The Effect of European Union Law on the Criminal and Quasi-Criminal Liability of Legal Persons in Estonia

Abstract

The punitive competence of the European Union encompasses both criminal law and, in the form of administrative sanctions, quasi-criminal law. Now undergoing vast changes amid rapid development, the latter field of Union legislation is anything but systematic. The sporadic evolution of EU punitive law recently led to the European Court of Justice judgement in the case Deutsche Wohnen, wherein the substantive provisions for liability of legal persons in Germany were found to be in contradiction with European Union law. The article gives an overview of the European Union’s legislation on criminal and quasi-criminal liability of legal persons, presents reflections on the Estonian experience, and articulates conclusions from the Deutsche Wohnen case.