English criminal law
Encyclopedia
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
in the jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
of England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
which deals with crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
s and their consequences. Criminal acts are considered offences against the whole of a community. The state, in addition to certain international organizations, has responsibility for crime prevention, for bringing the culprits to justice
Criminal justice
Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...
, and for dealing with convicted offenders. The police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, the criminal courts and prisons are all publicly funded services
Public services
Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...
, though the main focus of criminal law concerns the role of the courts, how they apply criminal statute
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
s and common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
, and why some forms of behaviour are considered criminal.
The English legal system is common within other Commonwealth states, notably Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, although government legislative practices and rare legal procedures, example being court hierarchy, may differ to both a significant and minor extent.
The fundamentals of a crime are known as the actus reus
Actus reus
Actus reus, sometimes called the external element or the objective element of a crime, is the Latin term for the "guilty act" which, when proved beyond a reasonable doubt in combination with the mens rea, "guilty mind", produces criminal liability in the common law-based criminal law jurisdictions...
and the mens rea
Mens rea
Mens rea is Latin for "guilty mind". In criminal law, it is viewed as one of the necessary elements of a crime. The standard common law test of criminal liability is usually expressed in the Latin phrase, actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea, which means "the act does not make a person guilty...
. These two Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
terms mean "guilty act" (doing that which is prohibited) and "guilty mind" (i.e. the intent to commit the crime). The traditional view is that moral culpability requires that one should have recognized or intended that one was acting wrongly.
Defences exist to some crimes. A person who is accused may in certain circumstances plead they are insane
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
and did not understand what they were doing, that they were not in control
Automatism (law)
-Definition:Automatism is a rarely used criminal defence. It is one of the mental condition defences that relate to the mental state of the defendant. Automatism can be seen variously as lack of voluntariness, lack of culpability or excuse...
of their bodies, they were intoxicated, mistaken about what they were doing, acted in self defence, acted under duress
Duress
In jurisprudence, duress or coercion refers to a situation whereby a person performs an act as a result of violence, threat or other pressure against the person. Black's Law Dictionary defines duress as "any unlawful threat or coercion used... to induce another to act [or not act] in a manner...
or out of necessity, or were provoked
Provocation (legal)
In criminal law, provocation is a possible defense by excuse or exculpation alleging a sudden or temporary loss of control as a response to another's provocative conduct sufficient to justify an acquittal, a mitigated sentence or a conviction for a lesser charge...
. These are issues to be raised at trial
Trial
A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...
, for which there are detailed rules of evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
and procedure
Criminal procedure
Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated criminal law.-Basic rights:Currently, in many countries with a democratic system and the rule of law, criminal procedure puts the burden of proof on the prosecution – that is, it is up to the...
to be followed.
Not codified
England and WalesEngland and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
does not have a Criminal Code
Criminal Code
A criminal code is a document which compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law...
, though such an enactment has been often recommended and attempted (see English Criminal Code
English Criminal Code
The jurisdiction of England and Wales does not have a Criminal Code though such an instrument has been often recommended and attempted. , the Law Commission is again working on the Code.-History:...
).
Bulk and complexity
In 1980, a Committee of JUSTICEJUSTICE
JUSTICE is a human rights and law reform organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is the British section of the International Commission of Jurists, the international human rights organisation of lawyers devoted to the legal protection of human rights worldwide...
said that, upon conducting a search, they found over 7,200 offences, and that they thought that there were probably many more. They said that "it is now impossible to ascertain the entire content of the criminal law at any given time". In 1989, the Law Commission
Law Commission (England and Wales)
In England and Wales the Law Commission is an independent body set up by Parliament by the Law Commissions Act 1965 in 1965 to keep the law of England and Wales under review and to recommend reforms. The organisation is headed by a Chairman and four Law Commissioners...
said that a hypothetical criminal code that contained all existing criminal offences would be "impossibly bulky". In 2001, Peter Glazebrook said the criminal law was "voluminous, chaotic and contradictory". In March 2011, there were more than ten thousand offences excluding those created by by-laws.
