French Code of Criminal Procedure
In forceAs long as the public prosecution has not been initiated, the public prosecutor may propose to a legal person charged with one or more offences under the code de l'environnement as well as for related offences, excluding crimes and offences against persons provided for in Book II of the Penal Code, to enter into a judicial public interest agreement imposing one or more of the following obligations:
1° Pay a public interest fine to the Treasury. The amount of this fine is set in a proportionate manner, where appropriate in relation to the benefits derived from the breaches observed, up to a limit of 30% of the average annual turnover calculated on the basis of the last three annual turnover figures known at the date on which the breaches were observed. It may be paid in instalments, according to a schedule set by the public prosecutor, over a period of no more than one year, as specified in the agreement;
2° Regularise its situation with regard to the law or regulations as part of a compliance programme lasting a maximum of three years, under the supervision of the relevant departments of the Ministry of the Environment and the departments of the French Biodiversity Office;
3° Ensure, within a maximum of three years and under the supervision of the same departments, that the ecological damage resulting from the offences committed is made good.
The costs incurred by the competent departments of the ministry responsible for the environment or the departments of the French Biodiversity Office in calling in experts or qualified persons or authorities to assist them in carrying out the technical expertise required for their control mission are borne by the accused legal entity, up to a ceiling set by the agreement. These costs cannot be reimbursed if performance of the agreement is interrupted.
Where the victim has been identified, unless the accused legal entity can prove that it has made good its loss, the agreement will also stipulate the amount and terms of compensation for the damage caused by the offence within a period that may not exceed one year.
The applicable procedure is that set out in article 41-1-2 and the texts adopted for its application. The validation order, the amount of the public interest fine and the agreement are published on the websites of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Environment and the municipality on whose territory the offence was committed or, failing that, the public establishment for inter-municipal cooperation to which the municipality belongs.
