Without prejudice to the set-up of their national judicial systems, discretionary powers under national law not to prosecute persons for criminal offences referred to in this Directive should be exercised in accordance with clear rules and criteria. Such rules should aim to take into account the need, in general, for effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties for corruption offences and ensure the effectiveness of the judicial process.
Text as published in the Official Journal, reproduced verbatim (including any typographical quirks of the source). For the authentic version, see EUR-Lex.