Growth
In 1999, P J Richardson said that as the case for a moratorium on legislation in the field of criminal justice was becoming stronger and stronger, governments seemed ever more determined to bring forward more legislation.Statutory offences and common law offences
Crimes are either common law offencesCommon law offences
Common law offences are crimes under English criminal law and the related criminal law of Commonwealth of Nations countries. These are offences of the common law which are developed entirely by the courts over the years, and for which there is no actual legislation.The various common law offences...
or they are statutory. Most crimes are now statutory.
Common law offences
- MurderMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
- ManslaughterManslaughterManslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
- MayhemMayhem (crime)Mayhem is a criminal offence consisting of the intentional maiming of another person.Under the common law of England and Wales and other common law jurisdictions, it originally consisted of the intentional and wanton removal of a body part that would handicap a person's ability to defend himself in...
- KidnappingKidnappingIn criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
- False imprisonmentFalse imprisonmentFalse imprisonment is a restraint of a person in a bounded area without justification or consent. False imprisonment is a common-law felony and a tort. It applies to private as well as governmental detention...
- CheatingCheating (law)At law, cheating is a specific criminal offence relating to property.Historically, to cheat was to commit a misdemeanour at common law. However, in most jurisdictions, the offence has now been codified into statute....
the public revenue - High treasonHigh treasonHigh treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
- Misprision of treasonMisprision of treasonMisprision of treason is an offence found in many common law jurisdictions around the world, having been inherited from English law. It is committed by someone who knows a treason is being or is about to be committed but does not report it to a proper authority...
(disputed - alleged to be statutory) - Compounding treasonCompounding treasonCompounding treason is an offence under the common law of England. It is committed by anyone who agrees for consideration to abstain from prosecuting the offender who has committed treason.It is still an offence in England and Wales, and in Northern Ireland...
- Contempt of the sovereignContempt of the sovereignContempt of the Sovereign was an ancient doctrine in English law dating from medieval times, and now obsolete...
- Misconduct in public office
- Refusal to execute public office
- Doing an act tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice - a.k.a. perverting the course of justicePerverting the course of justicePerverting the course of justice, in English, Canadian , and Irish law, is a criminal offence in which someone prevents justice from being served on himself or on another party...
, defeating the ends of justice, obstructing the administration of justice - Contempt of courtContempt of courtContempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
a.k.a criminal contempt - Fabrication of false evidence
- Escape
- Permitting an escape
- Breach of prison/breaking prison
- Rescue/rescuing a prisoner in custody
- Public nuisancePublic nuisanceIn English criminal law, public nuisance is a class of common law offence in which the injury, loss or damage is suffered by the local community as a whole rather than by individual victims.-Discussion:...
- Outraging public decencyOutraging public decencyOutraging public decency is a common law offence in England and Wales. As a common law offence it is punishable by unlimited imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.-Definition:...
- Conspiracy to defraudConspiracy to defraudConspiracy to defraud is an offence under the common law of England and Wales and Northern Ireland.-England and Wales:The standard definition of a conspiracy to defraud was provided by Lord Dilhorne in Scott v Metropolitan Police Commissioner, when he said that Conspiracy to defraud therefore...
- ConspiracyConspiracy (crime)In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
to corrupt public morals - ConspiracyConspiracy (crime)In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
to outrage public decency
Prospectively abolished offences
- BriberyBriberyBribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
will be abolished when section 17(1)(a) of the Bribery Act 2010Bribery Act 2010The Bribery Act 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that covers the criminal law relating to bribery. Introduced to Parliament in the Queen's Speech in 2009 after several decades of reports and draft bills, the Act received the Royal Assent on 8 April 2010 following cross-party...
comes into force - EmbraceryEmbraceryEmbracery is the attempt to influence a juror corruptly to give his verdict in favour of one side or the other in a trial, by promise, persuasions, entreaties, money, entertainments and the like....
will be abolished when section 17(1)(a) of the Bribery Act 2010Bribery Act 2010The Bribery Act 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that covers the criminal law relating to bribery. Introduced to Parliament in the Queen's Speech in 2009 after several decades of reports and draft bills, the Act received the Royal Assent on 8 April 2010 following cross-party...
comes into force
Offences held no longer to exist or never to have existed
See History of English criminal law#Common law offencesStatus not clear to the editor
- Common assaultCommon assaultCommon assault was an offence under the common law of England, and has been held now to be a statutory offence in England and Wales. It is committed by a person who causes another person to apprehend the immediate use of unlawful violence by the defendant. It was thought to include battery...
aka assaultAssaultIn law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
(disputed - held to now be statutory, said obiter not to be) - batteryBattery (crime)Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the fear of such contact.In the United States, criminal battery, or simply battery, is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact...
