Dear Editor,
Some while back I was attracted to the discussion which was going on with regard to a new bill for introduction in the UK, viz the Corporate Manslaughter Bill. Apparently debates had been taking place for over a decade, and agreement was reached culminating with a new offence under the ‘Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.’
Why this change with such wide implications for convictions of breaches under the UK health and safety legislation? Apparently the old offence had its limitations for identifying what is referred to as “the controlling mind”. Under the old offence it was necessary to prove beyond reasonable doubt gross negligence by an individual, but under the new offence if an aggregation of management failures could be proved to show there was a gross breach of duty it should suffice for a prosecution in companies, especially large ones, in order to secure a conviction.
However, directors of small companies who could be identified as the “controlling mind” can still be prosecuted under the old offence for common manslaughter. It is felt that serious tragedies like the Hatfield, Potters train crash and others might have been responsible for the introduction of this new offence.
A summary of the new act is detailed below with the source of the information.
“The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 allows companies, organizations and government bodies to be prosecuted if they are found to have caused death due to gross corporate health and safety failures. “It is intended to make it easier to prosecute companies for negligence that leads to death in the workplace.
Previously companies could only be convicted of manslaughter if a ‘directing mind’ (such as a director) at the top of the company was also personally liable. The Act does not introduce any new regulatory standards, and relies on compliance with existing health safety legislation.” – Corporate Manslaughter Bill Information. ttp://asp.wlv.ac.uk/Level5.aspnavcode=354.
There is a test case as reported in the monthly June 09 ICSA magazine, which will be the first case to be tried under the new law of corporate killing – Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings; the case will come up for trial in 2010. See www.charteredsecretary.net
There is much detailed information which can be obtained from the internet pertaining to the act itself which deals with the definition of corporation, senior management, fines, sentencing, etc. I would trust that this new bill would not only provide legal information but also provoke discussion within local legal circles and beyond. My legal knowledge is limited to my professional training.
Yours faithfully,
VO Patrick