Culpable homicide bill in Scotland

In Scotland, there has not been one charge under the CMCHA 2007, never mind a conviction. In November 2018, the Labour MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife Claire Baker introduced a culpable homicide bill which aims to “plug the justice deficit”.

In the consultation paper on the bill she explained that if a medium-sized or larger company causes a death, it “remains extremely difficult (and many experts would say practically impossible)” for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) to secure a conviction of corporate culpable homicide. This is “even in circumstances where there was recklessness or gross negligence on the part of individuals operating in fairly senior positions within the company”.

She says the law of culpable homicide has always failed to have one clear set of rules that apply to all wrongdoers, individuals and organisations alike and that the CMCHA 2007 “has failed entirely in that objective”.