Corporate and directors' liability and due diligence

Corporations occupy a central position in modern society. They own and control the majority of means of production, distribution and exchange. This immense power has led their activities to come under increasing scrutiny. There is now general recognition of the necessity for corporations to be subject to the criminal law. One of the growing areas of intersection between the criminal law and corporation is the protection of the environment. Corporatisation enables individuals to combine their capital to undertake large-scale developments and other potentially deleterious activities to the environment at a much-reduced level of risk to the participants. Given the preponderance of corporations in the industrial and commercial sectors, their potential to harm the environment is correspondingly greater than that of natural individuals. The corporate structure also has the effect of diffusing responsibility for these activities. This has led to the imposition of statutory criminal liability for corporations and personal liability for directors and managers. Due diligence is and important defence for corporations and directors and managers and will be considered separately in the chapter.