Sample 2:1 Undergraduate Law Dissertation Proposal

Corporate Crime: Holding Companies Accountable

Aims and Objectives

As companies are growing to have an increasingly prominent impact on society, the need to hold them accountable when they commit crime has moved to the forefront of concerns, both nationally and internationally. Corporate crime has presented company and criminal law with the need to ensure that companies do not escape liability when they engage in criminal conduct.[1] This has posed major problems, however, because criminal liability is traditionally based on individualistic principles and components.[2] When such components are applied to collective entities, particular problems emerge. Several attempts have been made to impose liability on companies for criminal conduct, although there is disagreement as to whether they have proven to be effective in preventing and punishing such conduct. It is therefore necessary to outline and critically explore how the law in the UK approaches corporate crime, and whether improvements may be made in the quest to hold companies accountable, particularly from the perspective of whether collective or individual liability is the most effective. This forms the core aim of the dissertation.

History dictates that the conviction of companies for corporate crime does not fit in well with traditional principles of criminal law.[3] It is therefore important to examine why this is the case, and how it may be remedied. Such an issue has lingered, as it even now appears confusing to some that a corporate entity may be convicted and punished as a criminal. In 1701 Lord Holt stated that a corporation ‘is not indictable, but the particular members of it are’.[4] Early attempts to hold companies liable were plagued by a variety of practical and theoretical hindrances – it simply could not be accepted that companies could harbour the necessary culpability and moral blameworthiness necessary to prove mens rea.[5] From a practical perspective, the historical difficulty was that a company could not appear in person. A company can now appear in criminal proceedings through a representative.[6] It was not until the 19^th century that the approach towards corporate criminal liability shifted, and thus emerged a general consensus that something should be done so that companies could be held criminally liable.[7] The UK courts began to display increased willingness to impose liability on quasi-public companies for offences such as public nuisance. Criminal liability was gradually extended so that criminal liability could be imposed upon commercial companies for a failure to perform a statutory duty, as in the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway case.[8]

The increased impact that companies have grown to have on society over the years has fuelled the increased willingness to regulate and impose criminal liability on companies for their criminal conduct.[9] As the 19^th century came to an end, it had become clear that companies could and should be held liable for statutory crimes, and punished by fines. Two later developments fuelled calls for reform of the law of corporate manslaughter.[10] Much media attention was given to corporate disasters that had been caused by negligence, and which had resulted in many deaths.[11] The second factor was that employment-related fatalities were unsuccessfully tried, revealing the inability to hold companies liable under traditional criminal law principles.[12] It is therefore necessary to examine how companies may be held liable for criminal conduct, whether collective or individual responsibility, or both, should be imposed, and how the law may be reformed to hold companies liable for criminal conduct.

Literature Review

Much academic attention has been given to this topic, and the courts have also sought to expand upon how the law may be applied to hold companies liable for criminal conduct. The identification doctrine arose as a consequence of the courts’ attempts to apply mens rea to companies. Companies are not able to ‘think’ per se, and the courts avoided this problem by searching for an individual who was the company’s directing mind and will for the matter in question.[13] This approach was used for many offences requiring proof of fault, subject to the rules of attribution applicable to the particular offence. However, it has been recognised that the identification doctrine loses force when considered in the context of large companies, within which decisions are typically made by several different individuals rather than a single member.[14] The attribution of blame in such cases is problematic because they are rooted in ambiguous hierarchies, meaning that a single individual cannot easily be identified. For corporate manslaughter at common law in England and Wales, that individual had to be guilty of gross negligence manslaughter: a gross breach of a duty of care which caused death and gave rise, at the time of breach, to a serious and obvious risk of death. Members of larger companies do not typically implement the decisions that they have made, rendering it notoriously difficult to impose liability.[15]

An alternative approach is aggregation, which seeks to overcome the problems that plague the identification doctrine. Under this approach the conduct or knowledge of several individuals would be considered together. The English Court of Appeal rejected aggregation as a basis for corporate manslaughter at common law.[16] The identification doctrine therefore remained the test for corporate liability for gross negligence manslaughter at common law. The strict manner in which it was applied by the courts however meant that liability could only be imposed in the most severe and restricted of cases.[17] In Meridian, a New Zealand appeal concerning a statutory disclosure duty, Lord Hoffmann asked whose act or knowledge should count as the company’s for the purpose of the particular rule.[18] The answer depends on the language and purpose of the rule. In Meridian the knowledge of Mr Koo, who made the acquisition, was attributed to the company. This approach towards corporate liability has received both praise and criticism. Clarkson for example argues that this is problematic because it still requires an individual to be identified within the corporate structure whose acts can be attributed to the company.[19] It has also been argued that, while companies are essentially ‘only metaphysical entities’, they can still be held liable if their ‘rules, policies and operational procedures’ indicate the requisite level of mens rea.[20] Such an approach essentially avoids the application of the strict identification doctrine, by looking at the organisation’s own practices. This differs from adding together the knowledge or conduct of individual employees.[21] It may therefore be argued that enforcing an approach based upon the aggregation doctrine would ease the problems posed by the identification doctrine,[22] providing a potential alternative to the approach that is currently adopted in the UK.[23]

