Abstract
Corporate liability remains a critical issue in international law, balancing punishment and compliance to ensure accountability without stifling economic growth. Different jurisdictions adopt varying approaches, from strict punitive measures to compliance-driven frameworks, influencing corporate behavior and legal outcomes. This paper explores the global landscape of corporate liability, examining key legal doctrines, enforcement mechanisms, and policy considerations. With the analysis of landmark cases and regulatory trends, it highlights the challenges in harmonizing legal standards across borders. The study underscores the need for a balanced approach that fosters corporate responsibility while addressing transnational legal complexities.
Keywords: Corporate Liability, Compliance, International Law, Punishment, Regulatory Framework
- Introduction
The criminal law of today gives clear descriptions of crimes and the proper sanctions for doing them. The rules of criminal law were sufficient to cope with the criminal activities of the wrongdoers in society up until the times when the world observed the traditional set of wrongdoings. The modern world’s evolving definitions of crime and the new crimes being committed have compelled us to reconsider and review the laws and regulations governing crime and punishment, both in terms of the evolving nature of criminal activity and the evolving criminal profile, which now includes legal entities.
Legal systems all across the globe now recognise that corporations themselves can be held accountable for crimes, and they are updating their theories and concepts about corporate criminality and crime. Penological principles are still lacking in their ability to appropriately address the demand for suitable punishments for corporate guilt.
There is no denying that the application of agency principles of vicarious liability in situations where a company has done everything reasonable to ensure that its employees’ behaviour complies with the law is not supported by any of the traditional goals of the criminal law or by its fundamental concern for individual determinations of guilt. After all, criminal law is only used to punish behaviour that we think abhorrent enough to require the harshest penalty. Criminal law aims to punish and discourage such behaviour. This chapter makes an effort to examine the criminological features of corporate crime and the requirement for developing efficient countermeasures to today’s corporate criminality.