SPAIN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Gabriel Rodriguez-Ramos, RODRIGUEZ RAMOS ABOGADOS
higher ranks of the judiciary; ie, presidents of Provincial Courts, High Courts of Justice, the National Court and Supreme Court judges, in order to ensure that these appointments do not cast any doubt on the independence, impartiality and transparency of this process. On 4 September 2024, a new president of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), Ms María Isabel Perelló Doménech, was elected after nearly six years without a consensus can - didate. The institutional crisis meant that since 2021 the CGPJ could not make discretionary appointments in the most important judicial vacant appointments, becoming an extreme situation in certain courts. It appears that the consensus candidate is successfully facilitat - ing the operation of the General Council of the Judiciary, with the pending appointments from the past three years expected to be approved in 2025, also with consensus candidates. The Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court has important pending judgments that could be solved during the next year affecting corruption policies, for example: • the interpretation of the different figures of the misappropriation after the modification of their definition in 2023, introduced by the Organic Law14/2022 (published 23 December 2023, and entered into force on 12 January 2023); • the extent of the permitted facilitation and commercial payments involving foreign offi - cials in economic transactions (Articles 445 CC – 286 ter CC); • the corporate criminal liability of compa - nies. The Supreme Court has progressively provided greater detail on the elements of criminal liability of legal entities (last example Sentence 298/2024, 8 April 2024 articulates
significant considerations regarding the bur - den of proof of the existence and content of internal control components) and will con - tinue shaping them; and • the possible use of information and evidence from internal investigations when not respect - ing the guaranties recognised by the Law 2/2023 to the person affected by the investi - gation. Private Sector The number of existing companies in Spain on 1 January 2022, according to the Central Business Directory, was 3,430,663, of which: • only 0.1% are large companies, that is, com - panies with more than 250 employees; • 99.9% is made up of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), of which: (a) 43,2% have employees and nearly 96% of those have fewer than ten; and (b) 56% have no employees. Large companies, especially those that have gone public, typically have robust and well- established frameworks for addressing bribery and corruption as compliance risks. These are effectively managed through internal control systems and professional external assessments. In 2025, these companies must remain vigilant and focus on the following. • Their corporate criminal compliance sys - tems, to update them to the evolution of the decisions of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, that continuously increases the content of the internal control measures required. • Their whistle-blower channels, which are mandatory for all companies with 50 or more employees (Article 10.1 Law 2/2023, of February 20, regulating the protection of
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