In an attempt to adopt a more suitable approach towards corporate liability, the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (CMCHA 2007) was implemented.[24] The Act created the offence of corporate manslaughter in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, called corporate homicide in Scotland. Section 20 abolished common law gross negligence manslaughter as it applied to corporations and other organisations covered by section 1. Attention is directed towards the cause of death, requiring that the management of the activities of the company have brought it about, and that it amount to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed by the organisation to the deceased.[25] Most importantly, liability for the statutory offence cannot be imposed upon an individual. An individual may still be prosecuted for a separate offence arising from the same death.[26] Liable companies may be fined, and/or issued with a remedial and/or publicity order, indicating the Act’s modernised and more appropriate approach towards corporate crime, although Gobert criticises the Act for retaining a focus on individual fault.[27] Slye considers corporate responsibility in the international context. Under the UK Act, it is the way the organisation’s activities were managed or organised that matters.[28] The company system itself is examined. Dobson describes this as ‘a form of ameliorated aggregation’.[29] Furthermore, management failure remedies problems posed by the identification doctrine, because the way the activities were managed or organised by senior management must be a substantial element of the breach, but need not be its only cause.[30] Therefore, when employees and non-senior members participate, their participation does not of itself prevent liability and the manager’s role will not be undermined in relation to the practice of proving liability.[31] The CMCHA 2007 defines senior management by the significance of a person’s role in deciding how, or actually managing or organising how, the whole or a substantial part of the organisation’s activities are carried on. Applying this distinction to particular employees can be difficult.[32] Outsourcing may complicate the evidence, but it does not in itself discharge a relevant duty owed by the company. The issue remains how its activities were managed or organised. This has been recognised by Bebb, who argues that ‘the legal debate as to whether a defendant is so senior as to embody the company will be replaced by a similar debate as to whether or not the defendants are senior managers…an issue that should be relevant to sentencing but not liability’.[33]

Academic literature therefore recognises that, while the current system in the UK has seen some improvements, problems remain, indicating the potential need for further reform. The Act is also very narrow in its approach towards corporate crime, because it only imposes liability upon the organisations it covers for qualifying failures resulting in death. Reason for instance notes that ‘most accident sequences, like the road to hell, are paved with good intentions – or with what seemed like good ideas at the time’.[34] It is therefore necessary to explore the concept of corporate liability from various perspectives, and in relation to different types of criminal conduct, including manslaughter, environmental crimes, and fraud. Since 29 June 2026 section 250 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 has allowed an offence committed by a senior manager acting within their actual or apparent authority to be attributed to the company. A distinct offence under section 199 of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 addresses failure to prevent specified fraud by an associated person intended to benefit a large organisation or, in specified circumstances, its client. The organisation has a defence if it proves that it had reasonable prevention procedures or that it was reasonable to have none.

Methodology

The research will be based primarily on qualitative data, using primary sources such as legislation and case law, and secondary sources such as journals, textbooks and government reports. The current law, and cases pertaining to it, will be critically explored, in order to determine how criminal liability is imposed, and the components underlining it. The law will then be critically analysed, drawing upon various viewpoints set forth in existing literature and textbooks. This will enable the dissertation to evenly address arguments in favour of collective responsibility and individual responsibility. This combination of primary and secondary resources will enable arguments set forth in the paper to be challenged and developed more fully.

