With the legislation of the 8th June 2001, No. 231, Italy introduced corporate liability (covering legal personnel, societies, recognised and non-recognised associations and public economy agencies). The new law assigns relevant importance to the organisational conditions of the companies: the adoption and the performance of a suitable compliance program capable of preventing crime, the institution of a supervisor committee and of an internal disciplinary system. The measures allow the agency, in certain cases, to be absolved from responsibility or pecuniary sanctions. The innovation, the complexity and the importance of the matter imposes a great responsibility on those the decree affects to apply these measures. Through the study and the interpretation of the legislation No. 231/2001, this research intends to reach an in depth understanding of the postulates and the procedures relative to the administrative responsibility of companies and agencies for crimes committed by those, even at the highest level in the interest of or to the advantage of the legal entity. The ultimate aim is for the results to meet the requirements of both large and medium business, the credit institutions and the auditing firms as regards the setting up and implementation of the organisational models demanded by the law.
