07 III Corporations and Homicide

Question 1

What are the 2 big accidents which led to the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007?

Answer 1

• Herald of Free Enterprise 1987

- Ladbroke Grove Rail crash

Question 2

What are the 3 requirements for Corporate Homicide?

Answer 2

1. A duty of care was owed by the company to the deceased
2. There was a gross breach of the duty of care
3. The breach caused the death

Question 3

What is the main limitation of the offence?

Answer 3

• The company will only be liable if the activities of the senior management is a substantial element in the breach

Question 4

What is the definition of Senior Management?

Answer 4

People who play roles in:

1. The making of decisions about the whole or substantial part of the company’s activities
2. The actual managing or organising of the whole or substantial part of the company’s activities

Question 5

What is the key concern based on the main limitation?

Answer 5

• Low ranking employees with no decision-making authority cannot form the basis of corporate manslaughter convictions

Question 6

How many convictions have there been under the corporate killing offence?

Answer 6

3 - noted by Slapper

Question 7

What is the Identification Doctrine and when was it applied?

Answer 7

• Applied in Tesco v Nattrass [1972]

- The corporation is treated as an individual

Question 8

What does Aggregation Theory suggest?

Answer 8

• Corporations should be culpable based on the knowledge of a number of individuals as to the risk of injury

Question 9

What does Holistic Theory say?

Answer 9

• All parts of the company should be considered, not just the senior management
• The company should not be treated as an individual