Deferred Prosecution Agreements in the UK: final proposals

On 23 October 2012, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) issued its response to the deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) consultation [1], along with legislative proposals, which feature as amendments to the Crime and Courts Bill currently before Parliament. DPAs may therefore be introduced in England and Wales as early as next year, write Omar Qureshi and Amy Smart of CMS Cameron McKenna, although they note that the Impact Assessment assumes they will not be in use before early 2014. DPAs will be available for wrongdoing that predates their enactment, so the first agreements could be reached fairly quickly after they come in.

Omar Qureshi (+44 (0)20 7367 2573, omar.qureshi@cmscmck.com) is a partner and leads the anti-corruption practice at CMS Cameron McKenna LLP. Amy Smart (+44 (0) 207 367 3335, amy.smart@cms-cmck.com) is a lawyer at the firm.

The final proposals do not significantly depart from those initially set out in the consultation. However, the response does provide a clearer picture of how the Government expects DPAs to look and be used after their introduction.