From 2006 to 2009, she was director of the Centre d’études en droit économique (Economic Law Research Centre). Professor Crête’s works and teaching revolve around corporate law, financial markets regulation and corporate governance. She is currently in charge of a research study on assets, wealth and estate management’s legal framework. Ever since the creation of the Collège des administrateurs des sociétés (College of corporate administrators) Raymonde Crête participates in the institution’s training of corporate directors on governance issues.
On 18th of September 2020, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) published a report about the impact of Rule of Law on Economic Growth.
The EESC defines the Rule of Law as the obligation to "all public powers act within the constraints laid down by law, in accordance with the values of democracy and fundamental rights, and under the control of independent and impartial courts". According to the Committee, the Rule of Law thus defined is favorable and even necessary to a durable economic growth especially because instability of regulations, absence of guarantee of labor and property rights, discrimination or non-application of contracts poorly favors or are detrimental for investments and economic agents' productive activities. The EESC observes by the way that countries which respect the Rule of Law grow more rapidly than those which do not respect it. The Committee also insists on the destructive effect of corruption which destroys public services, public action, public institutions on the long run and confidence, increasing inequalities.
Although EESC approves the actions of European Commission to advance Rule of Law in the Union, it however invites the Commission to continue its efforts by giving a more important place to jurisdictions and by protecting better media freedom in a context of rising autocratic forces in Eastern Europe.
We can learn three lessons from this report:
The common interest of European Union States to guarantee the Rule of Law. Indeed, Rule of Law is not only written in article 2 of TFEU and has been consecrated by CJEU case law, it is also a condition of economic progress.
The fight against corruption must be the object of a redoubled effort. In this perspective, Compliance Law is able to offer appropriate innovating legal tools.
To a definition of Regulation and Compliance Law as a simple process of application of mechanical legal rules, it is necessary to substitute a definition of Regulation and Compliance Law based on the notion of "monumental goals" and people protection. In this perspective, these branches of Law would prove to be powerful tools in the service of the advancement of the rule of law in the European space.
The world production of oil is largely coordinated by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and especially by its Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC). On 15th of July 2020, this Committee decides to reduce the world production of oil in order to maintain a certain price stability in a context of restricted demand because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, such a stability can be maintained only if each member respects this decision and effectively reduce its production level. This meeting of 15th of July also aimed to get member's conformity. In order to get this conformity, the JMMC declared that it will use "name and shame", shaming countries which do not respect the Committee's declaration and naming those which respect it. A second meeting, on 19th of August 2020, reminded to non-compliant countries their obligation and urged them to comply before the 28th of August.
We can observe two things:
The term used by the Committee is "conformity" and not "compliance", which implies less adherence to "monumental goals than the mechanical respect of formal rules.
In an self-regulation system where there is not supposed to be a need for "conformity", the need for it is a clue that this self-regulation is malfunctioning.
In The Journal of Regulation the summaries’ translation are done by the Editors and not by the authors
ENGLISH
On December 20, 2011, the Autorité de Régulation des Communications électroniques et de la Poste (ARCEP — French postal and telecommunications regulator) fined La Poste, France’s universal postal service provider, one million Euros for not having provided an easily-available and affordable priority mail service for the shipment of low-value objects weighing less than two kilograms. This failure was in disregard of the regulator’s injunction, French legislation, and European directives.
FRENCH
Par une décision du 20 décembre 2011, l’Autorité de Régulation des Communications Electroniques et de la Poste (ARCEP), condamne à une amende d’un million d’Euros l’opérateur en charge du service universel, La Poste, car celle-ci n’a pas offert d’une façon accessible et abordable, sur un modèle proche de la « lettre », l’envoi d’objet de faible valeur de moins de deux kilos. En cela, l’opérateur a méconnu la mise en demeure du régulateur, la loi française et les directives communautaires.
SPANISH
El 20 de diciembre del 2011, la Autorité de Régulation des Communications électroniques et de la Poste (ARCEP – el Regulador francés de servicios postales y telecomunicaciones) multaron a La Poste, el proveedor universal de servicios postales en Francia, un millón de Euros por no haber proveído un acceso fácil y asequible a un servicio postal prioritario por el envío de objetos de poco valor pesando menos de dos kilogramos. Este fallo fue un acto de indiferencia del mandamiento judicial del regulador, de la legislación francesa y de las directivas europeas.
