Dpa with the DoJ for the same facts. The two authorities shared their evidence and agreed to reach a coordinated agreement on their respective investigations.

The authorities also agreed to share half of the penalties paid by Societe Generale. Second, Sapin II has taken various steps to make prosecutions more effective in this area. Sapin II greatly expands French jurisdiction in international corruption cases. Before Sapin II, French prosecutors could only prosecute offences committed abroad if the victim or perpetrator was a French citizen or company under restrictive conditions. Sapin II now authorizes the prosecution of persons or entities who regularly reside or carry out their economic activity on French territory, in whole or in part, for acts of corruption committed by foreign officials without any conditions. The French courts also have jurisdiction over a person guilty, on French territory, of international public corruption committed abroad. Companies have 10 days to reject the CjIP validation decision. [8] A criminal investigation and trial will follow if the judge rejects the ECJ or if the company uses its legal right to reject the agreement.