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European Developments in
Corporate Criminal Liability
Friday 18th and Saturday 19th September 2009

Hosted by Clifford Chance, 10 Upper Bank Street, London E14 5JJ

A one-and-a-half-day conference
examining how companies can be
prosecuted in different European
(and other developed) countries

Keynote Speakers

How companies commit crimes

Tests of criminal liability in different countries
What happens in jurisdictions with no

corporate criminal liability

Benefits of different kinds of liability

How corporate crimes are investigated

How companies are sentenced
Directors legal responsibilities
The liability of corporate executives for complicity
in their companies offence

Criminal liability for fraud, money laundering

and work-related death and injury

Human Rights, companies and obligations of states

Hosted by

Professor Celia Wells, University of Bristol

Keir Starmer QC, Director of Public Prosecutions

Speakers include
Dr. Anne Alvesalo-Kuusi, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health
Dr. Pascal Beauvais, Universit Paris X, France
Mr. David Bergman, Centre for Corporate Accountability, UK
Prof. Chris Clarkson, University of Leicester, UK
Prof. Cristina de Maglie, Universit degli studi di Pavia, Italy
Mr. Neil Foster, University of Newcastle, Australia
Prof. James Gobert, University of Essex, UK
Judge Claude LaFont, France
Prof. Michael Levi, Cardiff University, UK
Prof. Ingrid Mitgutsch, Johannes Kepler Univesitt Linz, Austria
Prof. Maurice Punch, Kings College London, UK
Prof. Klaus Rogall, Freie Univesitt Berlin, Germany
Prof. Rick Sarre, University of South Australia
Dr. Deividas Soloveicikas, University of Vilnius, Lithuania
Prof. Steve Tombs, Liverpool John Moores University, UK

Organised by:

CCA

Centre for
Corporate Accountability
promoting worker and public safety

European Developments in Corporate

Criminal Liability
Purpose of the Conference
Events over the past decade have heightened public and legislative
awareness of the grave harm that companies can cause when they
carry on their business in a grossly negligent or criminal manner.
Cases such as Lehman Brothers, Enron and Worldcom highlight the
fragility of businesses with previously good reputations.
Nor is the harm limited to financial loss. The crash of the Concorde in

Who should attend?

Practitioners working in:

Corporate/commercial, employment, personal injury,
white-collar crime, public law, human rights

In-house lawyers
Financial institutions
Employers organisations and business federations

France, the capsize of the Herald of Free Enterprise outside

Local and central government

Zeebrugge, the explosion at the Piper Alpha oil rig in Scotland and

Prosecuting authorities

and rail crashes at Southall, Paddington, Hatfield, and Potters Bar in

England have underscored how serious injuries and deaths can
result from poor risk management.
Failed prosecutions (and the failure to bring prosecutions because of

Academics
NGOs
Trade Unions

anticipated problems of proof) have highlighted the inadequacy of

traditional criminal law doctrines for coping with corporate fault.
Legal concepts such as actus reus, mens rea, and causation, designed
with natural actors in mind, do not easily lend themselves to
inanimate fictional entities such as companies. In response to the
inadequacies of the existing law, statutes have been enacted in
many European countries, including France, Italy, the Netherlands,
Austria, and, most recently, the UK (Corporate Manslaughter and
Corporate Homicide Act 2007).
The purpose of this conference is to obtain a better understanding of
how the laws in different European jurisdictions deal with corporate
criminal culpability and its investigation, prosecution and sentencing.
Based on summary reports of the law and practice in all European
jurisdictions - and a series of thematic discussion papers on
cross-cutting issues, this conference will take stock of corporate
criminal liability law and practice throughout Europe and consider
key issues that divide jurisdictions: administrative law versus criminal
law responses; individual versus corporate culpability; new general
principles of liability versus individual offence reform; and the

CCA

Centre for
Corporate Accountability

different kinds of investigation and sentencing that take place.

For further enquiries: Call +44 (0)1206 873484

Email: gchap@essex.ac.uk

promoting worker and public safety

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Programme

Thursday, 17th September

6pm

Italy
Christina de Maglie, Professor of Law, Universit degli
Studi di Pavia

Drinks reception, Clifford Chance

Lithuania
Dr. Deividas Soloveicikas, Attorney and Lecturer in Law, Vilnius
University

Friday, 18th September

8.30

Registration

9.20

Opening remarks
Michael Smyth, Partner and Head of Public Policy,
Clifford Chance

9.30

Keynote address
Prof. Celia Wells, Professor of Law, University of Bristol

United Kingdom
David Bergman, Executive Director, Centre for Corporate
Accountability
3.15

Questions

3.45

Afternoon Breakout Sessions

A. Companies and Human Rights

Morning Plenary Session 1: Causes of business crime

B. Corruption

Organisational deviance
Maurice Punch, Visiting Professor of Criminology, Kings College,
London

C. Deaths at work

Corporate culture
Rick Sarre, Professor of Law and Criminal Justice, University of
South Australia

E. Financial crimes

Corporate crime and state complicity

Steve Tombs, Professor of Sociology, Liverpool John Moores
University

G. Sentencing
5.15

Breakout session feedback

11.20

Questions

5.45

Close

11.40

Coffee break

7.30

Dinner (optional) *

12.00

Morning Plenary Session 2: Linking causes to offences

10.20

Organisational liability
Chris Clarkson, Professor of Law, University of Leicester