Structure of Dissertation

1. Introduction: This chapter will provide an overview of the topic, explain why it is relevant, and outline the various issues raised under the main research question. A brief outline of the structure of the dissertation and the main arguments that will be provided and developed will be presented.
2. Corporate Liability: A Historical Overview: This chapter will examine the historical development of corporate liability over the years, exploring the identification doctrine and the debate over aggregation. Case law examples indicating the courts’ perception of these doctrines will be provided and critically analysed, and the criminal law’s approach towards corporate crime until the present will be outlined.
3. Corporate Liability in the UK: The Current Approach: This chapter will provide a critical overview of the current system of corporate liability in the UK. The focus will mainly be placed on corporate manslaughter under the CMCHA 2007, and attention will also be given to the Fraud Act 2006 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, fraudulent trading under section 993 of the Companies Act 2006, and the civil contribution remedy under section 213 of the Insolvency Act 1986. The 2023 failure-to-prevent offence and the 2026 senior manager rule will also be examined. Analysis of these provisions will determine whether individual or collective responsibility is imposed under the current regime.
4. Individual and Collective Responsibility: This chapter will address the problems that plague the current legal corporate criminal regime in greater detail. This will then lead to a critical analysis of whether collective or individual responsibility should be imposed upon companies. The advantages and disadvantages of each form of responsibility will be explored in order to determine which is the most appropriate response to corporate crime.
5. A New System of Corporate Liability: This chapter will set out a number of proposals for reform, drawing upon the arguments presented thus far in the dissertation. How the current system may be reformed in order to hold companies accountable will be outlined, and the most effective sanctions will be explored.
6. Conclusions: This chapter will round up and combine all issues explored and present final conclusions developed over the course of the dissertation.

References List

Books & Journals

Ashworth, A., Principles of Criminal Law (6^th edn, OUP 2009)

Bebb, G., ‘Plus Ce Change?’ [2006] 68 ELJ 22

Bucy, PH., ‘Corporate Ethos: A Standard for Imposing Corporate Criminal Liability’ [1991] 75 Minnesota Law Review 1095

Clarkson, CMV., ‘Kicking Corporate Bodies and Damning their souls’ [1996] 59(4) MLR 557

Colvin, E., ‘Corporate Personality and Criminal Liability’ [1995] 6 CLF 1

Cooper, MD., ‘Towards a Model of Safety Culture’ [2000] 36 SS 111

Craig, R., ‘Corporate Manslaughter - Thou Shall do no Murder: A Discussion Paper on the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007’ [2009] 30 CL 1

Dobson, A., ‘Shifting Sands: Multiple Counts in Prosecutions for Corporate Manslaughter’ [2012] 3 CLR 201

Erickson, JA., ‘The Effect of Corporate Culture on Injury and Illness Rates within the Organization’ [1994] 55 DAI 6

Fisse, B & J Braithwaite, ‘The Allocation of Responsibility for Corporate Crime: Individualism, Collectivism and Accountability’ [1986] 11 SLR 468

Gobert, J., ‘The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007–Thirteen Years in the Making but was it Worth the Wait?’ [2008] 71(3) MLR 413

Hansmann, H & R Kraakman, ‘The End of History for Corporate Law’ [2001] 89 GLJ 439

Harris, P., An Introduction to the Law (Cambridge University Press 2008)

Hawkins, K & J Thomas, Enforcing Regulation (Kluwer-Nijhoff 1984)

Khanna, VS., ‘Corporate Criminal Liability: What Purpose does it Serve?’ [1996] 109(7) HLR 1477

Lederman, E., ‘Models for Imposing Corporate Criminal Liability: From Adaptation and Imitation toward Aggregation and the Search for Self-Identity’ [2000] 4(1) Buffalo Criminal Law Review 641

Leigh, LH., The Criminal Liability of Corporations in English Law (Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1969)

O’Toole, M., ‘The Relationship between Employees’ Perceptions of Safety and Organizational Culture’ [2002] 33 JSR 231

Ormerod, D., Smith and Hogan’s Criminal Law (13^th edn, OUP 2011)

Reason, J., Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents (Taylor & Francis 2016)

Schein, EH., Organizational Culture and Leadership (Jossey-Bass 2010)

Simester, AP, JR Spencer, GR Sullivan & GJ Virgo, Simester & Sullivan’s Criminal Law: Theory and Doctrine (4^th edn, Hart 2010)

Slapper, G., ‘Corporate Homicide and Legal Chaos’ [1999] 149 NLJ 1031

Slye, RC., ‘Corporations, Veils, and International Criminal Liability’ [2008] 33 Brooklyn Journal of International Law 955

Sullivan, GR., ‘The Attribution of Culpability to Limited Companies’ [1996] 55 CLJ 515

Wells, C., Corporations and Criminal Responsibility (2^nd edn, OUP 2001)

Reports

Home Office, Corporate Manslaughter Draft Bill for Reform (Stationery Office 2005)

Cases

A-G’s Ref (No.2 of 1999) [2000] QB 796

Anonymous Case (No. 935) 88 ER 1518, KB 1701

Meridian Global Funds Management Asia Ltd v Securities Commission [1995] 2 AC 500

R v Birmingham and Gloucester Railway (1842) 3 QB 223

Tesco Supermarkets Ltd v Nattrass [1972] AC 153 HL

Legislation

Companies Act 2006

Crime and Policing Act 2026

Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023

Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007

Fraud Act 2006

Insolvency Act 1986

Footnotes

[1] C Wells, Corporations and Criminal Responsibility (2^nd edn, OUP 2001) 112; K Hawkins & J Thomas, Enforcing Regulation (Kluwer-Nijhoff 1984) 58-59.

