Network on Developments in Corporate Criminal Liability

企业刑事责任发展网络

• 批准号: AH/H008454/1
• 负责人: James Gobert
• 金额: $ 5.04万
• 依托单位: University of Essex
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2009 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FH008454%2F1
• 关键词: Network; Developments; Corporate; Criminal; Liability

Can the Law cope with Corporate Crime? How do states go about investigating, prosecuting and sentencing companies that cause serious harm? Do laws have any effect on corporate behaviour? The Network on Developments in Corporate Criminal Liability aims to enhance our knowledge and understanding of how states deal with corporate misconduct by bringing together international scholars from different disciplines to compile, compare and critically analyse current laws on Corporate Criminal Liability. Corporate wrongdoing has been tackled variously by economists, accountants, sociologists, criminologists, lawyers and human rights advocates. However, it is evident that each of these disciplines can benefit from increased exposure to the ideas and research of the other disciplines. Our purpose therefore is to create a multi-disciplinary and global network of scholars who can pool their expertise to produce a better understanding of the causes of corporate wrongdoing and how it can be addressed through law.Recent events have heightened public awareness of the enormous harm that can result from flawed risk management by companies. The damage may be economic, as evidenced by the current crisis in the banking industry and the downfall of such previously well-regarded companies as Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Enron, Parmalat, and Worldcom; or it may involve serious injury and even loss of life, as occurred in the crash of the Concorde in France, the capsize of the Herald of Free Enterprise, and rail crashes at Southall, Paddington, Hatfield, and Potters Bar in the UK. Failed prosecutions (and the failure to bring prosecutions because of anticipated problems of proof) have highlighted the inadequacy of traditional criminal law doctrines for coping with corporate wrongdoing. Legal concepts such as actus reus, mens rea, and causation, constructed with natural persons in mind, do not easily lend themselves to fictional entities such as companies. Many states, in response to the lack of effective regulatory mechanisms or the perceived inadequacies of existing laws, have enacted new statutes. These laws differ widely in approach from an across-the board criminal liability to administrative sanctions only. A key objective of the Network will be to assess the impact of these laws on corporate behaviour by determining how the laws are enforced and by whom (the police, a regulatory agency, or a specialist agency such as the Serious Fraud Office); how violations are dealt with by the authorities, the factors that influence decisions to bring criminal prosecutions; and the sanctions available to be imposed on companies, and executives and directors found to have promoted or sanctioned their company's offence, following a criminal conviction, as well as the extent to which these sanctions are applied in practice.As the business community becomes more familiar with laws imposing corporate criminal liability, more and more companies can be expected to establish internal compliance departments to avoid violations. The end result may be a shift from the external enforcement of corporate criminal liability through regulatory agencies and the police to internal self-regulation. But is self-regulation the solution, and what are the alternatives? We will disseminate the results of the research as widely as possible through thematic papers, workshops, conferences, and the publication of books, articles, and occasional papers. We will also establish a website, regularly updated, where new developments in the area, as well as contibutions from persons outside of the network, can be presented and made available. These activities will enhance the impact of the research and also ensure full engagement with a wide audience. The Network will be of interest to members of the business and legal communities, companies, public interest groups, NGOs, legislative bodies, academics, students and members of the public.

法律能科普公司犯罪吗？各州如何对造成严重伤害的公司进行调查、起诉和判刑？法律对公司行为有影响吗？公司刑事责任发展网络旨在通过汇集来自不同学科的国际学者来汇编、比较和批判性分析公司刑事责任的现行法律，提高我们对国家如何处理公司不当行为的认识和理解。经济学家、会计师、社会学家、犯罪学家、律师和人权倡导者对公司的不法行为进行了各种各样的研究。然而，很明显，这些学科中的每一个都可以从更多地接触其他学科的思想和研究中受益。因此，我们的目的是创建一个多学科的全球学者网络，他们可以汇集他们的专业知识，更好地了解企业不当行为的原因以及如何通过法律解决问题。最近的事件提高了公众对公司风险管理缺陷可能造成的巨大危害的认识。这种损害可能是经济上的，正如目前银行业的危机和雷曼兄弟、梅里尔、安然、帕玛拉特和世界通信等以前受人尊敬的公司的倒闭所证明的那样;或者可能造成严重伤害，甚至生命损失，如法国协和式飞机失事、自由企业先驱报倾覆和绍瑟尔、帕丁顿、哈特菲尔德发生的铁路事故，和英国的波特斯巴。起诉失败（以及由于预期的证据问题而未能提出起诉）突出表明传统刑法理论不足以处理公司的不法行为。法律的概念，如行为雷乌斯、犯罪意图和因果关系，是以自然人为基础构建的，不容易适用于公司等虚构实体。许多州针对缺乏有效的管理机制或现有法律的不足之处，颁布了新的法规。这些法律在处理方法上有很大的不同，从全面的刑事责任到仅仅是行政制裁。该网络的一个关键目标是通过确定法律的执行方式和执行者，评估这些法律对公司行为的影响（警察、监管机构或专业机构，如严重欺诈办公室）;当局如何处理违法行为，影响刑事起诉决定的因素;以及在刑事定罪后，对被发现促成或批准其公司犯罪的公司、行政人员和董事可施加的制裁，以及这些制裁在实践中的适用程度。随着商界越来越熟悉规定公司刑事责任的法律，预计越来越多的公司将建立内部合规部门，以避免违规行为。最终的结果可能是从通过监管机构和警察从外部强制执行公司刑事责任转变为内部自我监管。但自我监管是解决方案吗？还有什么替代方案？我们将通过专题论文、研讨会、会议以及出版书籍、文章和不定期论文，尽可能广泛地传播研究成果。我们还将建立一个网站，定期更新，在那里可以介绍和提供该地区的新发展以及网络之外的人的贡献。这些活动将加强研究的影响，并确保广泛受众的充分参与。工商界和法律的界、公司、公共利益团体、非政府组织、立法机构、学术界、学生和公众成员都将对该网络感兴趣。