CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER REVIEWED
| Date | 01 January 1993 |
| Pages | 245-254 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb024772 |
| Published date | 01 January 1993 |
| Author | NICHOLAS REVILLE |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance |
CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER REVIEWED
Received: 11th February, 1993
NICHOLAS REVILLE
NICHOLAS REVILLE
LLB MA, SOLICITOR IS A SENIOR LECTURER IN
LAW AT DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY
LEICESTER, WHO SPECIALISES IN CRIMINAL
LAW, TRUSTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW. A
CONTRIBUTOR TO THE SOLICITORS'
CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION PROCRAMME
AND RADIO 4'S 'LAW IN ACTION', HE HAS
GIVEN PAPERS ON CRIMINAL LAW AT A
NUMBER OF CONFERENCES, AND WRITTEN ON
MANY LEGAL ISSUES IN DIFFERENT ACADEMIC
AND PROFESSIONAL JOURNALS. THE AUTHOR
OF
'BROADCASTING - THE NEW LAW
(1991.
BUTTERWORTHS), HE IS A REGULAR SPEAKER
ON
TOPICAL LEGAL MATTERS ON BBC RADIO
LEICESTER AND A CONSULTANT TO FIRMS OF
SOLICITORS IN THE CITY AND LEICESTER.
ABSTRACT
This paper analyses
the criminal law
con-
cept
of
corporate manslaughter
in
the
regu-
lation of the
corporate safety culture
of the
workplace. The undeveloped and con-
troversial nature of corporate man-
slaughter is set in the context of factors
which determine regulatory action (and
sometimes
inaction).
These include the role
of the
police,
the Health
and
Safety
Execu-
tive and the
coroner.
Active and proactive
regulatory reform
(legislative, judicial and
procedural) is
considered.
Research into antisocial corporate
activity suggests that the factors
which determine regulatory action
include the vigour of those promot-
ing and opposing regulation, the
perceived regulatory alternatives
and the nature of the corporate
activity, in particular its conspicu-
ousness. Clearly, corporate crime
cannot be treated as a single entity
for analytical purposes and this
paper considers the concept of cor-
porate manslaughter.
The undeveloped nature1 of cor-
porate criminal liability is controver-
sial because its 'underlying theory
and rationale remain strangely
uncertain'.2 This is particularly true
in relation to the offence of corpor-
ate manslaughter, about which there
is a striking paucity of authority.3
One valuable consequence that
emerged from the case of P&O
Euro-
pean
Ferries (Dover)
Ltd4
is the ruling
by Turner J that an indictment for
manslaughter can lie against a com-
pany.5 Arguably, this judicial recog-
nition of the existence of such an
offence supports the view that pro-
245
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