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Administrative Responsibility, Why a Course on Law 231 is Important

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2025 10:32 am
by mdabuhasan
A course on Law 231 is of fundamental importance to implement what Legislative Decree no. 231/2001 establishes. According to this law, the company is responsible for crimes committed in its interest or to its advantage by people who:

perform administrative functions
perform management functions
they also exercise, de facto, management and control
are subject to the direction or supervision of one of the above-mentioned entities
In the event of one of these crimes, significant pecuniary and prohibitive sanctions are foreseen for the company. Measures so significant that they endanger the very continuity of the company's activity.

It is not mandatory to take a course on Law 231. But it is strongly recommended, as is the adoption of the Organizational Model 231. FormaLab, using experts in the sector, is able to implement an Organization, Management and Control Model , pursuant to Legislative Decree no. 231/2001, in order to prevent the commission of crimes.

Employee training, workplace safety, and knowledge of specific laws and regulations have been a very sensitive issue for companies for years. It is common practice to consider staff training , with particular reference to companies that adopt the organization, management and control model, known as MOG , a conditio sine qua non for the effectiveness of the model itself. However, it is ignored that Legislative Decree no. 231/2001 does not express itself on the subject.

The MOG in detail
Legislative Decree no. 124/2019 sharpens the circumstances that can determine the administrative liability of entities for crimes , also including tax crimes . This results, from a superficial reading and without specific training, in an interpretative difficulty for non-experts. The consequences thus transform into the concrete risk of making mistakes in trying to apply the model.

In recent times, many companies have adopted the whatsapp number list MOG model (Organization, Management and Control Model) to reduce the risk of crime and the consequences of possible administrative liability . A company organization that follows rules and procedures, and that intensifies controls, creates a network defined as "friendly", that is, a sort of virtuous system, an effective bubble in preventing crime. This microcosm, thanks to a rigid and well-defined structure, reduces the risk because it acts before the possible illicit act is committed. Furthermore, the MOG acts as a buffer, and exempts from administrative liability if the entity is worthy of the reward effect.

However, the model is effective if followed appropriately: a guarantee of success is correct, simple and clear information on the implementation methods.

Preparation therefore plays a key role, and staff training is of fundamental importance. In this regard, a passage from the ruling of the Criminal Cassation Court, Section 4, 23 November 2017, no. 53285 becomes essential to understand how important a course on Law 231 is: “The judges of merit have linked the administrative responsibility of the entity to the inadequacy of the risk assessment document prepared and to the inadequacy of the training and information activity for the worker”.

The importance of staff training is also present in the Confindustria guidelines and is highlighted by the Milan Court with the order of 9 November 2004: training must ensure adequate knowledge, understanding and application of the model by employees and managers , otherwise the model is ineffective.