The U.K. Serious Fraud Office today has published for consultation a draft Code of Practice setting out its approach to the use of deferred prosecution agreements.

Through the consultation process, the SFO specifically seeks insight on:

The principal factors that make any offenses included within the draft guideline more or less serious;

The additional factors that should influence the sentence;

The approach taken to structuring the draft guidelines; and

The sentences that should be passed for fraud, bribery and money laundering offenses for both individuals and corporations.

As Compliance Week previously reported, while the U.S. Justice Department has grown increasing reliant on DPAs as a tool to fight corporate bribery and corruption without having to win a conviction in every case, the idea historically had little grounding in British law. The Crime and Courts Act, which received Royal Assent on April 25, swept away that roadblock by allowing the SFO to offer DPAs in exchange for cooperation.

In return, the defendant company agrees to a number of conditions, which may include payment of a financial penalty and co-operation with future prosecutions of individuals. Failing to honor this agreement could cause the prosecution to resume.

In the United States, the judiciary doesn't take part in plea negotiations and only weighs in once the prosecutor and corporate defendant reach an agreement, nearly always approving the arrangement. The British government will require far more judicial oversight.

Under the U.K. system, the prosecutor and corporate defendant would have access to criminal courts at an early stage. This first court proceedings take place behind closed doors, at which point a judge determines whether entering into the DPA is “in the interests of justice” and whether the proposed terms appear “fair, reasonable, and proportionate.” Upon approval of the DPA by the court, the prosecutor must publish the DPA and the reason for its decision in order to make the process as transparent as possible.

The comment period closes Sept. 20.