Corporate Criminal Liability Flashcards
What are the two basic principles of criminal law?
- Actus reus: The guilty act. It is an act the law seeks to prevent.
- Mens rea: The guilty mind. The state of mind at time of wrongful act.
What are three types of actus reus?
- Conduct crime: Actus reus is constituted by the behavior
- Result crime: Actus reus requires a particular consequence. Such as death for a murder
- Omission: No criminal liability for an omission to act unless a common law impose a positive duty to act
What are the characteristics of mens rea?
- The mental state of the time of the offense
- Each crime specifies what mental state must be in order to be found guilty of that crime
What are the types of mens rea in the UK?
- Intention
- Recklessness
- Negligence
What is the one type of mens rea the US has that the UK does not?
Mens rea of Knowledge
What are the two types of intention?
- Direct intent: consequence of desire
2. Oblique intent: consequence is foreseen as virtually certain even it not specifically desired
What is the mens rea of recklessness?
- Taking unjustifiable risk
- Test for recklessness is subjective
What is the mens rea of negligence?
- Objective test
- Failure to meet the standard of a reasonable person in that situation
- Negligence must be gross to incur criminal liability
What is the difference between basic intent and specific intent?
Basic intent: Crimes that have mens rea of intent or recklessness
Specific intent: Crimes that only have mens rea of intent (direct or oblique)
What are strict liability crimes?
- No mens rea needs to be proved
- Employer can be held liable for the strict liability offense committed by employees through vicarious liability
What is the doctrine of identification?
- For legal purposes, a person is recognized as being the company. Needs at least one senior individual to be seen as ‘guiding mind’
- Senior agent must himself be guilty
What a are requirements for corporate manslaughter?
- No longer necessary to find one individual with mens rea
- General management failure at senior level will suffice (aggregation test)
What is the doctrine respondent superior?
Holds corporations liable for any agents acts, regardless of rank
What is doctrine of collective knowledge?
The guilt of one individual is not necessary. The mens rea and actus reus can be derived by adding together failings of several employees
What is the Model Penal Code?
The crimes should have been carried out by senior officers of the company
When are only employers liable and only employees liable?
- Only employers liable: when the employer is primarily responsible for the circumstances. Action only taken against employee if shown recklessness
- Only employee liable: if employee is not acting as agent of company but as private individual, for example insider trading
What are the components of murder in the UK vs the US?
UK
Actus reus: unlawful killing of a human
Mens rea: with intent to kill
US
Actus reus: cause death or serious injury
Mens rea: purposely or knowingly
What is constructive manslaughter?
- Criminal set out to commit lesser criminal offense but has in the process killed a person
- Actus reaus: unlawful, dangerous act
- Mens rea: e.g. recklessness, held liable for death even where no mens real for killing
- In US considered felony murder
What is gross negligence manslaughter?
- Performance of lawful act carried out with gross negligence
- Duty of care owed to deceased
- Breach of duty of care caused death
- Negligence was so gross as to justify criminal liability
What are five non-fatal offenses?
- Assault
- Battery
- Inflicting bodily harm
- Bodily harm with intent
- Assault causing actually bodily harm
What are two categories of property offence?
- Property offence that require fraud, for example false accounting
- Property offenses that do not require fraud, for example theft
What are four examples of non-fraudulent offenses?
- Theft
- Burglary
- Blackmail
- Criminal damage
What are three ways of committing fraud in the UK?
- Fale representation
- Failing to disclose information
- Abuse of position
What are specific corporate fraudulent offenses?
- False accounting
2. False statements
