Table Of ContentCorporations and
Criminal Responsibility
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Corporations and Criminal
Responsibility
Second Edition
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CELIAWELLS 1[543R7Z
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
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© Celia Wells 2001
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Reprinted 2005
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Oxford University Press, at the address above
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ISBN 0-19-924619-X
General Editor’s Introduction
It is a great pleasure to be able to contribute, for the first time, a short introduc-
tion to a second edition of a book in the series of Oxford Monographs on
Criminal Law and Justice. The first edition of Celia Wells’s book was a resound-
ing success, not just in making sense of the diverse issues surrounding corporate
criminal responsibility, but also in influencing the debate that has taken place in
this country and in many other jurisdictions in the past decade. The second edi-
tion is much more than an up-dating. It draws upon wider comparative research
and on developments in theory and research to present some re-worked and some
sharpened arguments on corporate liability, and deals specifically with the role of
the criminal law in responses to corporate killings. It is with great enthusiasm
that | commend a book that is sure to retain its position as the leading study of
this area of criminal liability.
Andrew Ashworth
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Preface to the Second Edition
Corporate liability for crime is never going to occupy a very large space in either
company law or criminal law. But over the past ten years it has emerged from the
cracks between those large unwieldy edifices to claim at least a small out-
building of its own.
In the transition from the esoteric to the familiar, some of the underlying argu-
ments for holding corporations responsible in criminal law may become con-
fused. It is easy to think solely in instrumental terms. This I believe is a mistake.
The reduction of risks and the delivery of safety will not happen through crimi-
nal blame. That does not mean that criminal blame should not have a role.
Indeed, the role that criminal law has in any area reflects our fears and uncertain-
ties, and that is why the current mood in favour of corporate liability is fascinat-
ing. Ask not what criminal justice does for you, ask what you can do for criminal
justice, to adapt John Kennedy’s aphorism. The main argument for developing
corporate liability principles is on firmer ground when the expressive or symbolic
function is brought to the fore.
Corporate liability has been under active consideration by courts, legislatures,
law reform bodies, and international organizations in the last two decades. I have
attempted to reflect those debates in this new edition of the book, which retains
the same core structure as the first. As well as updating, I have added new chap-
ters on corporate manslaughter and on comparative and international responses.
In the process it has been necessary to move some sections to different chapters.
The opportunity to participate in international conferences and colloquia has
enabled me to move from my Dark Ages comprehension of non-English speaking
jurisdictions. How far Ih ave moved is a matter for them to judge, but I am espe-
cially grateful to Albin Eser and Barbara Huber of the Max Planck Institute in
Freiburg, Alberto Cadoppi of the University of Parma, and Mark Pieth of the
University of Zurich, for leading the way.
I have been much assisted by the kind reviewers of the first edition who helped
me to believe that it was worthwhile producing this new version. I have benefited
from excellent research assistance, funded by Cardiff Law School, over the last
few years, in particular from Helen Wright, Justine Davidge, and Oliver Quick. I
would like to thank them for translating my vague instructions into coherent
advice. I am additionally grateful to Oliver Quick for allowing me to draw on
some of his published work, and to Fiona Donson and Bob Lee for reading drafts
of my work and for their friendship. Tony Caffel is to be congratulated on his tal-
ent for mediation whenever relations between me and my word processor take a
nasty turn, and the information services staff at Cardiff University, especially
Duncan Montgomery in the law library, continue to win my admiration and
gratitude for their willingness to answer daft queries at inconvenient times.
Vill Preface to the Second Edition
Derek Morgan continues very skilfully to negotiate the path of colleague and
partner. His editorial suggestions are always helpful, though I may not always see
them that way at the time. And lastly, I want to thank Lydia, our last remaining
child at home, for enduring without dilution incessant ‘law-talk’ from her par-
ents.
8 December 2000
