I'm more concerned with their unequal treatment when it comes to the law vs ordinary people. There should not be parallel systems of punishment for corporations where they can receive any treatment not also available to the regular human defendant (with the same plain stipulations). I'm particularly concerned by their abillity to often "settle" criminal charges with a fine and no admission of wrong-doing. Who is actually allowed to pull that crap besides companies?
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Unfortunately, a corporation cannot be jailed because it is a legal fiction. It's not sentient. It's just a collection of people (employees), assets, contracts, etc.
RE: "I'm particularly concerned by their abillity to often "settle" criminal charges with a fine and no admission of wrong-doing."
This is a result of plea bargaining and individuals can do that if they can afford a good lawyer and have a good case. An example is in the United States, an individual could please no contest to a charge and pay a fine. It is more or less the same thing.
I am not sure if companies admitting guilt would really change anything. The main reason is no one cares if a company pleads guilty and the other reason is prosecutors can compel guilty pleas through plea bargains (i.e. either you plead guilty, or we will go to trial and ask for a very harsh sentence).
> Unfortunately, a corporation cannot be jailed because it is a legal fiction.
That seems... I'm not sure what, but we do limit what convicted monopolist corporations are allowed to do. It's not the same thing as physical jail, but just because we can't physically put it in jail doesn't mean we shouldn't find it liable for malfeasance and hold it accountable and extract reparations from it.
An example of this is with the Sacklars. They're functionally no different than an illegal drug cartel, and yet they are spared criminal sanction. Any normal person or group of persons doing what they did would be in jail forever and have literally every cent taken from them. But the Sacklars/corp get away with a civil fine that keeps most of their wealth and more importantly, their freedom, on the table.
A corporation is a thing that money goes into and money comes out of.
Let's say a human being--a flesh and blood one, not a corporation--is convicted of negligent homicide and is sentenced to 4 years in prison. 100% of that person's income is lost for 4 years. For the rest of their life, after they're out of prison, their income potential is drastically reduced.
If that's what our judicial system is, then let's do that to corporations, too. Try the person--the corporate kind, not (necessarily) the flesh and blood kind--in criminal court. If the person is convicted of a crime, sentence them as per the sentencing guidelines. If the sentence is 4 years, then take the revenue of the person over the previous 4 years. That's what the fine is.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
It's just a collection of people (employees)
Yes, and if a company breaks a law, there was at least one person at the company who also broke the law. When the mob breaks laws, we use RICO. There appears to be no equivalent for corporations.
RICO-style laws are the equivalent that applies to corporations.
Its even more stark in jurisdictions that simply do not have the "No contest"/Alford pleas. And thats if a prosecution even happens at all, which is unlikely.