Corporate criminal liability

Corporate criminal liability

A corporate body, including a company, is a separate legal identity (sometimes called a non-natural person). As such, it can be tried, convicted and sentenced for committing a crime. Where a statute makes it an offence for a person to do something, corporate criminal liability can arise unless the contrary intention is set out in the statute. A company may also be an accessory to a crime which can only be committed by natural persons. A company cannot serve a prison sentence, however, so the penalties that can be imposed on a company for criminal offences primarily involve a fine.

Corporate liability is an important element in encouraging ethical and transparent business practices. Where individuals are prosecuted, this does not preclude the corporate body also being prosecuted for the same wrongdoing subject to the prosecution being able to establish liability. Likewise, where the corporate body is to be prosecuted, individuals may also be charged with the same or other offences.

Statute creates a number of specific routes by which criminal liability can be attached to an organisation. Examples include:

1. •

   section 1 of the Corporate Manslaughter