Trial and Error—A Critique of the New German Draft Code for a Genuine Corporate Criminal Liability

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 871-886
Author(s):  
Markus Rübenstahl ◽  
Christian Brauns

The following article aims to analyze the first German draft bill concerning a corporate criminal code. The draft bill, recently introduced by the federal state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, led to a transformation of a theoretical academic discussion towards a specific proposal on potential future legislation. Firstly, the article introduces underlying reasons for the draft based on deficiencies of the current legislation. Current regulations solely provide corporate administrative responsibility for criminal offenses committed by a corporation's management (involving huge fines). Subsequently, the article reviews the content of the draft, specifically the multiplicity of proposed criminal and other penalties. The authors intend to demonstrate that the draft is often too vague or—especially with regard to penalties—simply over the top. The applicable sanctions – which may be combined- would lead to a more draconic punishment than in any other comparable legal system. Furthermore, regarding the principles of due process and strict legality the proposed procedural rules of the draft are not satisfying. After all, the proposed procedural measures to safeguard the proceedings and the rules on representation and defense counsel are deficient.

Author(s):  
Vladimir Myslivyy ◽  
Angelina Mykyta

Problem setting. According to Art. 27 of the Constitution of Ukraine, everyone has an inalienable right to life, no one can be arbitrarily deprived of life, and the state, in turn, is obliged to protect human life. Protection of a person’s life, as a duty of the state, is manifested in the establishment of criminal liability, enshrined in Section II “Criminal offenses against life and health of a person” of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, who commit socially dangerous acts. whether there are criminal offenses and what punishments they should be committed. The distinction between crimes such as premeditated murder and negligent deprivation of another’s life is important, as criminal law theory still does not have sufficient information on this issue and does not have a complete list of features of the above crimes, but we tried to identify them in our article. Target of research. Deepening their knowledge on the caution of a person’s life due to inconsistency and drawing the line between possible offenses and conditional authority, clarifying the special characteristics of the perpetrator and the victim, outlining the essential features of the perpetrator and the victim, and researching the regulation of negligent proposal of a new version of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Analysis of resent researches and publications. The theoretical basis for the study of the problem of murder through negligence are the works of legal scholars, in particular, M. Bazhanov, V. Borisov, S. Borodin, V. Glushkov, O. Gorokhovskaya, I. Zinchenko , V. Tyutyugin, O. Us, E. Kisilyuk, V. Kuts, M. Yefimov, S. Likhova, V. Stashis, V. Shablisty and others. Article’s main body. According to Art. 3 of the Constitution of Ukraine, man, his life and health, honor and dignity, inviolability and security are recognized in Ukraine as the highest social value. Given this constitutional provision, the legislator should pay special attention to the criminal law protection of human life and health as the most important public relations. So it is no coincidence that considering such encroachments as one of the most dangerous in the criminal law dimension, the legislator established criminal liability for their commission in Section II “Criminal offenses against life and health” of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Due to the high public danger and the high prevalence of criminal offenses against human life and health, criminal law theory and law enforcement practice are under increasing scrutiny. Thus, the analysis of judicial practice in recent years shows that, for example, among all murders (Articles 117-119 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) the number of persons convicted of deprivation of life due to negligence is about 15 percent annually. In our opinion, it is also advisable to analyze the concept of “murder” by comparing the common and distinctive features of the offenses referred to in Art. Art. 115 and 119 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. According to scientific results, we can conclude that these offenses have many common features. It is possible to understand the common features and preconditions for the spread of these types of offenses. Conclusions and prospects for the development. A study of issues related to the criminal law analysis of murder through negligence and its difference from other types of murder, shows that these acts encroach on the identical object, which is “human life as a set of social relations.” Unfortunately, nowadays the dynamics of offenses committed in Art. Art. 115 and 119 is intensifying, so consideration of their delimitation and characterization of their features is very important. The study examines the main features of these types of crimes, as well as analyzes some provisions of national law and proposes some adjustments to them.


