Book Title: Research Handbook on Corporate Liability

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Attribution is important to any analysis of corporate liability not least because courts have to determine whether the acts or intentions of the relevant parties (such as directors, officers or shareholders) of the company should be attributed to the company in order to impose liability on it or to permit it to sue the defendant. This chapter critically examines three outstanding issues arising from corporate attribution. First, whether the context-specific approach to attribution should be replaced with or supplemented by a rule-based approach, and if so, what this should entail. Second, what the relationship between attribution and the illegality defence is. Finally, whether there should be attribution where two or more areas of law conflict with each other.