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Since the Trump election, the subject of extra-territorial application of national law – in particular U.S. law – has received considerable attention. This is so because the U.S. administration increasingly uses this legal tool to enforce its foreign policy interests. A legal area with a particularly strong reach of extra-territoriality is U.S. export controls as this allows the U.S. to control foreign states’ business. A very recent and vivid example is the Huawei trade ban by the U.S. The purpose of this article is to show the (harsh) legal and economic effects, which the extra-territorial application of U.S. export-related laws have on international trade. The article will focus on the approach taken by the U.S. to impose its export controls outside the U.S. It will analyze the legal framework of extra-territorial U.S. export controls and explore to which extent the U.S. laws apply to foreign business, i.e., business outside the U.S. The article will define the cases in which foreign companies are subject to U.S. export controls and therefore must comply with U.S. regulations. It will show that the applicability of U.S. export controls to foreign companies and their business is considerably broad. It rigorously controls the destiny of U.S. origin products and components once they have been exported from U.S. territory and also regulates the worldwide export of products that have been manufactured by using U.S. technology. In addition, U.S. export controls impose economic sanctions on countries (e.g., Iran) or companies (e.g., Huawei) and prohibit foreign companies from doing business with these sanctioned parties. Understanding U.S. export controls and its extra-territorial reach are a challenge for foreign companies. It is a rather complex legal system that requires deeper knowledge of the underlying concept. However, foreign companies are well advised to comply with U.S. export controls, as the penalties for violations can be severe, including millions of dollars in fines and even imprisonment. In addition, the U.S. may blacklist foreign companies with the effect that business with the U.S. or elsewhere is no longer possible. Therefore, understanding U.S. export controls and its extra-territorial reach is vital to foreign companies.

Coming to terms with discrimination in the workspace (including sexual harassment and racism) as an integral part of compliance in Germany and Switzerland in recent years, profit-oriented companies and non-profit organizations have increasingly had to deal with discrimination, especially sexual assault and racist behavior. This article deals with how these risks can be addressed in compliance management systems, which preventive measures are recommended and which special features should be taken into account when investigating and dealing with such incidents internally.

With the rise of digitalization, myriad new technologies are currently revolutionizing most, if not all, markets. One such technology that is receiving particular attention from businesses, private market participants, the financial sector, and governments alike is the blockchain. Despite its increasing popularity, most jurisdictions currently fail to adequately regulate it, meaning that businesses cannot exploit the full potential of blockchain technology and its various applications. This article explains how blockchains function and delineates their associated compliance risks. Here, particular attention will be paid to both decentralized cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. How decentralized cryptocurrencies could potentially be abused for money laundering, terrorism financing, and corruption purposes will be illustrated, and different legislation and international approaches to dealing with blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies will be highlighted. Lastly, the impact of blockchain technology and its implications for actors in the digitalized economy will be discussed.

In this issue we focus on the transfer of problems and ideas from the USA in connection with compliance, in particular from a European perspective (German-speaking countries).

The Austrian Act of Corporate Criminal Liability came into force on January 1, 2006. Since then, associations can be penalized for judicially criminal acts of their decisionmakers and / or employees. A criminal liability of the association presupposes that the offense was committed in favor of the association and, that the criminal offense violates the duties determined by the association (association duties). In the case of a violation against the VbVG, the court will impose an association fine, which depends on the annual yield of the association. In addition, an instruction can be issued for compensation for damage. In 2018 there were counted 341 preliminary investigations against associations, of which only 28 resulted in an indictment. Only in five cases, there was a conviction, and an association fine was imposed.