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Abstract:

The research topic of this doctoral dissertation is the privilege against self-incrimination of corporations. The issue is highly relevant in view of the importance of corporations in society and the increasing use of corporate criminal liability. The research and theory on the substantive criteria of the criminal responsibility of corporations is not paralleled by corresponding research into the fair trial rights of corporations as criminal defendants. Therefore this doctoral dissertation aims at providing a thorough analysis of the privilege against self-incrimination of corporations. The research is conducted along two lines: on the one hand, the dissertation analyses the origin, ratio and scope of the privilege against self-incrimination from a European perspective as well as from the perspective of three selected national systems (Belgium, England and Wales and the United States of America). On the other hand, it encompasses both theoretical and practical considerations. The central research question that is addressed throughout the research is: Does the privilege against self-incrimination apply to corporations, should it apply to corporations, and if so, to what extent? The research provides a tentative framework for the privilege against self-incrimination of corporations, and indicates whether and how it should apply to corporations. In doing so, the dissertation wants to make a meaningful contribution to the more general debate on the entitlement of corporations to fair trial rights.