Question

In the UK, it is possible to press criminal charges against companies. a) Explain the importance of ‘mens rea’ in relation to corporate criminal liability.

b) Explain the three ways to establish criminal liability against companies in the UK.

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Answer 1

a.The term mens rae refers to cirminal intent of a person .it is the statutory state of mind that is required in order to convict a particular defendent of a particular crime.

Mens rae requirement is premised upon the idea that the company must possess a guilty set of mind and should be aware of his or her misconduct.

If the statue specifies a mental state or a particular offense then the courts will usually apply the requisite mental state to each element of crime.

For verification of the criminal liability of corporates, the courts may also require the government to prove the mental state during the commission of crime even if the statue refrains from mentioning a mental state.  

b. In uk the criminal liability of the corporate can simply arise from criminal activities of senior employees could be criminally attributed to the company. the criminal liability imposition to a company wasn't easy for the Government with the concept of mens rae under the law.

However for most criminal offenses that require a mental state , the prosecutors have been able to hold the company liable only on the basis of identification principle.

Corporate criminal liability can be established on the following grounds;

1.Act within the scope of employment.

the employees of the company shall act wthitin its scope law states that a corporation is liable for its agents’ activities irrespective of the employee’s status or position in the corporation’s bureaucracy.

2. Benefit to the corporates.

the act of the employees or agents shall be beneficial to the organization but it neednot be directly beneficial .The corporation need not actually directly receive the benefits nor must the benefit be enjoyed completely by the company, but the illegal act must not be contrary to corporate interests.

3.Special problems arise when it comes to establishing mental culpability of a corporation. two main methods to trace these problems are collective blindness doctrine and willful blindness doctrine.

when a corporate is at fault but it can't be said that a single individual/employee is at fault then it is collective bindness. And when the corporates turns blind to an ongoing fraudulent activity then it refers to willful blind doctrine.