Deferred prosecution

[2] Since 1999, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has set forth guidelines concerning the prosecution of business organizations and corporations.

This kind of regulation-by-prosecutor has also occurred at the state level, for example at the New York Attorney General's Office under Eliot Spitzer and Andrew Cuomo.

[8] Discussions about the potential establishment of deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) legislation in Canada began in February 2016.

Prior to the DPA, Canada already had prosecutorial discretion in place, which "made it possible for offending companies to negotiate a non-criminal penalty for a criminal act".

[9] In June 2018 Canada enacted a DPA through provisions in the omnibus budget implementation Bill C-74, that amended the Criminal Code.