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On 29 April 2026, the Crime and Policing Bill received Royal Assent, becoming the Crime and Policing Act 2026. With effect from 29 June 2026, the Act expands the identification doctrine by attributing criminal liability to companies and partnerships whose senior managers commit any criminal offence under the law of England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland while acting within their actual or apparent authority (s 250).
The new legislation replaces provisions in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which significantly reformed the identification doctrine to provide for the statutory attribution of criminal liability to companies in the context of specified economic crimes committed by senior managers (ss 196 to 198 and Schedule 12 ECCTA 2023).
S 250 comes into effect, and the relevant provisions of ECCTA 2023 will be repealed, on 29 June 2026.
First published on the Corporate News Service on 11 May 2026
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