La culpabilidad de las personas jurídicas por la comisión de infracciones administrativas: especial referencia a los programas de cumplimiento

Both Law 40/2015, as well as the jurisprudence of the Spanish Constitutional Court, requires the presence of culpability in order to punish legal persons. The paper deals with a concept of culpability for administrative infractions. Essentially it coincides with the idea developed by German dogmatics and conceives it as organisational fault. In that context, the role of compliance programs and their eff ectiveness in the determination of the specifi c sanction is examined. The idea is defended that they can operate by attenuating and, exceptionally, excluding responsibility. It goes beyond what has hitherto been the usual criterion, especially in the context of the law on competition.