Corporate Criminal Liability — Criminal Law I (UNAM LLB) | Unit 12

How can a company — with no brain, no hands and no conscience — be guilty of a crime? This lecture explains how Namibian law makes corporations criminally liable. Criminal Law I (L3501BC) · UNAM LLB — Unit 12 of 12. 📘 IN THIS LECTURE • The corporate-personality problem: legal person vs natural person • Section 332(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 — the "deeming" mechanism, unpacked element by element • How a director's or servant's act AND intent are attributed to the company • Why companies are punished by fines, not imprisonment • Directors are not shielded — personal liability runs alongside corporate liability • The identification doctrine; links to vicarious liability and common purpose • Rationale for corporate liability and the fairness critique • A six-step exam framework for corporate-liability problems ⚖️ KEY AUTHORITIES • Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, s 332(1) — the deeming mechanism • S v Dresselhaus (CC 12/2005) [2014] NAHCMD 183 — artificial person; fines, not imprisonment ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 The hook: a company in the dock 1:01 The corporate personality problem 2:04 The statutory solution: section 332(1) CPA 3:17 Unpacking the mechanism: four things to notice 4:56 Illustration: the mechanism in practice 5:55 S v Dresselhaus: companies cannot be imprisoned 6:53 Directors are not shielded: personal liability alongside corporate 7:44 Relationship to vicarious liability 8:55 How mens rea is attributed: the identification doctrine 10:16 Rationale: why hold companies criminally liable? 11:46 Critique: the fairness problem 13:18 The common purpose connection 14:15 Exam application: the six-step framework 15:37 Recap: the whole unit in one breath #CriminalLaw #LLB #LawSchool #Namibia #NamibianLaw #L3501BC #UNAM #CorporateLiability #LawStudent