(disputed - held to now be statutory, said obiter not to be) - Assault with intent to rob (may now be statutory)
- RapeRapeRape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
- Assault with intent to rape (continued existence disputed)
Criminal law elements
The two basic elements of a crime are the act of doing that which is criminal, and the intention to carry it out. In Latin this is called the actus reusActus reus
Actus reus, sometimes called the external element or the objective element of a crime, is the Latin term for the "guilty act" which, when proved beyond a reasonable doubt in combination with the mens rea, "guilty mind", produces criminal liability in the common law-based criminal law jurisdictions...
and the mens rea
Mens rea
Mens rea is Latin for "guilty mind". In criminal law, it is viewed as one of the necessary elements of a crime. The standard common law test of criminal liability is usually expressed in the Latin phrase, actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea, which means "the act does not make a person guilty...
. In many crimes however, there is no necessity of showing criminal intention, which is why the term "strict liability
Strict liability
In law, strict liability is a standard for liability which may exist in either a criminal or civil context. A rule specifying strict liability makes a person legally responsible for the damage and loss caused by his or her acts and omissions regardless of culpability...
" is used.
Actus reus
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for "guilty act" and is the physical element of committing a crime. It is usually the application or threat of unlawful force, though exceptionally an omission
Omissions in English criminal law
The omissions of individuals are generally not criminalised in English criminal law, subject to situations of special duty, contractual duty, and the creation of dangerous situations. Whilst other jurisdictions have adopted general statutory duties to rescue, it is not recognised in English law...
or failure to act can result in liability. Simple examples might be A hitting B with a stick, or X pushing Y down a water well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
. These are guilty acts and the unlawful application or force. Alternatively, one may have a pre-existing duty to another person and by deliberately
Mens rea
Mens rea is Latin for "guilty mind". In criminal law, it is viewed as one of the necessary elements of a crime. The standard common law test of criminal liability is usually expressed in the Latin phrase, actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea, which means "the act does not make a person guilty...
not performing it, one commits a crime. For instance, not giving food is an omission rather than an act, but as a parent one has a duty to feed one's children. Pre-existing duties can arise also through contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
, a voluntary undertaking, a blood relation with who one lives, and occasionally through one's official position. As the 19th century English judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
, Lord Coleridge CJ wrote,
“It would not be correct to say that every moral obligation involves a legal duty; but every legal duty is founded on a moral obligation.”
Furthermore, one can become bound by a duty to take reasonable steps to correct a dangerous situation that one creates. In R v Miller
R v Miller
R v Miller [1982] UKHL 6 is an English criminal law case demonstrating how actus reus can be interpreted to be not only an act, but a failure to act.-Facts:Miller, a vagrant, accidentally set fire to a mattress in a house in which he was sleeping...
a squatter flicked away a still lit cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
, which landed on a mattress
Mattress
A mattress is a manufactured product to sleep or lie on, consisting of resilient materials and covered with an outer fabric or ticking. In the developed world it is typically part of a bed set and is placed upon a foundation....
. He failed to take action, and after the building had burned down, he was convicted of arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
. He failed to correct the dangerous situation he created, as he was duty bound to do. In many countries in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, Good Samaritan law
Good Samaritan law
Good Samaritan laws are laws or acts protecting those who choose to serve and tend to others who are injured or ill. They are intended to reduce bystanders' hesitation to assist, for fear of being sued or prosecuted for unintentional injury or wrongful death...
s also exist, which criminalize failure to help someone in distress (e.g. a drowning child). On the other hand, it was held in the U.K. that switching off the life support of someone in a persistent vegetative state
Persistent vegetative state
A persistent vegetative state is a disorder of consciousness in which patients with severe brain damage are in a state of partial arousal rather than true awareness. It is a diagnosis of some uncertainty in that it deals with a syndrome. After four weeks in a vegetative state , the patient is...
is an omission to act and not criminal. Since discontinuation of power is not a voluntary act, not grossly negligent, and is in the patient's best interests, no crime takes place.