Author(s):  
Stepan Burda ◽  

The article describes the criminal liability for rape in the context of amendments to Art. 152 of the Criminal code of Ukraine. It is noted that sexual freedom and sexual integrity are among the most important personal human rights. It is regulated by the Basic Law of our state and no wonder the legislator placed this object of encroachment in the first sections of the Criminal Code of Ukraine after such as the basics of national security, life and health, will, honor and dignity of the person. Violation of these rights is reflected in the mental state of the victim, has a direct impact on the health, normal life of the person. It is established that the separation of Section IV "Criminal offenses against sexual freedom and sexual integrity of a person" in the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine means increasing the state's attention to the state of sexual relations in Ukraine. Sexual freedom and inviolability are among the most important personal human rights. It is regulated by the Basic Law of our state and not without reason the legislator placed this object of encroachment in the first sections of the Criminal Code of Ukraine after such as the basics of national security, life and health, will, honor and dignity of the person. Violation of these rights is reflected in the mental state of the victim, has a direct impact on the health, normal life of the person. It should be noted that criminal offenses against the life and health of a person, criminal offenses against the honor of freedom and dignity of a person, criminal offenses against sexual freedom and sexual integrity of a person are the most serious and terrible of all existing in the modern Criminal Code of Ukraine. these crimes, in addition to severe physical trauma, leave in the minds of the victim, his relatives and friends great and horrible memories that last a lifetime, traumatize the psyche and often lead to suicide of victims who can not be rehabilitated. The opinion is expressed that in the disposition of Article 152 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine there is a certain uncertainty in the question of which


Author(s):  
R. Grinyuk ◽  
B. Kindyuk

The article considers the peculiarities of criminal liability of employees of health care institutions for violation of the provisions of Art. 320 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which consists of two parts, which differ in the ways (forms) of committing criminal offenses and limits of liability. The methodological basis of the study includes logical-semantic method, by which the types of methods (forms) of committing criminal offenses under Art. 320 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine are studied; a systematic approach, on the basis of which the author analyses the sequence of actions of employees of investigative bodies in the investigation of crimes on the grounds of criminal activity provided for in the provisions of this article. It is established that Art. 320 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine consists of two parts and provides for a wide range of criminal offenses, in particular the cultivation of sleeping poppy or hemp; violation of the rules of production, manufacture, storage, accounting, release, distribution, trade, transportation, shipment or use of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues or precursors intended for the production or manufacture of these drugs or substances; theft, misappropriation, extortion of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues or precursors, or their acquisition by fraud or abuse of office by an official, etc. It is shown that the disposition of Art. 320 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine has a blanket nature, which requires specification of its provisions in other regulations, including orders, instructions, rules. It is emphasized that employees of medical institutions and health care institutions must clearly know the content of the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers № 770 "On approval of the list of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors" from 06.06.2000, the order of the Ministry of Health № 188 "On approval of tables of small, large and especially large amounts of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors that are in illicit traffic" from 01.08.2000, which will significantly help them to avoid offenses related to drug trafficking. Special attention should by paid to compliance with the rules of storage, transfer, accounting, release, distribution, trade, transportation, as well as the introduction of drug logs. The article also shows the sequence of actions of employees of investigative bodies during crime investigation on grounds of the criminal activity provided by Art. 320 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 75-80
Author(s):  
Aleksandr V. Fedorov ◽  

The article is dedicated to review of the laws of the Republic of Slovenia on the criminal liability of legal entities; the main acts are the Special Law on the Liability of Legal Entities for Criminal Offenses of 1999 and the Criminal Code of the Republic of Slovenia. The article reviews statutory resolutions making it possible to review a legal entity as a criminal liability subject; gives a number of persons, which can be brought to criminal liability; focuses on the fact that legal entities can be brought to criminal liability in the Republic of Slovenia for a limited number of acts (crimes) defined by the law; considers criminal sanctions applicable to legal entities: fi ne, forfeiture of property, legal entity liquidation, prohibition to place securities held by a legal entity; reviews the possibility of imposition of a conditional sentence on a legal entity and the security measures applicable to legal entities, including: sentence publication and prohibition to engage in specific commercial activities.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-154
Author(s):  
Muchammad Chasani

