Friday, November 02, 2007
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act received Royal Assent on 26 July 2007 but does not come into effect until April 6th 2009. The Act creates a new statutory offence in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland of Statutory Manslaughter or of Statutory Homicide in Scotland. Under the Act companies whose gross negligence leads to the death of individuals face prosecution for manslaughter. Corporate manslaughter/homicide can be committed by a company in relation to work-related death. It may follow that a senior manager, who is a controlling mind and will of the company, is guilty of manslaughter. The Act makes it easier to prosecute companies and other large organisations where gross failures in management of health & safety (not just safety violations) lead to death. Where found guilty, companies, organisations and government bodies face an unlimited fine. This legislation is about corporate liability, not simply increasing liability for individual directors or managers, who can already be brought to court under existing health & safety laws and the common law of manslaughter.