If someone's act is to have any consequence legally, it must have in some way caused
Causation (law)
Causation is the "causal relationship between conduct and result". That is to say that causation provides a means of connecting conduct with a resulting effect, typically an injury. In criminal law, it is defined as the actus reus from which the specific injury or other effect arose and is...
a victim harm. The legal definition of "causation" is that "but for" the defendant's conduct, the victim would not have been harmed. If more than one cause for harm exists (e.g. harm comes at the hands of more than one culprit) the rule states that to be responsible, one's actions must have "more than a slight or trifling link" to the harm. Another important rule of causation is that one must "take his victim as he finds him." For instance, if P gives his friend Q a playful slap on the head, but Q suffers from a rare cranial condition and dies, then P can be guilty of manslaughter regardless of how unlucky he is to have bickered with Q. This is known as the thin skull rule.
Between the defendant's acts and the victim's harm, the chain of causation must be unbroken. It could be broken by the intervening act (novus actus interveniens) of a third party, the victim's own conduct, or another unpredictable event. A mistake in medical
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
treatment usually will not break the chain, unless the mistakes are in themselves "so potent in causing death." For instance, if emergency medics dropped a stab victim on the way to the hospital and performed the wrong resuscitation, the attacker would not be absolved of the crime.
The interplay between causation and criminal responsibility is notoriously difficult, and many outcomes are criticized for their harshness to the unwitting defendant and sidestepping of hospitals' or the victim's own liability. In R v Dear
R v Dear
R v Dear [1996] Crim LR 595 is an English criminal law case, dealing with homicide and causation. The court ruled that even if a victim aggravates his wounds sufficiently to cause otherwise avoidable death, the chain of causation is not broken.-Facts:...
a stab victim reopened his wounds while in the hospital and died. But despite this suicidal behavior, the attacker was still held fully responsible for murder.
Mens rea
Mens rea is another LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
phrase, meaning "guilty mind". It is the mental element of committing a crime and establishes the element of intent. Together with an actus reus, mens rea forms the bedrock of criminal law, although strict liability
Strict liability
In law, strict liability is a standard for liability which may exist in either a criminal or civil context. A rule specifying strict liability makes a person legally responsible for the damage and loss caused by his or her acts and omissions regardless of culpability...
offenses have encroached on this notion. A guilty mind means intending
Intention in English law
In English criminal law, intention is one of the types of mens rea that, when accompanied by an actus reus , constitutes a crime.-The standard definitions:...
to do that which harms someone. Intention under criminal law is separate from a person's motive
Motive (law)
A motive, in law, especially criminal law, is the cause that moves people to induce a certain action. Motive, in itself, is not an element of any given crime; however, the legal system typically allows motive to be proven in order to make plausible the accused's reasons for committing a crime, at...
. R v Mohan [1975] 2 All ER 193, intention defined as "a decision to bring about... [the actus reus] no matter whether the accused desired that consequence of his act or not." In the special case of murder, the defendant must have appreciated (i.e. consciously recognized) that either death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
or serious bodily harm
Grievous bodily harm
Grievous bodily harm is a term of art used in English criminal law which has become synonymous with the offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861....
would be the result of his actions. In R v Woolin, a man in a fit of temper threw his three month old son onto a wall, causing head injuries from which he died. Although death was certain and the father should have realized, he did not in the least desire that his son be killed or harmed. The English House of Lords
Judicial functions of the House of Lords
The House of Lords, in addition to having a legislative function, historically also had a judicial function. It functioned as a court of first instance for the trials of peers, for impeachment cases, and as a court of last resort within the United Kingdom. In the latter case the House's...
sentenced him for manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
, but not murder. If a defendant has foresight of death or serious injury the jury may, but is not bound, to find the requisite mens rea.
