UK companies and other organisations can
be convicted of a new offence under the
Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate
Homicide Act 2007, which comes into
force on 6 April 2008.
The new Act does not create new duties
in law, but will make prosecutions easier.
Companies and other organisations across
the public and private sectors could be
found guilty of the offence of corporate
manslaughter (or corporate homicide in
Scotland) if the way in which their activities
are managed or organised causes a death and
amounts to a gross breach of a duty of care to the deceased.
In the past, prosecutions have generally only
succeeded against companies where the director and the company have
essentially been the same. The new Act aims
to focus on the way in which an organisation’s
activities are managed and controlled; and prosecutions will
not have
to rely on an individual being found guilty
of gross negligence.
The courts will now be able to consider
the wider picture by looking collectively
at the actions and failings of the organisation’s senior management.
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