USA Law and Practice Contributed by: Eric Bruce and Justin Simeone, Freshfields US LLP
Freshfields US LLP 700 13th Street, NW 10th Floor Washington, DC 20005-3960 USA Tel: +1 202 777 4500 Email: Eric.Bruce@freshfields.com Web: www.freshfields.us
1. Legal Framework 1.1 International Conventions
The two most relevant sources of guidance are detailed below. In addition, new enforcement approaches may be announced on an ad hoc basis through memoranda, public statements by agency officials, or other publications. The Justice Manual This document sets out DOJ policy and prac - tice regarding how to charge and prosecute violations of most federal criminal statutes. The Justice Manual is a useful reference for under - standing the DOJ’s interpretation of the law and the factors it considers when making decisions regarding, for example, whether to file charges, what penalties to seek, and how to treat co- operating witnesses and defendants. The Justice Manual includes a section on the DOJ’s Principles of Federal Prosecution of Busi - ness Organizations, which lays out the agency’s approach to investigating and prosecuting corporations. The Principles feature important information about how prosecutors approach businesses that co-operate with federal inves - tigations. The FCPA Resource Guide A joint publication by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), this document provides
The United States has ratified the OECD Con - vention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and the UN Convention Against Corrup - tion. It has signed, but not ratified, the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption. 1.2 National Legislation The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is the main federal legislation relating to foreign brib - ery. A variety of domestic statutes (see 2. Brib- ery and Corruption Elements ) govern domestic bribery or other corruption involving state or fed - eral government officials and employees. Most of the relevant federal statutes are found in Title 18 of the United States Code. Each state has its own criminal laws prohibiting bribery or corrup - tion-related offences. Some local or municipal governments may have anti-corruption or ethics regulations. 1.3 Guidelines for the Interpretation and Enforcement of National Legislation The most important federal anti-corruption agencies actively issue and revise public guid - ance documents, which are important resources but are not legally binding.
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