Key Benefits:
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PROPOSED LAW NO. 159 /X
Exhibition of Motives
The approval of a new regime of corruption in international trade and the sector
private became necessary for two reasons: in the first place, due to the alteration of the
Penal code that included a general regime of people's criminal responsibility
collective; second, to give full compliance to the constant guidelines
of the Convention on the Fight against Corruption of Foreign Public Agents in the
International transactions, approved in Paris, on December 17, 1997, under the aegis
of the OECD, of the Criminal Convention on Corruption, of the Council of Europe, of 30 of
April 1999, of Council Framework Decision 2003 /568/JAI of July 22, 2003,
and of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, signed in December
2003.
In the matter of liability of legal persons, the application of the
scheme provided for in the Criminal Code. Legal persons go on to be held accountable
when the crime is committed in your name and interest, per person who occupiers an
leadership position or that act under your authority, not excluding yourself
liability of natural persons in the general terms. As it determines in the
Penal code, are comprised for legal persons the main penalties of fine and
dissolution, the substitutive admostation feathers, collateral of good conduct and surveillance
judicial and the ancillary sentences of judicial injunction, interdiction of the exercise of
activity, prohibition of entering into certain contracts or contracts with certain
entities, deprivation of the right to subsidies, subsidies or incentives, closure of
establishment and publicity of the sentencing decision.
To give full compliance to the Convention on the Fight against Corruption of
Foreign Public Servants in International Transactions spelt out the concept of
holder of foreign political office, who goes on to cover the person who, at the service of
a foreign country, exercises a job in the framework of the legislative, judicial function or
executive, at the national, regional or local level, for which it has been appointed or elected.
In the plan of the political-crime options, a widespread aggravation is not carried out
of feathers, raising only the maximum limit of the sentence that is up to passive corruption in the
private sector (in cases where the act or omission to which corruption refers to is
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idotous to cause a distortion of competition or a patrimonial injury to
third party)-from three to five years in prison and from 360 to 600 days of fine-, to the
distinguish from active corruption, in a manner congruent with the provisions of the Code
Penal. It is not to be ignored that sometimes active corruption is more serious than corruption.
passive, not least when it is the agent of the first crime to have the initiative to formulate the
promise or to give an advantage. However, it is in the framework of the concrete penalty that such
weighting there is to be done, taking into account the partial coincidence of the penalties that
corresponds to both crimes.
Still in the field of punishment it is enshrined a rule of subsidiarity, determining-
if they apply the most severe penalties whenever there is an apparent contest between
these crimes and other more serious crimes. This may succeed, inter alia, as to the
crimes of corruption provided for in the Criminal Code.
In the technical plan, an ensemble of definitions-foreign official, holder, is
of foreign political office, private sector worker, private sector entity
-intended to facilitate the good application of this Law by the interpreter.
The Higher Council of the Magistrature was heard, the Higher Council of the
Prosecutor's Office, the Order of Lawyers and the Consultative Council of the Prosecutor's Office-
General of the Republic.
The representations aimed at the hearing of the Sindical Association of Judges ' Association were promoted
Portuguese and the Syndicate of the Magistrates of the Public Prosecutor's Office.
Thus:
Under the terms of the paragraph d) of Article 197 (1) of the Constitution, the Government presents to the
Assembly of the Republic the following proposal for a law:
Chapter I
General provisions
Article 1.
Subject
This Act establishes the regime of criminal liability for crimes of corruption
committed in international trade and private activity.
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Article 2.
Definitions
For the purposes of this Law, it shall be deemed to be:
a) Foreign employee: the person who, at the service of a foreign country, as
employee, agent or to any other title, even if provisional or
temporarily, upon remuneration or free of charge, voluntary or
mandatorily, have been called upon to perform or participate in the
performance of an activity understood in the administrative public function
or jurisdictional or, in the same circumstances, perform functions in
utility bodies or in them to participate in or which exercises functions of
manager, holder of the supervisory bodies or public company worker,
nationalised, public capitals or with a majority share of capital
public and still a company dealership of public services;
b) International organization employee: the person who, at the service of a
international organization of public law, as an employee, agent, or the
any other title, even if provisional or temporarily, upon
pay or free of charge, whether voluntary or compulsorily, has been
call to perform or to participate in the performance of an activity;
c) Holder of foreign political office: the person who, at the service of a country
foreign, exercises a job in the framework of the legislative, judicial or
executive, at the national, regional or local level, for which it has been appointed
or elected;
d) Private sector worker: the person performing duties, including those of
direction or supervision, in individual contract of employment contract, of
provision of services or any other title, even if provisional or
temporarily, upon remuneration or free of charge, at the service of a
entity of the private sector;
e) Entity of the private sector: the legal person of private law, the society
civil and the de facto association.
