Criminal Liability of Managers in Europe: Punishing Excessive Risk (Hart Studies in European Criminal Law)

Every managerial decision is risky, at least to some extent. Conducting business is impossible without venturing into new territories and even the most ordinary daily choices could turn out to be failures. Excessive risk, however, can be very detrimental, as was starkly illustrated by the most recent financial crisis. By criminalising managers’ excessive risk-taking, criminal law enters a sphere which is at the core of the activity it affects. At the same time it provides for criminal punishment for courses of conduct that, without doubt, can be extremely harmful. This book examines existing criminalisation of excessive risk-taking and analyses whether such criminalisation is desirable and under which conditions. Volume 8 in the series Hart Studies in European Criminal Law ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CONTENTS TABLE OF CASES AND LEGISLATION LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 1. Introduction 1. Financial Crisis and Excessive Risk 2. Business Decisions and Excessive Risk-Taking 3. Excessive Risk-Taking and Criminal Liability 4. Scope and Structure 2. England and Wales 1. Introduction and History 2. Protected Legal Interests 3. Main Offences 4. Inchoate Offences 5. Cooperation in the Commission of the Offence 6. Reasons for Excluding Criminal Liability 7. Offence of Reckless Misconduct in the Management of a Financial Institution 8. Solutions to the Five Cases 9. Conclusions 3. France 1. Introduction and History 2. Protected Legal Interests 3. Main Offences 4. Inchoate Offences 5. Cooperation in the Commission of the Offence 6. Reasons for Excluding Criminal Liability 7. Solutions to the Five Cases 8. Conclusions 4. Germany 1. Introduction and History 2. Protected Legal Interests 3. Offence of Untreue 3. Offence of Untreue 4. Inchoate Offences 5. Cooperation in the Commission of the Offence 6. Reasons for Excluding Criminal Liability 7. Special Provisions for Banking and Insurance Executives 8. Solutions to the Five Cases 9. Conclusions 5. Comparative Analysis 1. Introduction 2. Protected Legal Interests 3. Managers as Possible Perpetrators 4. Exposing to Excessive Risk as Criminal Conduct 5. Mens Rea 6. Special Provisions for Banking and Insurance Executives 7. Comparison of the Results of the Five Cases 8. Conclusions: Models of Criminalisation of Excessive Risk-Taking 6. Criminalisation of Excessive Risk-Taking by Managers? 1. Introduction 2. Justification for Use of Criminal Law and its Limits 3. Criminalisation of Excessive Risk-Taking by Managers? 4. Outcome 7. Conclusions 1. Introduction 2. How to Criminalise Excessive Risk-Taking by Managers? 3. Evaluation of the Three National Legal Systems 4. Final Conclusion BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX Présentation de l'éditeur : "Every managerial decision is risky, at least to some extent. Conducting business is impossible without venturing into new territories and even the most ordinary daily choices could turn out to be failures. Excessive risk, however, can be very detrimental as was starkly illustrated by the most recent financial crisis. By criminalising managers' excessive risk-taking criminal law enters a sphere which is at the core of the activity it affects. At the same time it provides for criminal punishment for courses of conduct that, without doubt, can be extremely harmful. The objective of this book is to examine existing criminalisation of excessive risk-taking as well as to analyse whether such criminalisation is desirable and if yes, under which conditions."