D. Directors responsibilities and liability

F. Environmental crimes

Saturday 19th September

9.30

Morning Plenary Session : Investigation and enforcement

Individual liability
Neil Foster, Senior Lecturer, School of Law, University of
Newcastle (Australia)

Investigating financial crimes

Michael Levi, Professor of Criminology, Cardiff University

The link between organisational and individual liability

James Gobert, Professor of Law, University of Essex

Investigating safety and financial crimes in Scandinavia

Dr. Anne Alvesalo-Kuusi, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health

1.00

Questions

Making prosecution decisions

Claude LaFont, Prosecutor

1.20

Lunch

2.00

Afternoon Plenary Session: Developments in European Law

Austria
Ingrid Mitgutsch Associate Professor of Law, Johannes Kepler
Univesitt Linz
France
Dr. Pascal Beauvais, Lecturer in Law, Universit Paris X
Germany
Dr. Klaus Rogall, Professor of Law, Freie Univesitt Berlin

10.30

Questions

10.50

Coffee break

11:15

Closing Session: The future of corporate criminal liability

Keir Starmer QC, Director of Public Prosecutions

12.00

Closing remarks

12.15

Close

2.00

River Thames boat trip (optional) *

To book your place complete the bookings form overleaf

>>>

Corporate Liability Conference

18th and 19th September 2009, Hosted by Clifford Chance,10 Upper Bank Street, London E14
Standard Delegate Fee: 350
Early booking rate: If you send the completed registration form to us before 1 July 2009, the delegate fee will be 250.
Prices include: conference administration fee for one and half days; your comprehensive conference folder (containing papers relating to the conference sessions,
and in particular a report summarising the law on corporate liability in different European countries); drink reception on Thursday; lunch, and morning and afternoon
coffee/tea on Friday; coffee/tea on Saturday. Please note that the conference fee does not include acccommodation or travel costs. The organisers will be able to advise
on reasonably priced accommodation close to the conference venue. Please contact us if you would like information about this.

Booking Form

Send to: Gail Chapman, European Corporate Liability Conference, School of Law, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
For enquiries email: gchap@essex.ac.uk, or telephone +44 (0)1206 873484 or fax +44 (0)1206 873428
Name of Company / Organisation:
Address of Company / Organisation:
Postcode:

Tel No:

Fax No:

Signed:

Date:

1 st Delegate:
Title:

Forename:

Surname:

Job Title:

Special Dietary Requirements:

Email Address:
Choice of breakout session

(insert session letter in order of preference please note we cannot guarantee your first preference)

1st choice

2nd choice

I am booking early and I claim the discount price of 250

I will attend the free buffet reception on Thursday night

I want information on Saturday afternoon excursion

I cannot attend. Please send me .. copy/ies of the documentation @ 100.00 per set

I want accomodation information

Please tick if you do not wish to receive marketing information from CCA

2 nd Delegate:
Title:

Forename:

Surname:

Job Title:

Special Dietary Requirements:

Email Address:
Choice of breakout session

(insert session letter in order of preference please note we cannot guarantee your first preference)

1st choice

2nd choice

I am booking early and I claim the discount price of 250

I will attend the free buffet reception on Thursday night

I want information on Saturday afternoon excursion

I cannot attend. Please send me .. copy/ies of the documentation @ 100.00 per set

Payment Method

I want accomodation information

Please tick if you do not wish to receive marketing information from CCA

(tick only one box):

Cheque enclosed (payable to University of Essex)

Please charge my credit card:

AMEX Visa Mastercard Switch/Maestro Issue No.

Card Number:

Expiry date:

Cardholder Name:

Signature:

Billing Address (if different from above):

Postcode:

Billing Address Tel No:

Booking Terms and Conditions

Full payment must be made at least a week before the conference,
unless specific arrangements have been made to the contrary. Once
submitted this booking form constitutes a firm booking which can
only be cancelled in accordance with our cancellation policy set out
below. Once we receive your booking form we will send you a booking
acknowledgement. If you have not received this acknowledgment
prior to date of the conference, please contact us.

Cancellation policy
Bookings may only be cancelled by written notice by fax or email to
Gail Chapman (Contact details above) received by us not less than 10
working days before the date of the conference (i.e by 4th September).
This must be followed by a telephone call to confirm receipt. You will
then be sent a refund of your delegate fee, less an administration
charge of 50.00 for each delegate booking that is cancelled.
Telephone cancellations will not be accepted. Refunds of delegate fees
for late cancellations (i.e. cancellations other than in accordance with
the above paragraph) will not be given unless agreed on separately.

Failure to attend the conference will constitute latecancellation and

payment will still be due or forfeit if already paid. We reserve the right
to change the programme, date, content, price, speakers and venue as
necessary; or cancel the conference totally in which case we will
refund any payment made in respect of the cancelled conference.

Substitute delegates
Substitute delegates can be accepted at any time, without charge.
Please telephone the Conference Administrator on ++44 (0)1206
873484 to let us know the name of the substitute.