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Crime Law Soc Change (2008) 49:349364
DOI 10.1007/s10611-008-9116-6
Kai-D. Bussmann & Sebastian Matschke
Published online: 8 May 2008 # Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2008
Abstract The spectacular business scandals in recent years have led both the legislative and business companies to rethink and redesign their strategies. This article analyzes the worldwide impact of reforms in economic crime legislation emanating from the USA. Empirical data are reported showing that the US regulations are generating a spillover effect spreading beyond its sphere of operation. It is particularly notable that international stock-exchange-listed companies are orienting themselves increasingly toward the legal standards of the USA.
Introduction
In the USA, criminal liability for economic crime has gained a reach that is unattained in other legal systems and is still being extended continuously. The empirical effects of these legal measures can be sought not only in terms of preventive impact but also in their legal dissemination worldwide. Both issues are an object of research at the Economy and Crime Research Center located at the Martin-Luther University of HalleWittenberg.1 This article focuses on how far these US regulations possess an impact that goes beyond the US economy and influences the prevention practice of companies throughout the world. Hence, the main premise is that, emanating from the USA, an international standard is gradually becoming established in the field of internal company measures of control and prevention. This would not be the first time that the US legislative has served as a vanguard for other
1On the impact of whistleblower systems, see [9]; on prevention through company ethics, [10]. Translated from the German by Jonathan Harrow, Bielefeld.
K.-D. Bussmann (*) : S. Matschke
Faculty of Law and Economics, Martin-Luther-University HalleWittenberg, Halle, Germany e-mail: [email protected]
S. Matschkee-mail: [email protected]
The impact of the US legislation on company measures of control and prevention
350 K.-D. Bussmann, S. Matschke
jurisdictions in the field of business law and economic crime law: The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 served as the forerunner for much legislation outside the USA.
A comparison of company criminal liability across legal systems
The origins of criminal liability
Differences in the criminal liability of companies are particularly marked between Germany and the USA. Unlike most other countries in the world, criminal law in...