The regulation of corporate criminal liability in Indonesia's criminal justice system is basically a new and still debatable issue. It is said that because in the Criminal Code is not recognized and regulated explicitly about the corporation as a subject of criminal law. This is a natural thing since the WvS Criminal Code still adheres to the principle of "societas delinquere non potest" or "non-potest university delinquere", that is, a legal entity can not commit a crime. Thus, if in a society there is a criminal offense, then the criminal act is deemed to be done by the board of the corporation concerned. Regarding the corporate criminal responsibility system in Indonesia, in the corruption law Article 20 paragraph (1), if the corporation committed a criminal act of corruption, then those responsible for the criminal act shall be the corporation only, the management only, or the corporation and its management. Thus, it can be said that the regulation of corporate criminal liability in the legal system in Indonesia is expressly only regulated in special criminal legislation, because the Criminal Code of WvS still adheres to the principle of "societas delinquere nonpotest" so it is not possible to enforce corporate criminal liability in it.


Author(s):  
R. Baranenko

Today cybercrime and computer terrorism are identified as one of the threats to Ukraine’s national security in the information sphere. Cybersecurity measures include achieving and maintaining security features in the resources of an institution or users, aimed at preventing relevant cyber threats. Cybercrime is a set of criminal offenses committed in cyberspace by computer systems or by using computer networks and other means of access to cyberspace, within computer systems or networks, as well as against computer systems, computer networks and computer data, has been widely developed. The paper considers such terms as «computer crime», «information crime», «crime in the field of computer information», «crimes in the field of information technology». Scientific works of domestic and foreign researchers on the issues of countering cybercrime are analyzed. The connection of the concept of «cybersecurity» with the terms «cybercrime», «computer crime» and «cybercrime» the concepts of «cybercrime» was given. The difference in the interpretation of the concepts «cybersecurity» and «information security» was considered. The definitions of «cybercrime», «computer crime» and «cyber offense» were given for comparison. Their main features were considered. The concept of «computer victimhood» and its components were considered. With the introduction of the institute of criminal offenses in the national criminal law, the terms «cybercrime» and «computer crime» should lose their relevance, as evidenced by the change of title of Chapter XVI of the Criminal Code of Ukraine to «Criminal offenses in the use of electronic computing machines (computers), systems and computer networks and telecommunications networks». Therefore, instead, we can recommend the use of the term «cyber offense», which we propose to understand as «socially dangerous criminal act in cyberspace and/or using it, liability for which is provided by the law of Ukraine on criminal liability and/or which is recognized as a criminal offense by international treaties of Ukraine, and cybercrime is a set of cyber offences». It is clear that this will require the introduction of appropriate terminological changes in the Law of Ukraine «On the Basic Principles of Cyber Security of Ukraine» and other regulations.


Author(s):  
CHILENYE NWAPI

AbstractThis article is set against the backdrop of the inability of Canadian courts to hear civil cases brought by victims of the operations of Canadian mining corporations in developing countries where accountability mechanisms are weak. The article examines the legal framework for extraterritorial criminal prosecution in Canada with a view to seeing how corporate criminal prosecution could fill the accountability gap and contribute to the promotion of the accountability of Canadian mining corporations involved in human and environmental rights abuses in developing countries. The article argues that extraterritorial criminal prosecution holds prospects for success in Canada, if only the Canadian government is willing to utilize it. The real and substantial link test, the Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Act, and several sections of the Criminal Code provide sufficient jurisdictional bases for such prosecution. The amendments to the doctrine of corporate criminal liability that were made in Canada in 2003 bolster the criminal jurisdictional strength of Canadian courts. Lastly, there are no compelling international comity concerns to discourage the Canadian government from utilizing the criminal justice process to contribute to the global fight against corporate impunity in human and environmental rights abuses. This article seeks to contribute to the knowledge of the powers at the disposal of the Canadian government to do so.