A lower threshold of mens rea is satisfied when a defendant recognizes that some act is dangerous but decides to commit it anyway. This is recklessness. For instance if C tears a gas meter from a wall to get the money inside, and knows this will let flammable gas escape into a neighbor's house, he could be liable for poisoning. This is called "subjective recklessness," though in some jurisdictions "objective recklessness" qualifies as the requisite criminal intent, so that if someone ought to
Is-ought problem
The is–ought problem in meta-ethics as articulated by Scottish philosopher and historian, David Hume , is that many writers make claims about what ought to be on the basis of statements about what is...
have recognized a risk and nevertheless proceeded, he may be held criminally liable. A novel aspect of the law on intention is that if one intends to harm somebody, it matters not who is actually harmed through the defendant's actions. The doctrine of transferred malice
Transferred intent
Transferred intent describes the fact that intent can be transferred between victims, between torts, or both. In tort law, there are generally five areas in which transferred intent is applicable: battery, assault, false imprisonment, trespass to land, and trespass to chattels...
means, for instance, that if a man strikes another with his belt, but the belt bounces off and hits a nearby woman, the man is guilty of battery
Battery (crime)
Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the fear of such contact.In the United States, criminal battery, or simply battery, is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact...
toward her. Malice can also be general, so that terrorists who plant bombs to kill random people are certainly guilty.
The final requirement states that both an actus reus and a mens rea coincide. For instance, in R v Church, For instance, Mr. Church had a fight with a woman which rendered her unconscious. He attempted to revive her, but gave up, believing her to be dead. He threw her, still alive, in a nearby river, where she drowned. The court held that Mr. Church was not guilty of murder (because he did not ever desire to kill her), but was guilty of manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
. The "chain of events", his act of throwing her into the water and his desire to hit her, coincided. In this manner, it does not matter when a guilty mind and act coincide, as long as at some point they do.
Strict liability
Not all crimes have a mens reaMens rea
Mens rea is Latin for "guilty mind". In criminal law, it is viewed as one of the necessary elements of a crime. The standard common law test of criminal liability is usually expressed in the Latin phrase, actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea, which means "the act does not make a person guilty...
requirement, or the threshold of culpability required may be reduced. For example, it might be sufficient to show that a defendant acted negligently
Negligence
Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. The area of tort law known as negligence involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm.According to Jay M...
, rather than intentionally or recklessly. In offences of absolute liability
Absolute liability
Absolute liability is a standard of legal liability found in tort and criminal law of various legal jurisdictions.To be convicted of an ordinary crime, in certain jurisdictions, a person must not only have committed a criminal action, but also have had a deliberate intention or guilty mind...
, other than the prohibited act, it may not be necessary to show anything at all, even if the defendant would not normally be perceived to be at fault.
England and Wales has strict liability
Strict liability
In law, strict liability is a standard for liability which may exist in either a criminal or civil context. A rule specifying strict liability makes a person legally responsible for the damage and loss caused by his or her acts and omissions regardless of culpability...
offences, which criminalize behavior without the need to show moral wrongdoing. Most strict liability offences are created by statute, and often they are the result of ambiguous drafting. They are usually regulatory in nature, where the result of breach could have particularly harmful results. An example is drunk driving.
Offences against property
- Offences under the Explosive Substances Act 1883Explosive Substances Act 1883The Explosive Substances Act 1883 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It makes it illegal to use -- or conspire or intend to use -- any explosive substance to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property, whether or not any explosion actually takes...
- Offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990Computer Misuse Act 1990The Computer Misuse Act 1990 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced partly in response to the decision in R v Gold & Schifreen 1 AC 1063 . Critics of the bill complained that it was introduced hastily and was poorly thought out...
Firearms and offensive weapons
- Offences under section 1(1) of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953Prevention of Crime Act 1953The Prevention of Crime Act 1953 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that restricts the carrying of offensive weapons in public...
- Offences under sections 139 and 139A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988
- Offences under the Knives Act 1997
Forgery, personation and cheating
See forgeryForgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
:
- Offences under Part I of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981The Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaces the Forgery Act 1913, the Coinage Offences Act 1936 and parts of the Forgery Act 1861...
