Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007
Feb 6, 2008
Author: Richard Harriman

They create a new offence of corporate manslaughter (corporate homicide in Scotland), which would allow organisations to be prosecuted for management failures that lead to the deaths of employees and others.

Richard Harriman says “The 2007 Act changes the basis on which companies are liable for prosecution for manslaughter. Gross failures in the management of health and safety, causing death, will be liable to prosecution as corporate manslaughter from April 2008. An organisation is guilty of the offence if the way in which its activities are managed or organised causes a death and amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care to the deceased. A substantial part of the breach must have been in the way activities were managed by senior management. Until April 2008, organisations could only be convicted of manslaughter if a “directing mind” at the top of the company (like a director) was also personally liable. This however, is not how most companies reach decisions, so the law has been changed. The new offence allows an organisation’s liability to be assessed on a wider basis.

The position of individuals

The offence is concerned with the corporate liability of the organisation itself and does not apply to individual directors, senior managers or other individuals. Nor is it possible to convict an individual of assisting or encouraging the offence (section 18). However, individuals can already be prosecuted for gross negligence, manslaughter/culpable homicide and for health and safety offences. The Act does not change this and prosecutions against individuals will continue to be taken where there is sufficient evidence and the Government says it is in the public interest to do so. Contact Richard for further information on 01494 521301