Author(s):  
Oleksandra Skok ◽  
Inna Shylo

The article deals with the classification of criminal offenses in the current Criminal Code of Ukraine. All the crimes, the responsibility for which are established in the Special part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, are analyzed and on the basis of this detailed description of crimes of small gravity, crimes of moderate gravity, serious and especially serious crimes is carried out. According to Art. 12 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, depending on the severity of the crimes are divided into crimes of small severity, moderate, serious and especially serious. The legislative classification of crimes was made taking into account the type of punishment (fine and imprisonment), as well as the amount of punishment. This is the norm of the current Criminal Code acquired in accordance with the Law «On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on the Humanization of Liability for Offenses in the Field of Economic Activity» of November 15, 2011 No. 4025-VI. The percentage of different categories of crimes has been analyzed and the impact of the severity of crimes on some criminal liability issues has been determined. A study of the ratio of minor crimes to other categories of crimes showed that minor crimes constitute a fairly significant category of crimes, compared to others, namely 24.9%. In the Special Part of the Criminal Code, there is a «sharp jump» from the category of minor crimes to the category of especially serious crimes, which is connected with the occurrence of especially grave consequences in the qualified criminal offenses.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 3-13
Author(s):  
Serhii Bahirov

The article highlights the problem of inconsistency of legislative provisions on careless forms of guilt,which are contained in the General Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, to the constructive peculiarity ofcriminal offenses that are provided by the Special Part of this Code.The author draws attention to the problem which emerged due to the future transfer of a significantnumber of criminal offenses from the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses to the book of criminaloffenses of the new Criminal Code of Ukraine. The vast majority of these offenses are constructed so as tohave a formal composition, to wit the consequences outside it. At the same time, the construction of acareless form of guilt and its varieties, recklessness and negligence, the normative models of which arecontained in the General Part of the draft Criminal Code of Ukraine, provides for a mental attitude to theconsequences.It is substantiated that the developers of the draft of the new Criminal Code of Ukraine will have todecide on one of the two directions of the system: either to completely abandon the criminalization ofinconsequent carelessness, leaving the legislative concept of carelessness covering only criminal offenseswith material composition, or to agree with the idea of presence of the inconsequent carelessness within theinstitute of criminal offense.Future problems with determining the form of guilt of criminal offenses are shown, if among theprovisions of the General Part of the projected Criminal Code of Ukraine there is a provision on the limitedpunishment of a careless behavior.The principle of constructing norms on criminal liability for careless acts is proposed, according towhich resultative careless delicts should be provided in the book of crimes, and careless offenses with aformal composition should be misdemeanors.In order to properly cover the provisions of the General Part of the future Criminal Code of Ukraine onthe carelessness of all constructive types of careless offenses, the author proposes to provide two types ofcareless form of guilt: resultative carelessness and inconsequent carelessness.Theoretical modeling of the relevant criminal law norms has been carried out, which will consolidate theinconsequent carelessness and its varieties.


Author(s):  
D.V. Kamenskyi

The article critically reviews the models of criminal sanctions introduced in Ukraine and the United States for economic criminal offenses. It is emphasized that the meaning of the concept of punishment is inextricably linked to the fundamental category of criminal liability, which means the restrictions provided by criminal law for the exercise of the rights and freedoms of a person for committing a criminal offense. It has been noted that most American courts do not practice “linear” philosophy in terms of sentencing, but on the contrary, take the whole set of unique facts and circumstances with legal significance into account in each criminal case. It has been established that this approach partially resembles the content of paragraph 3, part 1 of Art. 65 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: the court imposes punishment, taking into account severity of the crime, identity of the perpetrator as well as mitigating and aggravating circumstances. It has been also established that in comparison with the American domestic practice of sentencing in general and for economic crimes in particular seems unreasonably humane, such that it is not able to fully implement the purpose of punishment, declared in Art. 50 of the Criminal Code, and therefore, such as objectively unable to restrain the manifestations of illegal behavior in the economic sphere. The large- scale humanization of criminal liability for economic encroachments carried out by the Ukrainian legislator at the end of 2011, combined with the decriminalization of certain acts and the replacement of imprisonment with fines in sanctions of other norms, has intensified such negative trend. Third, the analysis of the content and application of the federal Penal Code demonstrates not only the advantages of this act of the federal criminal law, but also its individual shortcomings. There is a lot of criticism against this document’s provisions in terms of sentencing for economic crimes. The main reason for criticism is the purely arithmetic relationship between the amount of punishment and the amount of material damage caused by such a crime. Based on the results of elaboration of the American experience in terms of normative provision and practice of application of punishments for economic crimes, a position has been expressed on the expediency of introducing a model of limited formalization of punishments in Ukraine.


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