On December 2, 2019, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a Section 301 Investigation Report on France’s Digital Services Tax (DST), concluding that France’s DST discriminates against U.S. companies, is inconsistent with prevailing principles of tax policy, and is unusually burdensome for affected U.S. companies. In response, the USTR proposed up to … Continue Reading
The ACPR and AMF, French financial regulators, focused on anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism, internal control procedures, conflicts of interest and market abuse infringements in 2016. While the focus may have shifted, financial sanctions made up 90% of the penalties in 2016. In fact, financial regulators’ powers of sanction have drastically broadened over the last decade … Continue Reading
French parliamentarians are considering landmark anti-corruption laws that would be a considerable breakthrough for those in the fight against corruption. The French Constitutional Council must vote on the legislation within one month, and even if it is ruled invalid there are steps to be taken to keep the legislation alive. Some of the changes include … Continue Reading
After being called upon by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to strengthen its anti-corruption efforts, France recently examined draft legislation which would do exactly that. While discussions before the French Parliament are not expected to begin for a few months, the implications of this legislation are expansive, and represent a revolution in French anti-corruption … Continue Reading
A significant difference between the French and U.S. and UK legal systems is in the understanding of legal privilege: it does not exist for in-house counsel in France. The French approach is in line with the 2010 Akzo decision, in which the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the requirement … Continue Reading
In probably one the longest-awaited decrees in recent French regulation, the French Ministry of Health published on 22 May 2013, the application decree to the French Sunshine Act (dated 29 December 2011) implementing the specific ways and means that health care companies must disclose agreements with health care practitioners (“HCPs”), a term that includes medical … Continue Reading
On 19 December 2012, the French Supreme Court (‘Cour de cassation’) ruled over a case that should remind any international organization that the worldwide adoption of compliance guidelines and of a Code of Conduct is not in itself a sufficient protection against compliance breaches: everything depends on how these tools are implemented locally. The … Continue Reading
A new rule, adopted on 29 December 2011 and published on 30 December 2011 after an unusually expedited procedure due to strong government pressure, will heavily modify the regulatory framework in which healthcare companies, but also to some extent cosmetics companies, operate in France. Besides replacing (next August, but the law has immediately been enforced) … Continue Reading
