Sentencing Guidelines Council's Definitive Guidelines Published

The Sentencing Guidelines Council (the Council) published their definitive guideline (applicable in England and Wales but not in Scotland) on sentencing in relation to the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (the 2007 Act) on 9 February 2010. The guideline also applies to health and safety cases other than corporate manslaughter cases where it is proved that the offence was a significant cause of death, not simply that death occurred. The guideline will apply to the sentencing of organisations on or after 15 February 2010.

The publication of the guidance follows further consultation on the Council' s proposed guideline, issued in response to a consultation paper by the Sentencing Advisory Panel (the Panel). As the Council did not adopt many of the Panel's recommendations, they felt a second consultation was appropriate. However, the final guideline as now published still does not include many of the Panel's proposals.