Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill

I apologise for two out of three. I have been critical of the guidelines for juries since we first came to this debate on the grounds that they breach one of the cardinal principles laid down by the great historian Burckhardt, that it is necessary for anyone in possession of the facts to understand them only in the context of the spirit of the circumstances in which they took place. I do not believe that the definitions of guidelines to be offered to juries will do anything to recreate the special circumstances that will have dictated what led to the criminal offence being alleged at the time of the jury’s consideration. I have already commented that there are some potentially quite sinister motives that could significantly colour a jury’s attitude to the question of guilt. I have mentioned particularly the avoidance of liability under a liquidated damages clause and the need to keep a company solvent by avoiding a penalty payment. To me that would seem to be a very significant fact. I do not think it is an issue of attitude, but a completely financially-motivated objective. Further, we should not even think that this is an issue which is divorced from the interests of individual directors. If you know that your company is going to go bankrupt if you are meet a liability, you will lose your salary, your expectation of bonuses and whatever you might have invested in the company. You could have a very strong personal incentive for effectively commissioning an illegal act here. Motive is inseparable from an assessment of guilt in this case, and I propose the inclusion of ““motive””. I do not think it conflicts with the elimination of ““attitude””.