- Falsification of pedigree, contrary to section 183(1)(b) of the Law of Property Act 1925Law of Property Act 1925The Law of Property Act 1925 is a statute of the United Kingdom Parliament. It forms part of an interrelated programme of legisation introduced by Lord Chancellor Lord Birkenhead between 1922 and 1925. The programme was intended to modernise the English law of real property...
- Improper alteration of the registers, contrary to section 124 of the Land Registration Act 2002Land Registration Act 2002The Land Registration Act 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which repealed and replaced previous legislation governing land registration, in particular the Land Registration Act 1925, which governed an earlier, though similar, system...
- Offences under section 8 of the Non-Parochial Registers Act 1840
- Offences under sections 36 and 37 of the Forgery Act 1861Forgery Act 1861The Forgery Act 1861 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . It consolidated provisions related to forgery from a number of earlier statutes into a single Act. For the most part these provisions were, according to the draftsman of the Act, incorporated with...
- Forgery of passport, contrary to section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1925Criminal Justice Act 1925The Criminal Justice Act 1925 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Most of it has been repealed.Section 36 of the Act makes it an offence to make a false statement to obtain a passport. The maximum sentence is two years....
- Offences under sections 133 and 135 of the County Courts Act 1984County Courts Act 1984The County Courts Act 1984 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom; the long title of the Act is "An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to county courts". The Act replaced the County Courts Act 1959....
- Offences under section 13 of the Stamp Duties Management Act 1891; and supplementary offences under sections 14 and 15
- Offences under section 6 of the Hallmarking Act 1973Hallmarking Act 1973The Hallmarking Act 1973 makes up the bulk of modern law regarding the assaying and hallmarking of metals in the United Kingdom. Hallmarking is a way to guarantee the purity of precious metals. Metals are tested and, if they meet a certain minimal purity requirement, are marked with a specified...
- Offences under section 126 of the Mental Health Act 1983Mental Health Act 1983The Mental Health Act 1983 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which applies to people in England and Wales. It covers the reception, care and treatment of mentally disordered persons, the management of their property and other related matters...
- Offences under sections 121 and 122(6) of the Gun Barrel Proof Act 1868
Motor vehicle document offences:
- Offences under section 97AA and 99(5) of the Transport Act 1968Transport Act 1968The Transport Act 1968 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The main provisions made changes to the structure of nationally owned bus companies, created passenger transport authorities and executives to take over public transport in large conurbations.-National Bus Company:The Act...
- Offences under section 65 of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981
- Offences under section 115 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, which provided powers to regulate or restrict traffic on UK roads, in the interest of safety. It superseded some earlier legislation, including the majority of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967...
- Offences under section 173 of the Road Traffic Act 1988
- Offences under regulations 11(1) to (3) of the Motor Vehicles (E.C. Type Approval) Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/3107) made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972European Communities Act 1972European Communities Act 1972 can refer to:*European Communities Act 1972 * European Communities Act 1972...
- Offences under section 44 of the Vehicles Excise and Registration Act 1994
- Offences under regulations 10(1) to (3) the Motor Cycle (E.C. Type Approval) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/1531) made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972European Communities Act 1972European Communities Act 1972 can refer to:*European Communities Act 1972 * European Communities Act 1972...
- Offences under section 38 of the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995
See personation
Personation
Personation is a term used in law for the specific kind of voter fraud where an individual votes in an election, whilst pretending to be a different elector....
:
- Offences under section 90(1) of the Police Act 1996Police Act 1996The Police Act 1996 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which defined the current police areas, constituted the current police authorities and set out the relationship between the Home Secretary and the territorial police forces. It replaced the Police and Magistrates Courts Act...
- Offences under section 30(1) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005The Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which combined the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise into a single government department, HM Revenue and Customs...
- Offences under section 34 of the Forgery Act 1861Forgery Act 1861The Forgery Act 1861 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . It consolidated provisions related to forgery from a number of earlier statutes into a single Act. For the most part these provisions were, according to the draftsman of the Act, incorporated with...
- Offences under section 24 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969
- Offences under section 60 of the Representation of the People Act 1983Representation of the People Act 1983The Representation of the People Act 1983 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the British electoral process in the following ways:* Amended the Representation of the People Act 1969....
