Criminal Liability of legal entities in Central and South America
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In the last decade, the criminal liability of legal persons has been incorporated into the Criminal Codes of the different Ibero-American countries. Proof of this is that more than half of the countries already have a specific provision in their Criminal Code or in a specific law that establishes the criminal liability of legal persons. However, it is interesting to note that the Republic of Cuba already established the criminal liability of legal persons in 1997.
Along the same lines, it can also be observed that in countries such as Brazil, the system of criminal liability of legal entities has only been established for a specific type of crime (environment), an interesting element that indicates a possible start to the future expansion of the types of crimes that entail criminal liability of the legal entity.
Finally, it is important to highlight the important similarity between the analyzed systems in Central and South America and the continental regimes, with special influence of the Spanish Criminal Code.
A table with a summary of the status of the issue in the different countries is attached below:
| Country | Nature of the liability | Closed or open list of crimes/offenses | Legal possibility of exemption due to the availability of Compliance |
| Argentina | Criminal | Closed list | Yes |
| Bolivia | Criminal | Closed list | No |
| Brazil | Criminal | Closed list (only crimes against the environment) | No |
| Chile | Criminal | Closed list | Yes |
| Colombia | Administrative | Closed list | Yes (Transparency and ethics programs) |
| Costa Rica | Criminal | Closed list | Yes |
| Cuba | Criminal | Closed list | No |
| Dominican Republic | Criminal | Closed list | No |
| Ecuador | Criminal | Closed list | Yes |
| El Salvador | Administrative | Closed list | No (only for specific conducts such as, money laundering). |
| Guatemala | Criminal | Open list | No |
| Mexico | Criminal | Closed list | No (only some federal entities do take them into consideration) |
| Nicaragua | Criminal (accessory consequences) | Open list | No |
| Panama | Criminal | Closed list | Yes |
| Paraguay | Administrative | Closed list | Yes |
| Peru | Criminal | Closed list | Not regulated, except in specific sectors |
| Uruguay | Administrative | Closed list | No |
| Venezuela | Administrative | Closed list | No |
Compliance Department of Molins Defensa Penal.