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VOL. 9, ISSUE 5 (2023)
Justifications for corporate criminal liability and the defence of corporate insanity
Authors
Babajide S Shoroye
Abstract
Under current law in most
common law jurisdictions, a company is criminally liable if its employee
commits a crime within the scope of employment and ostensibly for the benefit
of the company. The traditional justification for corporate criminal liability
is that the state of mind of the employee is declared as the state of mind of
the company. This vicarious basis of corporate criminal liability remains
questionable as it obliterates the separate legal personality of the company
and contradicts the principles that govern criminal liability. If a company is
believed to possess a mind which is expressed in its employees, should the
company not be eligible to raise the defence of insanity? This article
critically examines the arguments for rethinking the justification for
corporate criminal liability in light of the propositions for the defence of
corporate insanity. The significant objective of this article is that it seeks
to clarify the law on the justifications for corporate criminal liability and
the defence of corporate insanity.
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Pages:23-30
How to cite this article:
Babajide S Shoroye "Justifications for corporate criminal liability and the defence of corporate insanity". International Journal of Law, Vol 9, Issue 5, 2023, Pages 23-30
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