The Doctrine of Identification,Causation and Corporate Liability for Manslaughter

Abstract

This article examines corporate liability for manslaughter. It considers the legal effect of the ‘identification’ doctrine and how it operates as a legal barrier to potential corporate liability. The question of whether the ‘conduct’ of a corporation is a cause of death is also examined. The article maintains that the Court of Appeal in Attorney General's Reference (No.2 of 1999) had the opportunity to remove the legal fiction of identification and to overcome the problem of causation, so that a proper appraisal of an organisational structure can be made in order to ascertain whether a corporation's safety performance was grossly negligent.