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THE COVID-19 EMERGENCY AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY OF COMPANIES IN ITALY (LEG. DECREE NO 231/2001). THE ROLE OF THE ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT MODEL
Abstract
Italy has been particularly affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. There have been, and continue to be, many deaths, raising the problem of contagion management within the workplace and new corporate organisational practices to be adopted to minimise the risk of contagion. From the criminal point of view, for some years now, legal entities - including, of course, companies, have also been liable for the death or serious or very serious injuries of its workers, in violation of the regulations on their health and safety (Article 25-septies of Italian Legislative Decree No 231/2001). The punitive consequences for legal entities are severe and onerous and, as a result, the punishment of companies is particularly felt by the business world. More specifically, entities are criticised where there is an organisational-management deficiency such as to have permitted or significantly facilitated the occurrence of the crimes. However, a company is not liable under criminal law if, before the crime was committed, it had adopted an effective organisational and management model that, however, must possess certain characteristics. This is the context into which has been grafted the biological risk from Covid-19, which is also present in the workplace. Therefore, the question that arises is whether the Covid-19 emergency requires an adaptation of or an addition to the organisational and management model on the matter of accident prevention (Article 30 of Italian Legislative Decree No 81/2008). The issue has no simple solution since there are no clear guidelines on the subject.
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References11
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