Corporate criminal liability up against the wall

It is notoriously difficult to attribute criminal liability to large corporates in the United Kingdom. Proposals from the Law Commission for reform are on the table - including the extension of 'failure to prevent' offences to cover certain fraud charges. Thomas Cattee and Susana Ferr?n Pérez examine how the criminal law has developed, challenges to establishing criminal corporate liability, along with the recent proposals.

Thomas Cattee (tcattee@gherson.co.uk) is head of white-collar crime at Gherson Solicitors: www.gherson.com. With assistance from Susana Ferr?n Pérez.

How may corporations be held to account for criminal behaviour?

There are currently three ways in which corporations [1] may be held to account for potential criminal behaviour: (i) statutory offences that ascribe specific corporate liability, inter alia, failure to prevent offences in section 7 of the Bribery Act 2019; (ii) vicarious liability, limited to strict liability offences, inter alia, those created under health and safety legislation; and (iii) the identification principle, which includes offences requiring a mental element.