Criminological Obstacles in Prosecuting Corporate Crime in Spain

• In Event: Prosecutorial Decision-making and Alternatives to trial 2. Emerging Issues in the Prosecutorial Process

Abstract

The prosecution of corporate criminality is a difficult task for law enforcement agencies. Both in common law and civil law traditions, prosecutors hold a key role as gatekeepers in researching corporate crimes. Yet evidence on what prosecutors think and do about corporate crime is hard to find. Despite a few criminological studies, scant knowledge explains how prosecutors handle the introduction of corporate criminal liability, how they make decisions, and what obstacles they find throughout the process. Drawing on a qualitative investigation with prosecutors specialised in economic and corporate crimes in Barcelona (Spain), this research presents new evidence on how is the prosecutorial decision-making process shaped in corporate cases. To what extent do prosecutors hold all the cards when it comes to corporate prosecutions? What are the main criminological obstacles in prosecuting corporate crime? What are the existing dynamics at play between prosecutors and government control agencies regulating corporate conduct? In analysing qualitative data with prosecutors, this article also reflects on the role of criminologists in assessing the current state of justice reaction to corporate crimes, and more generally, crimes of the powerful.

Author

• Jordi Bonshoms-Guzmán, Pompeu Fabra University