ITALIAN
Il 20 dicembre 2011 l’“Autorité de Régulation des Communications électroniques et de la Poste (ARCEP – l’autorità di regolazione francese in materia di servizi postali e telecomunicazione) ha fatto una multa a “Le Poste”, fornitore francese del servizio universale di posta, per un importo di un milione di euro per non aver fornito un servizio di posta celere accessibile e affidabile per la consegna di oggetti di poco valore e di un peso inferiore ai due chili. La Poste ha quindi commesso tale infrazione violando la diffida dell’autorità di regolazione, la legislazione francese e le direttive europee.
ARABIC
منذ قرار20 ديسمبر 2011 السُّلطة التنظيمية للاتصالات الإلكترونية و البريد( عادل فرنسي للاتصالات و البريد) ، حكمت علا المشغل المسؤول عن الخدمة العالمي ، البريد*(نِظام بريدي فِرنسِي)، بِدفع غرامة قدرُها مِليون يورو. هذه لم توفِّر سُهولة تُماثِل "الرِّسالة" لإرسال أشياء ضعيفة القيمة ذُو وزن أقل من اثنان كيلوغرام العامل تجاهل إنذار المُنظّم، القانُون الفرنسي و التوجيهات المُجتمعِية. *La Poste : نِظام بريدي فرنسي
🧮The event will take place at Panthéon-Sorbonne University (Paris I) on 15 October 2026.
Il will be held in French.
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Presentation of the topic: While Contract Law, in its common rules expressed by the "general theory of contracts", is often considered to be the most developed branch of Law in practice and the most studied at university, at first glance it seems to be given little consideration when it comes to compliance matter.
This is undoubtedly due to the fact that the company, which is at the heart of the action expected of it—action that is expected to be powerful (since it affects the collective future) and diversified (since it concerns all systems beyond the company's direct activity)—seems above all to have the status of a subject of law. This is exacerbated if, by mistakenly confusing the latter terms, we only talk about "conformity" and assert that it is simply for businesses a matter of "complying with the regulations that apply to them", which then leaves little room for contractual initiative. This would be associated only with Ethics, a normative order that also differs from a contract, which is a binding legal act.
The relationship between Contract and many sorts of documents, standards and ethical acts that are so numerous in compliance techniques, to which we can add the soft law produced by courts, regulators, supervisors and the companies themselves, is therefore an open question. This delicate reconciliation, which the terms "CSR" and "Governance" express without referring to very precise legal definitions, can cause difficulties in relation to general Contract Law: thus, the "commitments" that punctuate the techniques and behaviours that make up the "culture of compliance" have a central place in Compliance Law. However, their place, if not their equivalence with the contract, is not established, and may even be excluded. This too is an open question.
Based on these initial questions, it appears that in order to gain a firmer footing in the analysis of the practices of companies that include compliance clauses into multiple contracts, we must observe that compliance may consist of a comprehensive service that is the very subject of a specific contract, the "compliance contract, or even assist in the conception that judges may, or must, develop in their office when they are seized of "contractual litigation involving Compliance", we must return to common contract law.
Indeed, if we stop viewing Compliance Law solely through the prism of punishment, if we do not limit it to the "detection and prevention" of fraudulent behaviour which, if it occurred, would be punished, the contract does not have the same place in practice. In this initial restrictive conception of Compliance Law based on sanctions, simply by moving from ex post to ex ante, the company remains subject to the regulations that apply to it, and the contract would be just one of the ways in which it fulfils its legal compliance obligation.
However, the obligation of compliance can also be considered to have its legitimate source in the Contract, which in general termes is based on the autonomy of will and all its consequences (contractual freedom, binding force, effect on third parties, etc.), with the Principle of Compliance fitting into it as a second pillar linked to the first pillar, which is the Principle of free Competition.
It is therefore very useful to better understand practices by comparing the technical principles of general Contract Law with Compliance Principles, such as concern for others that contractors may pursue independently of any regulatory requirement (these others who are distant in space and time), preservation of systems, the obligation to provide evidence, etc.
This is the subject of this symposium which, according to the classic dichotomy of contractual formation and contractual execution, revisits the contractual thread based on the founding principles of autonomy and freedoms, binding force and its relativity, the meeting of consents, groups of contracts, and regulatory contracts often drawn up to implement compliance policies. Enforcement and contractual liability under general Contract Law are themselves coloured in a unique way when a compliance concern or goal has been included in the contract or is implied by it.
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Speakers include:
🎤 Nicolas Bargue professor at Panthéon-Sorbonne University,
🎤 Marie-Anne Frison-Roche, university professor, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Regulation & Compliance (JoRC) and the European School of Regulation and Compliance (EeRC)
🎤 Julia Heinich, professor at Panthéon-Sorbonne University
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The proceedings of this symposium will form the basis of a specific chapter in the following publications:
