Editorial

Citation

Gale, C. and Dobson, A. (2013), "Editorial", International Journal of Law and Management, Vol. 55 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijlma.2013.01055eaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Law and Management, Volume 55, Issue 5

Welcome to the second special edition of the International Journal of Law and Management which is entirely devoted to the work of researchers from the Business Accountability and Responsibility Centre (BARC).

In this edition, Dr Wendy Kennett examines the arbitration of intra-corporate disputes by focusing on recent decisions in the English courts and setting her comparative analysis against the backdrop of a broader international context. In doing so her exploration of the law considers the jurisdictional implications of the use of arbitration and its relationship with corporate governance.

In their paper on “Setting sanctions” the authors, Paul Verrico and Philip Crosbie adopt a comparative approach to the examination of the penalties available in cases involving fatalities. The article focuses on fatalities in health and safety and corporate manslaughter cases. It raises important questions over the approach to sentencing in the wake of the work carried out by Sentencing Guidelines Council in 2010 in relation to the appropriate tariff for such fatalities. The paper challenges the current approach and compares such sanctions with those imposed on defendants convicted of other corporate crimes. The authors are both experienced lawyers working in the field.

In the third article in this edition, Lee Robert Hughes considers the different approaches to liability for health and safety offences as they apply to directors and senior officers in the UK and Australia. He compares the approach taken in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in the UK which imposes only an implicit duty on directors with the positive duty of due diligence imposed on officer in the Model Work Health and Safety Act 2011 enacted by the Commonwealth Government of Australia. The Act is replicated substantially by most of the state and territory governments of Australia. Given that as Hughes points out, the close link between effective safety leadership and improved organisational culture has positive benefits for the safety of the workforce – this analysis of different approaches to the imposition of duties is timely and important, given the current debate on health and safety law in the UK. Lee is also an experienced lawyer working in regulatory and corporate crime.

The final paper in this edition by Alexandra Dobson focuses on the liability of senior officers and directors, where there is workplace death or injury. It considers specifically the law on statutory corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter. While the former targets companies and the latter individuals, there are now question marks over the operation of the law in both regards. Alexandra postulates the hypothesis that it is only small organisations and their directors or senior officers who appear to be vulnerable to prosecution. She explores some of the complexities of both offences and touches briefly on the interaction with health and safety law, specifically Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The articles in this journal, although each concerned with discrete topics, are linked through the common theme of protecting the interests of shareholders and the workforce. They consider aspects of the law that are interconnected through the broader considerations and governance and corporate responsibility.

We do hope you enjoy these thought provoking articles.

Chris Gale, Alexandra Dobson