Those in charge of companies or organisations responsible for serious injury or death - such as the Hepatitis C scandal, or the Whiddy and Stardust disasters - should in future face the prospect of going to prison, the Law Reform Commission believes.
Under the current law it is very difficult to establish corporate criminal liability and prosecute organisations responsible for causing injuries, according to the LRC's latest consultation paper. It recommends the creation of a new offence of corporate killing.
The proposed offence would apply where a death was caused by gross recklessness on the part of an organisation, creating a serious risk of substantial injury. Such an offence would be based on the acts or omissions of a senior manager or director.
The offence would be prosecuted on indictment, and would normally be tried by a judge and jury. On conviction, as well as imposing an unlimited fine, the court could order improvements to be made to prevent recurrences, make a community service order and require the organisation to publicise its conviction.
Under the proposals, senior managers and directors who are found to have acted with reckless disregard for a person's safety could also be prosecuted personally, and be liable for a prison sentence of up to five years, or an unlimited fine, or both.
The proposals come in a consultation paper, which is offered to interested parties for their observations. The deadline for submissions on it is January 31st, 2004. Following this, the commission will produce its final proposals in a report, which will be presented to the Government.