[2] A Ashworth, Principles of Criminal Law (6^th edn, OUP 2009) 72.

[3] LH Leigh, The Criminal Liability of Corporations in English Law (Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1969) 108-111.

[4] Anonymous Case (No. 935) 88 ER 1518, KB 1701, Lord Holt, [183].

[5] VS Khanna, ‘Corporate Criminal Liability: What Purpose does it Serve?’ [1996] 109(7) HLR 1477, 1479–1480.

[6] P Harris, An Introduction to the Law (Cambridge University Press 2008) 59.

[7] H Hansmann & R Kraakman, ‘The End of History for Corporate Law’ [2001] 89 GLJ 439, 441.

[8] R v Birmingham and Gloucester Railway (1842) 3 QB 223.

[9] VS Khanna, ‘Corporate Criminal Liability: What Purpose does it Serve?’ [1996] 109(7) HLR 1477, 1481.

[10] JA Erickson, ‘The Effect of Corporate Culture on Injury and Illness Rates within the Organization’ [1994] 55 DAI 6, 9.

[11] CMV Clarkson, ‘Kicking Corporate Bodies and Damning their souls’ [1996] 59(4) MLR 557.

[12] G Slapper, ‘Corporate Homicide and Legal Chaos’ [1999] 149 NLJ 1031, 1038.

[13] Tesco Supermarkets Ltd v Nattrass [1972] AC 153 HL.

[14] PH Bucy, ‘Corporate Ethos: A Standard for Imposing Corporate Criminal Liability’ [1991] 75 Minnesota Law Review 1095, 1099.

[15] E Colvin, ‘Corporate Personality and Criminal Liability’ [1995] 6 CLF 1, 4.

[16] A-G’s Ref (No.2 of 1999) [2000] QB 796.

[17] GR Sullivan, ‘The Attribution of Culpability to Limited Companies’ [1996] 55 CLJ 515, 519.

[18] Meridian Global Funds Management Asia Ltd v Securities Commission [1995] 2 AC 500, 507, 511.

[19] CMV Clarkson, ‘Kicking Corporate Bodies and Damning their souls’ [1996] 59(4) MLR 557, 566.

[20] Ibid., 571.

[21] E Lederman, ‘Models for Imposing Corporate Criminal Liability: From Adaptation and Imitation toward Aggregation and the Search for Self-Identity’ [2000] 4(1) Buffalo Criminal Law Review 641, 678, 699.

[22] R Craig, ‘Corporate Manslaughter - Thou Shall do no Murder: A Discussion Paper on the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007’ [2009] 30 CL 1, 8.

[23] B Fisse & J Braithwaite, ‘The Allocation of Responsibility for Corporate Crime: Individualism, Collectivism and Accountability’ [1986] 11 SLR 468, 472.

[24] AP Simester, JR Spencer, GR Sullivan & GJ Virgo, Simester & Sullivan’s Criminal Law: Theory and Doctrine (4^th edn, Hart 2010) 75; Home Office, Corporate Manslaughter Draft Bill for Reform (Stationery Office 2005) 12.

[25] CMCHA 2007, ss. 1(1), 1(3) and 2.

[26] CMCHA 2007, ss. 1, 18 and 20. MD Cooper, ‘Towards a Model of Safety Culture’ [2000] 36 SS 111, 118.

[27] CMCHA 2007, ss. 1(6), 9 and 10; J Gobert, ‘The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007–Thirteen Years in the Making but was it Worth the Wait?’ [2008] 71(3) MLR 413.

[28] RC Slye, ‘Corporations, Veils, and International Criminal Liability’ [2008] 33 Brooklyn Journal of International Law 955, 957.

[29] A Dobson, ‘Shifting Sands: Multiple Counts in Prosecutions for Corporate Manslaughter’ [2012] 3 CLR 201, 208.

[30] CMCHA 2007, s. 1(3), (4)(c). EH Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership (Jossey-Bass 2010) 89.

[31] D Ormerod, Smith and Hogan’s Criminal Law (13^th edn, OUP 2011) 118.

[32] CMCHA 2007, s. 1(4)(c). M O’Toole, ‘The Relationship between Employees’ Perceptions of Safety and Organizational Culture’ [2002] 33 JSR 231, 233.

[33] G Bebb, ‘Plus Ce Change?’ [2006] 68 ELJ 22, 24.

[34] J Reason, Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents (Taylor & Francis 2016) 21.