Section 166, The Criminal Procedure Act, 2024

(1) A corporation or company may be charged either aloneor jointly with another person with an offence triable on indictment or triable summarily before a Magistrate Court. (2) A representative may, on behalf of a corporation or company make a statement before the Court in answer to the charge. (3) Where a representative appears, a requirement of this Act that anything shall be done in the presence of the defendant or shall be read or said to the defendant shall be construed as a requirement that the thing shall be done in the presence of the representative or read or said to the representative. (4) Where a representative does not appear, a requirement under subsection (3) or a requirement that the consent of the defendant shall be obtained for summary trial, shall be dealt with in the same manner as if the defendant was a natural person, but not for the purpose of issuing a warrant for arrest. (5) Where a person is charged jointly with a corporation or company with an offence triable on indictment and either that person or the corporation or company by its representative does not consent that the offence should be dealt with summarily under section 6 of the Courts Act, 1965, the Court shall not have power to deal summarily with the offence in the case of the other defendant. 86 87 Allocutus Evidence before sentence. Representation of corporation or company. Proceedings against corporation or company. Judgement in trial by Judge alone. (6) Where a corporation or company is charged with an offence triable on indictment or triable summarily, the corporation or company may, on arraignment before the High Court or on being asked to plead by the Magistrate, as the case may be, enter in writing by its representative a plea of guilty or not guilty, and if either the corporation or company does not appear by a representative or though it does so appear fails to enter a plea, the Court shall order a plea of not guilty to be entered and the trial shall proceed as though the corporation or company had duly entered a plea of not guilty.