Martin Partington: Spotlight on the Justice System

I have already noted that the Director of Public Prosecutions was consulting on the possible use of Deferred prosecution Agreements – designed in particular to assist in the investigation of serious fraud. In February 2014, the DPP published the Code of Practice that relates to DPAs.

DPAs involve companies reaching an agreement with a prosecutor, where the company is charged with a criminal offence but proceedings are automatically suspended. The company agrees to a number of conditions, which may include payment of a financial penalty, payment of compensation and implementation of a corporate compliance programme. DPAs may be used for fraud, bribery and economic crime.

The text of the Code is at http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/directors_guidance/index.html