Law Council urges caution on changes to fundamental principles of criminal responsibility

01/09/2020

The Law Council of Australia has welcomed the government's tabling of the Australian Law Reform Commission's (ALRC) review of the nation's corporate criminal responsibility regime, but is urging the parliament to take a cautious approach when considering fundamental principles of criminal law.

Contained in the ALRC review are recommendations that would make a corporate accused guilty if any officer, employee, or agent of the corporation committed an offence, while acting within the actual or apparent scope of their authority. Under the recommendations the person need not hold office as a director or a ‘high managerial agent’, whose responsibilities may be fairly assumed to represent the body corporate’s policy, as is presently required.

The Law Council media release is available here.