Analyse the impact of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (CMCH 2007) on the criminal law for corporate manslaughter.

Essay Question … corporate killing is a sphere of activity which produces significant harm but which remains effectively non- or de-criminalized. (Tombs, S. (2018) ‘The UK’s corporate killing law: un/fit for purpose?’, Criminology and Criminal Justice, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 488–507, p. 505)

Analyse the impact of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (CMCH 2007) on the criminal law for corporate manslaughter. Evaluate whether the CMCH 2007 has been successful in addressing the criticisms of the old, common law approach to corporate manslaughter. Preparing for this essay The essay must be in the format of Arial, size 12 with 1.15 spacing. This essay question requires you to: ● throughout the entire essay, develop a reasoned and evidence-based argument about whether you think the CMCH 2007 has been successful in addressing the criticisms of the old law ● concisely explain the criminal offence of corporate manslaughter in the CMCH 2007 ● analyse the impact of the CMCH 2007 on the law, including with respect to the criticisms of the previous common law offence ● evaluate the extent to which the CMCH 2007 has addressed the criticisms of the old law using evidence from academic commentary and case law, found through your own research. You are required to write an essay that shows understanding of the relevant areas of the criminal law as well as demonstrating skills of analysis, evaluation and making a reasoned argument. You should aim to define the key legal terms relevant to the question, explain the relevant law, analyse the legal position and evaluate the merits of the law. From your introduction and throughout your essay, you should make an argument that answers the question set. You should critically evaluate the extent to which the new corporate manslaughter offence addresses the criticisms of the previous law. Your argument should focus on whether, in light of your evaluation, the law is successful in terms of addressing the criticisms identified, drawing on evidence to explain why. You should use your essay to present a coherent, well-reasoned answer to the question asked, supported by evidence. You should choose the evidence and arguments you use selectively and carefully, ensuring you are always focused on answering the question asked. You should write in your own words. Any quotations should be properly cited in-text. When writing your essay you should: ● structure it appropriately in essay form, including an introduction and conclusion ● make an argument from the beginning and throughout that answers the question ● use evidence to support the points you make, including evidence taken from academic commentary and case law found through your own research ● address points and evidence both for and against your argument ● link every point you make back to the question and connect each to your overall argument. What is the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007? The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 came into effect in 2008 in response to a number of large-scale disasters in the 1990s and acts to impose criminal responsibility on organisations where gross negligence has led to the death of an employee. Although it is not part of health and safety law, corporate manslaughter is a criminal offence that refers to a crime committed by a company or organisation that leads to a work-related death. It introduced a new element in the corporate management of health and safety. An organisation is guilty of a corporate manslaughter offense if the way in which its activities are managed or organised causes a person’s death, and if this amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed by the organisation to the deceased. Organisations affected by the legislation include: ● Corporations ● Most government departments and governmental agencies (including local authorities by implication) ● Police forces ● Partnerships, trade unions or employers’ associations that act as employers How do you prove corporate manslaughter? In 2019/20 111 workers were killed at work in Great Britain which, despite being 38 fewer than the previous year, is still a significantly high number. Since the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act was introduced into UK law, there have been fewer than 30 convictions. It is rare that a company will be charged with corporate manslaughter because in order to be found guilty, all ofthe following needs to be proved: ● the defendant is a qualifying organisation; ● the organisation owed a relevant duty of care to the deceased; ● there was a gross breach of that duty by the organisation; ● the way in which its activities were managed or organised by its senior; ● management was a substantial element in the breach; and ● the gross breach of the organisation’s duty caused or contributed to the death. A substantial element of any duty of care breach needs to be in the way activities were managed or organised. In other words, senior management must play a substantial role. However, in most, if not all workplace fatalities, very rarely is there a single factor that results in such a tragic outcome – fault is typically attributed to many different aspects. Demonstrating that senior management failure was a substantial cause of any duty of care breach has been the biggest hurdle to overcome in making corporate manslaughter cases stick. Of the convictions that have been granted, majority of them have been smaller-sized companies where identifying a ‘senior manager’ connected to the company’s gross failure has been possible.