How and why corporations became (and remain) persons under The criminal law

Abstract

This paper aims to deal with the evolution of corporate-criminal liability, analyzing the adoption of this model of punishment in the transformations of corporate law, civil law, and criminal law, both in legislation and in the decisions of states and federal courts during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Addressing the disputes between skeptics and proponents of corporate-criminal liability, the Article presents scientific and judicial fundamentals on how, when, and why corporations become persons under criminal law, concluding that it is not only a pragmatic option to prevent the damage caused by the corporations but also a fairness consideration for individuals and corporations, which is still necessary today.