On 15 March 2024, the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) of the Council of the European Union (the "Council") surprisingly approved an amended draft of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (the "CS3D"). On 19 March, the amended draft of the CS3D was approved by the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) of the European Parliament.

Wikborg Rein’s Crisis Management Tool is now ready for download. The tool provides practical, immediate and step-by[1]step guidance in case of various types of crises arising as a result of unannounced inspections and controls by the police or other public authorities.

The UK Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (“the ECCTA”) was formally approved on 26 October 2023. Among the most significant reforms introduced by the ECCTA are the establishment of ‘failure to prevent fraud’ as a new UK corporate criminal offence, and a reform of the UK identification doctrine expanding the extent of corporate criminal liability for economic crimes. In this article, we highlight the details of these two key aspects of the Act, and explain how they will affect Norwegian companies with operations or subsidiaries in the UK.

All companies face the risk of cyber-attacks. In general, the question is when and not if an attack will strike. Companies should therefore strengthen their cyber resilience and implement robust measures to be prepared to handle all aspects of an attack if/when it occurs.

On 14 December 2023, the European Parliament and the European Council informally agreed on a new directive on corporate sustainability due diligence (the "CS3D" or the "directive") obliging firms to integrate their human rights and environmental impact into their management systems. The directive has been called a historic breakthrough in the way companies are now responsible for potential abuse in their value chain. Subsequent to the negotiations, the Lead MEP said that this was a starting point for shaping the economy of the future.

A report published on 26 October 2023 outlines the increasing use of sanctions as a tool for protecting human rights, while highlighting the gaps in enforcement of sanctions against Russia, with a focus primarily on Europe. The report is a collaborative product by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and risk analysis company Corisk, with contributions from Wikborg Rein and consultancy agency Rud Pedersen.

On Thursday last week, we kicked off the first anniversary seminar of the year with our Sanctions and Money Laundering Day at the National Museum.

Responsible business and human rights

Dispute Resolution

Sanctions and Export Controls

Competition Law

Financial Regulation

Anti-Money Laundering

Corporate Criminal Liability

Defence and Security

Investigation and Crisis Management

Fisheries and Aquaculture

Sustainability, climate and environment

ESG, compliance and risk management

Partner

Elisabeth Roscher is a partner at Wikborg Rein's Oslo office and part of the firm's ESG, compliance and crisis management team.

Elisabeth has more than 30 years of varied legal work experience from public and private sectors. She has led the investigation and compliance department at EY Norway and was previously a senior public prosecutor at Økokrim with responsibility for investigating and prosecuting large and complex economic criminal cases. Elisabeth has significant litigation experience, both civil and criminal, and has prosecuted Økokrim cases in all court instances.

Elisabeth's professional focus today is particularly on the following:
- corporate governance and board advisory
- investigations and crisis management for national and international companies, including strategic advice and liaising with authorities across multiple jurisdictions
- criminal law and criminal procedure matters, especially economic crime and corporate criminal liability
- corporate compliance systems, including anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, international sanctions, work environment compliance as well as responsible business and human rights

Elisabeth has board experience and has completed the Norwegian Police University College and the Norwegian Police Directorate's executive management program.

Elisabeth is recognized by Chambers Europe and Legal 500.

Oslo

Board member, Clarksons Securities AS

Member, The Norwegian Bar Association's Human Rights Committee

Member of the public Commission of Inquiry appointed by the Norwegian Parliament to investigate the fire on the vessel Scandinavian Star

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Elisabeth has extensive experience in both pleading and prosecuting cases before Norwegian courts, including several Økokrim cases before the Norwegian Supreme Court.

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