Corporate Killing

On 20 July 2006 the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill ("the Bill") was introduced into Parliament.

It had previously been anticipated that separate provisions would be introduced in each of England and Wales and Scotland. The Bill now covers both.

The Bill creates a new offence of Corporate Manslaughter (to be called Corporate Homicide in Scotland) which applies to companies, other incorporated bodies, certain government departments and similar bodies and police forces.

The main provisions of the Bill are as follows:-

• The offence will be committed where:
• an organisation owes a duty to take reasonable care for a person’s safety
• the way in which activities of the organisation have been managed or organised by senior managers amounts to a gross breach of this duty and