A nova lei alemã de diligência em cadeias de fornecimento: novas tarefas para o departamento de compliance de empresas multinacionais

Abstract

The Supply Chain Due Diligence Bill submitted on 28.02.2021 was approved by the German Federal Government as a Government Bill on 03.03.2021. On 11.06.2021 it was approved by the Bundestag and on 25.06.2021 the Bundesrat also approved the bill. The law will enter into force on January 1, 2023. It applies in the first instance to companies that, as a rule, employ at least 3,000 employees. From 2024 the law will apply to companies with only 1,000 employees. The number of employees refers to employees of companies with headquarters or subsidiaries in Germany if they belong to a business conglomerate (§1, S. 3 SCDDL). In parliamentary procedure, it was added that the law also applies to subsidiaries to foreign companies operating in Germany, provided that the subsidiary also meets the number of employees specified in the previous paragraph (§1 Abs. 1 S. 2 SCDL). The new law is aimed at the application of due diligence in international supply chains and the regulation followed by the punishment of practices which existing standards in the areas of human rights and the environment cannot prevent: slave labor, child labor, soil deforestation, water contamination, among others.