Network on Developments in Corporate Criminal Liability

法律能应对公司犯罪吗？各州如何调查、起诉和判决造成严重伤害的公司？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、比较和批判性地分析关于公司刑事责任的现行法律，从而加强我们对各国如何处理公司不当行为的了解和理解。经济学家、会计师、社会学家、犯罪学家、律师和人权倡导者对企业的不当行为进行了不同的处理。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，我们的目的是建立一个跨学科和全球性的学者网络，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这个问题。最近的事件提高了公众对企业风险管理缺陷可能造成的巨大危害的认识。损害可能是经济方面的，就像当前银行业的危机以及雷曼兄弟、美林、安然、帕玛拉特和世通等以前备受尊敬的公司的倒闭所证明的那样；也可能涉及重伤甚至生命损失，比如法国协和式飞机坠毁、自由企业先驱报倾覆，以及英国索索尔、帕丁顿、哈特菲尔德和波特酒吧的铁路相撞事故。起诉失败(以及由于预期的证据问题而未能提出起诉)突出了传统刑法理论在处理公司不法行为方面的不足。法律概念，如物权行为、过错原因和因果关系，以自然人为中心构建，不容易适用于公司等虚构实体。由于缺乏有效的监管机制或现有法律的不足之处，许多州颁布了新的法规。这些法律在方法上有很大的不同，从全面的刑事责任到仅仅的行政处罚。该网络的一个主要目标将是评估这些法律对公司行为的影响，确定这些法律是如何执行的以及由谁执行(警察、监管机构或严重欺诈办公室等专门机构)；当局如何处理违规行为；影响刑事起诉决定的因素；以及可对公司施加的制裁，以及在刑事定罪后被发现促进或制裁公司违法行为的高管和董事，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设立内部合规部门，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对企业刑事责任的外部强制执行转向内部自律。但是，自我监管是解决之道吗？还有其他选择吗？我们将通过专题论文、研讨会、会议以及出版书籍、文章和临时论文，尽可能广泛地传播研究成果。我们还将建立一个定期更新的网站，在那里可以介绍和提供该地区的新发展以及来自网络以外人员的信息。这些活动将加强研究的影响，并确保与广大受众充分接触。该网络将引起商界和法律界、公司、公共利益团体、非政府组织、立法机构、学者、学生和公众的兴趣。

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.