Tag Archives: Jan Dunin-Wasowicz

Collision Avoided? Court of Justice of the European Union Gives Effect to EU Blocking Statute While Offering a Way Out of Conflict with U.S. Secondary Sanctions

By Jan Dunin-Wasowicz and Nicolas Burnichon

On December 21, 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “Court”), sitting as the Grand Chamber, rendered its judgment in the Bank Melli Iran v. Telekom Deutschland case (the “Judgment”), providing for the first time guidance on the application of Regulation (EC) 2271/96 (the “EU Blocking Statute”). This article reviews the salient aspects of the Judgment and discusses its significance for sanctions compliance from a trans-Atlantic perspective.

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Is Foreign Bribery Jurisdiction an Element of Economic Sovereignty? (Part III of III)

by Michael Huneke and Jan Dunin-Wasowicz 

Part two of this article focused on the culmination of nearly 10 years of frustration in France with U.S. enforcement against French companies. The Gauvain Report recognized that the Blocking Statute, thought to be a counteraction to U.S. measures, failed nearly completely on its own to prevent foreign investigations in the absence of a meaningful enforcement counterweight from French authorities. This third and final part analyzes the significance of the Gauvain Report and outlines some thoughts for the future. Continue reading →

Is Foreign Bribery Jurisdiction an Element of Economic Sovereignty? (Part II of III)

by Michael Huneke and Jan Dunin-Wasowicz 

Part one of this article surveyed the evolution of France’s policy perspective on the application of U.S. laws abroad and some of the reasons that led to the 2016 reform of the French anti-corruption framework. In this second part, the article discusses the context leading up to the 2019 parliamentary report and presents its recommendations.  

The Sapin II law has had an effect on the articulation of U.S. and French interests in anti-bribery enforcement. Illustrative of the changes are the June 2018 parallel resolution of criminal charges with U.S. and French authorities in the Société Générale case, as well as the January 2020 achievement by Airbus of a tri-partite coordinated settlement with French, U.K. and U.S, authorities, as part of which by far the largest penalty went to France. In these respects, the Sapin II reform along with the Parquet National Financier (PNF) appears to have paved the way to restoring perceived balance in the Franco-American relationship. Continue reading →

Is Foreign Bribery Jurisdiction an Element of Economic Sovereignty? Thoughts on Recent Policy Guidance from France and the U.S.

by Michael Huneke and Jan Dunin-Wasowicz 

International economic relations have long been fraught with tensions between sovereign interests and jurisdictional claims. A June 2019 parliamentary report commissioned by the Prime Minister of France epitomizes French concerns regarding U.S. extraterritorial jurisdiction and the allegedly disproportional, targeted U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement actions against European companies. These enforcement actions raised suspicions that the U.S. government was merely serving American business interests and related U.S. foreign policy goals. The report has been widely seen as an important step in framing France’s response. This three-part article puts the report in historical context and outlines its significance for the future of anticorruption policy in the transatlantic region and beyond, including recent, significant coordinated resolutions of international anti-corruption investigations by U.S. and French authorities.
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