01/06/2005
Hanson to extend corporate manslaughter laws to NI
Criminal Justice Minister David Hanson has published tough new proposals to prosecute companies and organisations responsible for manslaughter in Northern Ireland.
Launching a public consultation on the plans, Mr Hanson said corporate manslaughter was a criminal offence committed by organisations, not by individuals, and the law must be updated to reflect this.
“The existing legislation that tackles deaths caused by corporate bodies dictates that an individual senior official must be personally guilty of manslaughter before the company can be prosecuted,” the Minister said.
“These new proposals are a tough response to this weakness in the law and companies will now be held accountable if a death results from working practices where senior management have shown a gross disregard for their responsibilities to employees or others.”
The new offence focuses responsibility on the working practices of the organisation, as set by senior managers, rather than limiting the scope of investigations to gross negligence by individual company bosses.
“This law is already being introduced in England and Wales and its extension to include to Northern Ireland will help build public confidence in a modern criminal justice system,” Mr Hanson continued. “Corporations already taking a conscientious approach to their obligations have absolutely nothing to fear from these proposals.”
(MB)
Launching a public consultation on the plans, Mr Hanson said corporate manslaughter was a criminal offence committed by organisations, not by individuals, and the law must be updated to reflect this.
“The existing legislation that tackles deaths caused by corporate bodies dictates that an individual senior official must be personally guilty of manslaughter before the company can be prosecuted,” the Minister said.
“These new proposals are a tough response to this weakness in the law and companies will now be held accountable if a death results from working practices where senior management have shown a gross disregard for their responsibilities to employees or others.”
The new offence focuses responsibility on the working practices of the organisation, as set by senior managers, rather than limiting the scope of investigations to gross negligence by individual company bosses.
“This law is already being introduced in England and Wales and its extension to include to Northern Ireland will help build public confidence in a modern criminal justice system,” Mr Hanson continued. “Corporations already taking a conscientious approach to their obligations have absolutely nothing to fear from these proposals.”
(MB)
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