Critical Developments in Corporate Criminal Liability: Senior Officers, Wilful Blindness, and Agents in Foreign Jurisdictions
Criminal Law Quarterly, Vol. 60. pp. 92-127 (2013)
36 Pages Posted: 12 Jul 2013
Date Written: 2013
Abstract
This article updates the authors work on the 2003 changes to corporate criminal liability in Canada. In 2003, Parliament replaced the traditional legal concept of corporate liability based on the fault of the corporation’s “directing mind(s)” with a broader concept of “senior officers”. This case examines a 2012 decision in R. v. Pétroles Global Inc., [2012] J.Q. No 5437 and an Ontario case in which a corporation was found liable for the actions of its contractors and argues that both decisions accord with Parliament’s intent to expand corporate criminal liability. The article also examines how recent decisions equating willful blindness with knowledge and decisions under Canada’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act also have the effect of broadening corporate criminal liability. It also explores relates issues of risk management for corporations.
Keywords: Corporations, Criminal Liability, Risk Management
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