The text discusses the concept of 'internal investigations' in legal contexts, emphasizing the lack of a specific legal definition in the USA, Germany, and Austria. It explains that internal investigations, often triggered by suspicions of legal violations by company employees, aim to systematically process and resolve such cases. The distinction between compliance (prevention) and internal investigations (response to suspected violations) is highlighted. The article explores the role of external investigators, often lawyers or auditors, in conducting internal investigations, emphasizing the need for coordination between auditing and legal aspects. It discusses the historical development of internal investigations in the German-speaking countries and their increasing importance in recent years. The second part of the text delves into the importance of company behavior in response to suspected violations. If the offense benefits the company, the focus is on exoneration, with potential benefits such as penalty suspension through active repentance or self-disclosure. The article also discusses legal conditions for penalty annulment, emphasizing timely actions in internal investigations. The text addresses the role of the public prosecutor's office and legal considerations in refraining from prosecuting a company based on its behavior during internal investigations. It stresses that a positive impression, compliance measures, and transparent cooperation can influence the decision to refrain from prosecution. The final section outlines criminal liability risks for internal investigators, citing potential offenses such as coercion, violation of correspondence secrecy, unlawful use of a computer system, violation of telecommunications secrecy, and abuse of audio recording or listening devices. The discussion includes legal considerations and justifications for certain actions, emphasizing the importance of balancing interests and goods, especially in legal proceedings.

Under the heading of “Compliance in Science” we want to tackle an issue on our own behalf. Since its first edition, CEJ has been published as an open-access journal.

The scientific field of compliance is in a constant state of movement, gaining in complexity and widening its areas of application. We have taken this edition of CEJ as an occasion to pick up the threads of previous issues, to deepen the discussion and to take the thoughts a step further.

New technologies not only present new opportunities but also new legal challenges. However, it could be expected that the use of robotics and AI will steadily increase over the next few years. Liability considerations are therefore urgently required.

Within this short essay, we provide an overview of the development of “big data” and its possible influence on medical practice. In particular, we explore the underlying technology and demonstrate with practical examples how big data will sooner or later lead to the dissolution of economic consulting and treatment monopoly of classical medicine.

In June 2018, the German Constitutional Court decided on the search of a law firm and the securing of documents and data in the firm’s premises by the Public Prosecutors’ Office. The Court rejected the respective constitutional complaints and regarded the prosecutions’measures as lawful. The Court’s orders received immense public attention as the constitutional complaints were filed by Volkswagen AG, Jones Day, and the firm’s lawyer in connection with the “diesel emissions scandal”. Besides, the orders were discussed intensely among legal experts, as the Court severely limited legal privilege in Germany. This article examines the Court’s orders and its consequences, in particular with regard to internal investigations. In addition, the authors draw a comparison with legal privilege under U.S. law and discuss possible options to avoid extensive disclosure of documents and data. Finally, they demand legislative action and request the legislator to provide adequate safeguards for internal investigations.

In the end of 2015, the legislative yuan of Taiwan reformed the criminal confiscatory system in a significant way. The core idea of the new provision is to abolish the quality of subordinate sentence of criminal confiscation and make it an independent effect different from penalty and rehabilitative measure. The most important reforms are types the confiscation of criminal benefits a balanced measure quasi-unjustified enrichment, adds provisions about confiscating criminal incomes of third-party, and judges can announce confiscation independently, which are based on the spirit of depriving criminal benefits as far as possible. Besides, legislators also proclaimed the retroactive effect of the new provision. Nevertheless, this article will point out that the new provision promotes the modernization of criminal confiscatory system, but in some places violates the constitutional law.

Economic and tax crimes account for a significant proportion of criminal activity and result in considerable economic damage. In Germany, two of the most prominent offenders in this area in recent years were Thomas Middelhoff and Uli Hoeneß, both of whom served jail sentences. Taking advantage of the widespread media coverage of both cases, the following paper draws on economic theory to compare prison terms with fines. It argues that fines are preferred from an economic perspective and can therefore be considered a useful firstchoice punishment in cases involving white-collar and tax crimes. The paper sees itself in this regard as a plea.

How do multinationals create a glocal identity of compliance? This article focuses on putting this quest to an end, dissecting multidisciplinary approaches to solve the compliance glocalization problematics. It starts with the saga of the glocalization neologism, followed by the philosophical- and psychodynamics of compliance and its moral foundations in Kantianism, the development of integrity into actual business ethics and the vehemence of crosscultural awareness and management when doing business internationally. Finally, it establishes the Three Stages Theory and the EMB Guidelines for the glocalization of leadership, as the ordinary solution to compliance glocalization.

With the growth of open access publishing there has been a concomitant growth in the number of predatory publishers. This article considers why open access has arisen and the various models under which it operates before considering the nature of predatory publishers and what can be done to stop them.