To what extent do the provisions of the civil and criminal law ensure Essay

To what extent do the provisions of the civil and criminal law ensure that corporate bodies are held responsible for their harmful acts and omissions - Essay Example In doing so, the paper evaluates the degree to which the provisions of the civil and criminal law in the UK guarantee that corporate bodies can be held responsible for their harmful acts and omissions. Assigning responsibility for harm comes out as an important problem in both morality and law. The assertion that one is responsible for harm means that the individual can be blamed, punished, or required to pay compensation. In moral contexts (but not in all legal ones), an individual is responsible for a harm provided that the harm has a causal consequence of something that the individual has or omitted to do (Ashworth 2009, p.5). Legal exceptions to this general rule encompass corporations held liable for the harms inflicted by the companies’ employees or board of directors. Thus, companies, just like individuals, can be held responsible not only for the harmful consequence of their actions, but also for the harmful outcomes of their omissions (Fisse and Braithwaite 1993, p.2). Assigning professional responsibility for harm in instances of negligence frequently hinges on what is reasonable to expect from the members of any given profession. The liability of a company derives from the principle that comprehensive imposition of the criminal law against corporate offenders, where appropriate, delivers a deterrent effect, safeguards the public, and entrenches and reinforces ethical business practices. The prosecution of a company should not be identified as a replacement for the prosecution of criminally liable individuals such as officers, directors, employees, or shareholders (Wells 2001, p.160). The prosecution of such individuals avails a powerful deterrent against future corporate wrongdoing. Similarly, the consideration of prosecution of individuals should also feature deliberation of probable liability of the company where the