Common Law Crime: Liability of Non-Natural Person
| Author | Robert Shiels |
| Published date | 01 April 1995 |
| Date | 01 April 1995 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X9506800204 |
| Subject Matter | High Court of Justiciary |
High
Court
of
Justiciary
Common Law Crime: Liability of Non-natural Person
Transco
pIc
v HM
Advocate
2004
SLT
41
On 22 December 1999
there
was a massive explosion in Larkhall,
Lanarkshire that,
apart
from causing
other
damage, completely de-
stroyed
the
dwelling house at 42 Carlyle Road. All four occupants of
that
dwelling house, including two children,
were
killed.
The
Crown
served
on
Transco pic an
indictment
in
which
the
com-
pany
was charged,
with
regard to
the
explosion
and
deaths on 22
December 1999,
with
the
common
law crime of culpable homicide (a
crime
not
dissimilar
to
manslaughter
in English law) and, in
the
alter-
native, a
contravention
of ss 3
and
33(1) of
the
Health
and
Safety at
Work, etc. Act 1974. These charges arose
out
of circumstances existing at
least since 1986 in
which
Transco pic, a
company
incorporated
under
the
Companies Acts,
had
certain functions
and
responsibilities for
the
transmission
and
distribution of gas in an area
that
included Larkhall.
Transco pic in response challenged
the
competence
and
relevance of
the
charge of culpable homicide. This challenge follows from
the
re-
quirement
in Scots law
that
criminal charges
must
set
out
in detail
the
manner
in
which
the
crime is said
to
have
been
committed in
order
to
give
the
accused fair notice of
the
case
that
has to be met. The challenge
to
the
competence
amounted
to an assertion
that
under
the
existing law
of Scotland a
non-natural
person
such
as Transco pic could
not
in
any
circumstances be guilty of
the
common
law crime of culpable homicide;
the
challenge to
the
relevancy of
the
charge was
that
the
allegations set
out
in
the
charge of culpable homicide as properly interpreted did
not
disclose circumstances
that
(if proved)
would
amount
under
the
existing
law of Scotland to
the
commission by
the
non-natural
Transco pic of a
common
law crime.
These
contentions
raised
purely
legal issues to be decided by
the
court
on
the
basis of
the
existing law. Neither of these contentions
nor
the
decision of
the
court
about
them
question
the
tragic character of
the
loss
of life on 22 December 1999.
The issues raised
were
first
heard
before a single
judge
of
the
High
Court of Justiciary at a preliminary diet. After hearing parties,
the
single
judge
refused to dismiss
the
indictment
on
the
grounds
of
either
compe-
tency or relevancy. Transco pic appealed against
the
decision at
the
preliminary diet
and
the
issues
were
heard
before
three
judges.
The charge of culpable homicide referred to a period of time
extend-
ing from 24 August 1986 to 22 December 1999
and
that
was followed by
aseries of
averments
of knowledge by Transco pic concerning inter alia
the
risks arising from
the
corrosion of ductile
iron
pipes used for
the
distribution of gas
and
alleged failures of
maintenance
and
safety. The
charge
named
four collective bodies. The
Crown
offered to prove
118
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