Overhaul would aid complex cases

A plea bargaining system would help courts to tackle corporate misbehaviour, says Seán Ó Conaill

THE crisis in the banking system and in corporate governance more generally have painfully exposed numerous weaknesses at various levels in our legal framework which in many cases hinder attempts to bring those responsible for white-collar crime and corporate misbehaviour to book.

In addition, and perhaps more worryingly, the various systems we have in operation do not have a strong deterrent factor and do very little to prevent those responsible from returning to similar positions of influence.