The role of the Compliance Officer originally emerged in highly regulated financial markets and the pharmaceutical sector, tasked with ensuring companies adhered to extensive regulatory requirements in these industries.

Following corporate financial scandals in the early 2000s and the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002 in the United States, this role evolved into a key position responsible for ensuring regulatory compliance within companies, increasingly influencing business decisions.

In Spain, the Compliance Officer role was primarily adopted from English-speaking countries, where international companies had to comply with foreign regulations or internal policies that already required this function.

Neither the 2010 reform of the Spanish Penal Code nor its latest modification, which took effect on July 1, 2015, explicitly mention the Compliance Officer. However, the latest amendment does impose a duty of supervision or oversight—essentially defining the responsibilities of this role—as a prerequisite for exempting a company from criminal liability in the event of an offense.

Although not explicitly regulated under Spanish law, the Compliance Officer is crucial for ensuring mandatory compliance measures to prevent corporate criminal risks. Companies must clearly define this role, establish its responsibilities, and, most importantly, grant it sufficient authority to effectively oversee regulatory compliance.

This specialization allows companies to receive ongoing legal counsel, not only regarding formal corporate matters but also throughout their operations, including contract drafting, review, and negotiation.

Our multidisciplinary team provides comprehensive advisory services, integrating corporate law with accounting and labor law to deliver well-rounded legal solutions.