rec_64

(64) Legal uncertainty as to whether current and former directors, managers and other members of staff of applicants for immunity are shielded from individual sanctions such as fines, disqualification or imprisonment, could prevent potential applicants from applying for leniency. In light of their contribution to the detection and investigation of secret cartels, those individuals should thus, in principle, be protected from sanctions in relation to their involvement in the secret cartel covered by the application imposed by public authorities in criminal, administrative and non-criminal judicial proceedings pursuant to national laws that predominantly pursue the same objectives to those pursued by Article 101 TFEU, such as national laws on bid-rigging, where the conditions set out in this Directive are fulfilled. One of these conditions is that the application for immunity should predate the time when those individuals were made aware by the competent national authorities of the proceedings that could lead to the imposition of sanctions. Such proceedings include the moment those individuals become suspected of violating such national laws. Member States are free to provide under national law for modalities as to how those individuals should cooperate with the relevant authorities to ensure the effective functioning of this protection. Protection from criminal sanctions includes cases in which the competent national authorities refrain from prosecution under certain conditions or subject to instructions as to the future behaviour of the individual.

← rec_63 · All articles · rec_65 →

Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.