LEGAL ENTITIES, COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS AND PENALTIES IN PORTUGUESE LAW

Abstract

The purpose of this text is twofold: to highlight the substantive effects that compliance programs have in Portugal in terms of the penalties imposed on legal persons; to reflect on the true meaning of these effects (which are not always favorable) and their consequences on the procedural behavior of collective entities pending criminal proceedings, pressured in multiple ways to adopt and implement "reactive" compliance mechanisms. To this end, we will analyze in detail the corresponding amendments to the Portuguese Penal Code