Are Corporations Free to Kill? Rethinking the Law on Corporate Manslaughter to Better Reflect the Artificial Legal Existence of Corporations

Abstract

This year, 2018, marks the 10 year anniversary of the implementation of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. It is, therefore, an appropriate time to review its effectiveness and consider whether the Act has achieved what it set out to. Its introduction was a parliamentary attempt to address the key defects’2 under the previous identification doctrine, where a company’s liability was dependant on gross negligent manslaughter being sought in the relevant directing mind and will. This article will highlight the inadequacies of the former regime and review to what extent the 2007 Act has resolved them. Importantly, it references the recent Grenfell Tower disaster, which, if corporate manslaughter charges are pursued, will be the Act’s biggest and most public challenge to date.