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Article 3.
Application in space
Without prejudice to the general regime for the application of criminal law in the space and the established in
matter of international judicial cooperation, this Law shall apply as yet:
a) In the case of the incrimination provided for in Article 7, the facts practiced by
Portuguese or by foreigners who are found in Portugal,
regardless of the place where they have been practiced;
b) In the case of the incriminations provided for in Articles 8 and 9, regardless of the
place where the facts have been practiced, when who der, promise,
soliciting or accepting the advantage or the promise is a national official or holder
of national political office or, being of Portuguese nationality, be
international organization official.
Article 4.
Criminal liability of legal persons and equiparents
Legal persons and equiparous entities are responsible, in the general terms,
for the crimes provided for in this Law.
Article 5.
Special mitigation and penalty dispensation
In the crimes provided for in this Law:
a) The penalty is especially mitigated if the auxiliary agent concretely in the collection
of the decisive evidence for the identification or capture of other persons responsible or
in some way to contribute decisively to the discovery of the truth;
b) The agent is relieved of a penalty if, voluntarily, before the practice of the fact,
repudiate the offer or the promise you have accepted, refund the advantage or,
treating yourself to fungible thing, its value, taking out the promise made or requesting the
restitution of the advantage given.
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Article 6.
Subsidiary law
1-The penalties provided for in this Law shall only apply if the fact does not have a penalty more
serious by force of another legal provision.
2-The crimes provided for in this Law shall be subsidally applicable to the provisions
of the Criminal Code.
Chapter II
Crimes
Article 7.
Active corruption with prejudice to international trade
Who by themselves, or, upon their consent or ratification, by interposed person,
give or promise to the official, national, foreign or international organization, or
the holder of political, national or foreign office, or the third with knowledge
of those, patrimonial or non-patrimonial advantage, that is not due, to obtain
or conserve a business, a contract or other undue advantage in the trade
international, is punished with a prison sentence of one to eight years.
Article 8.
Passive corruption in the private sector
1-The private sector worker who, by you or, upon your consent or
ratification, by interposed person, to request or accept, for you or for third party, without
is due to it due, an advantage of heritage or non-patrimonial, or its promise, to a
any act or omission that constitutes a violation of their functional duties is
punished with imprisonment for up to two years or with penalty of fine.
2-If the act or omission provided for in the preceding paragraph is to cause a distortion
of the competition or a detriment to third parties, the agent is punished with pity
of imprisonment up to five years or with penalty of fine up to 600 days.
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Article 9.
Active corruption in the private sector
1-Who per se, or, upon your consent or ratification, by interposed
person, give or promise the person provided for in the previous article, or the third with
knowledge of that, heritage advantage or non-patrimonial, that it is not
due, to continue the end there nominee is punished with imprisonment for up to one year or
with penalty of fine.
2-If the conduct provided for in the preceding paragraph is intended to obtain or is to cause an injury to cause an
distortion of competition or a detriment to third parties, the agent is punishy
with penalty of imprisonment up to three years or with penalty of fine.
Chapter III
Final provisions
Article 10.
Bleaching and combating corruption and economic-financial crime
The behaviour described in Article 7 considers itself to be a crime of corruption for the purposes of the
provisions of Article 368 of the Criminal Code and in the a) of Article 1 (1) of the Law
n. 36/94, of September 29.
Article 11.
Abrogation standard
Articles 41-A, 41-B and 41-C of the Decree-Law No. 28/84 of 20 of 20 are repealed.
January, and Law No. 13/2001, of June 4.
Seen and approved in Council of Ministers of August 30, 2007
The Prime Minister
The Minister of the Presidency
The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs