At the annual meeting of the American Law Institute (ALI), held virtually this year in May and June, members voted to approve Tentative Draft No. 2 of Principles of the Law, Compliance and Enforcement for Organizations, the work of a team headed by Stuyvesant P. Comfort Professor of Law Geoffrey Miller, who served as reporter. Jennifer Arlen ’86, Norma Z. Paige Professor of Law, was an associate reporter. ALI members also approved Tentative Draft No. 5 of the Model Penal Code: Sexual Assault and Related Offenses, a document that proposed a final text for the entire Code provisions governing sexual assault. Robert B. McKay Professor of Law Stephen Schulhofer served as reporter, and Norman Dorsen Professor of Civil Liberties Erin Murphy as associate reporter.
The Principles of the Law, Compliance and Enforcement for Organizations aims to provide best practices for a range of public and private entities—for large, publicly traded corporations in particular. The subject matter deals with both externally imposed norms, such as laws and regulations, and internally imposed norms, such as corporate codes of ethics. The completion of Miller and Arlen’s project, begun in 2015, marks the first time that ALI has produced Principles on this area of the law.
The project to reexamine the sexual assault provisions of the 1962 Model Penal Code commenced in 2012. Schulhofer and Murphy faced the complicated task of incorporating a more modern standard of sexual behavior and consent that looks beyond the previous focus on physical force, without being excessively punitive. Their project will end officially once amendments to their draft approved by members are greenlit by ALI’s council, which meets next year.
Posted September 9, 2021