Legal and Regulatory Compliance Policy

The Legal and Regulatory Compliance Policy (P37) is a core component of the organization’s governance and risk management framework. Its primary purpose is to establish a mandatory and systematic approach for identifying, managing, and meeting all legal, regulatory, and contractual obligations relevant to information security, data privacy, and operational activities. The policy’s intent is to preclude the risks of non-compliance, which can result in severe consequences such as financial penalties, legal liability, organizational disruption, or reputational damage. To this end, P37 directly supports the integration of compliance mandates throughout governance structures, risk management programs, operational workflows, project lifecycles, and system design decisions. The policy applies organization-wide to all departments, functions, business units, and individuals acting on behalf of the entity. This includes employees (permanent and temporary), contractors, consultants, interns, and all third-party vendors or partners handling data, systems, or regulatory responsibilities. In terms of scope, it governs compliance across multiple domains: information security (including frameworks such as ISO/IEC 27001, NIS2, DORA), data privacy (GDPR and sector-specific laws), sectoral regulation (financial, health, automotive), contractual obligations (NDAs, SLAs), and legal requirements like incident notification, law enforcement cooperation, or cross-border data transfer. A key benefit of the policy is its detailed assignment of roles and responsibilities, which are clearly enumerated for Executive Management, Compliance and Legal functions, CISO, Internal Audit, Departmental Leaders, and all employees or contractors. Responsibilities include the maintenance of a comprehensive Compliance Obligations Register, conducting impact assessments, providing legal interpretations, implementing controls, and participating in periodic compliance reviews and audits. Each obligation is mapped to specific policy requirements and controls in the organization’s ISMS, with mandates for evidence retention, testing frequency, and clear assignment of owners. Governance mandates are robust: a centralized compliance register must be updated quarterly, compliance must be embedded by design into all system and policy lifecycles, significant legal risk changes require formal approval, and risk assessments covering legal and regulatory domains must be performed annually. The policy also describes precise regulatory change management procedures, requiring monthly reviews of applicable legal developments, communication of updates, and detailed audit trails. Third-party relationships are addressed through mandatory contract clauses and vendor compliance assessments. Compliance training is an organizational requirement, to be tracked and documented in the learning management system. Risk and exception management sections stipulate that all compliance risks are logged in the enterprise risk register, and any exceptions to policy require documented justification and high-level approval. In terms of enforcement, non-compliance may result in disciplinary or legal action, with explicit protocols for whistleblower protection. The document is subject to annual review, with additional reviews triggered by key legal or business changes, ensuring that the organization maintains up-to-date alignment with all relevant laws, industry standards, and regulatory expectations.