See cheating
Cheating (law)
At law, cheating is a specific criminal offence relating to property.Historically, to cheat was to commit a misdemeanour at common law. However, in most jurisdictions, the offence has now been codified into statute....
:
- Offences under section 17 of the Gaming Act 1845Gaming Act 1845The Gaming Act 1845 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act's principal provision was to deem a wager unenforceable as a legal contract. The Act received Royal Assent on August 8, 1845...
- Offences under section 1 of the Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951The Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951 was a law in England and Wales which prohibited a person from claiming to be a psychic, medium, or other spiritualist while attempting to deceive and to make money from the deception . It was repealed on 26 May 2008...
Offences against the State or Crown or Government and political offences
- High treasonHigh treason in the United KingdomUnder the law of the United Kingdom, high treason is the crime of disloyalty to the Crown. Offences constituting high treason include plotting the murder of the sovereign; having sexual intercourse with the sovereign's consort, with his eldest unmarried daughter, or with the wife of the heir to the...
- Misprision of treasonMisprision of treasonMisprision of treason is an offence found in many common law jurisdictions around the world, having been inherited from English law. It is committed by someone who knows a treason is being or is about to be committed but does not report it to a proper authority...
- Compounding treasonCompounding treasonCompounding treason is an offence under the common law of England. It is committed by anyone who agrees for consideration to abstain from prosecuting the offender who has committed treason.It is still an offence in England and Wales, and in Northern Ireland...
- Treason felony
- Attempting to injure or alarm the Sovereign, contrary to section 2 of the Treason Act 1842Treason Act 1842The Treason Act 1842 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was passed early in the reign of Queen Victoria...
- Contempt of the sovereignContempt of the sovereignContempt of the Sovereign was an ancient doctrine in English law dating from medieval times, and now obsolete...
- Trading with the enemyTrading with the enemyTrading with the enemy is a legal term of English origin that is used with a number of related meanings. It refers to:#An offence at common law and under statute#A ground for condemnation of ships in prize proceedings...
- Offences under the Official Secrets Acts 1911 to 1989
- Offences under the Incitement to Disaffection Act 1934Incitement to Disaffection Act 1934The Incitement to Disaffection Act 1934 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made it an offence to endeavour to seduce a member of HM Forces from his "duty or allegiance to His Majesty", thus expanding the ambit of the law....
- Causing disaffection, contrary to section 91 of the Police Act 1996Police Act 1996The Police Act 1996 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which defined the current police areas, constituted the current police authorities and set out the relationship between the Home Secretary and the territorial police forces. It replaced the Police and Magistrates Courts Act...
- Causing disaffection, contrary to section 6 of the Ministry of Defence Police Act 1987Ministry of Defence Police Act 1987The Ministry of Defence Police Act 1987 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which came into full force on 5 May 1987.-Purpose:The Act continued the existence of the Ministry of Defence Police which had been created under previous laws .-Extent:The Act applies throughout the United...
- Incitement to sedition or disaffection or promoting industrial unrest, contrary to section 3 of the Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act 1919
- Offences of procuring and assisting desertion under military law
- Offences relating to terrorism
- Offences of directing quasi military organisations and wearing uniforms for political purposes under the Public Order Act 1936Public Order Act 1936The Public Order Act 1936 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed to control extremist political movements in the 1930s such as the British Union of Fascists ....
- Piracy iure gentium
- Piracy with violence, contrary to the Piracy Act 1837Piracy Act 1837The Piracy Act 1837 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It abolished the death penalty for most offences of piracy, but created a new offence often known as piracy with violence, which was punishable with death...
- Offences under the Slave Trade Act 1824Slave Trade Act 1824The Slave Trade Act 1824 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to "amend and consolidate the Laws relating to the Abolition of the Slave Trade."Section 9 of this Act created a death penalty...
- Offences under the Foreign Enlistment Act 1870Foreign Enlistment Act 1870The Foreign Enlistment Act 1870 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that seeks to regulate mercenary activities of British citizens.It received the royal assent on 9 August 1870.-Background:...
- Offences under the Immigration Act 1971Immigration Act 1971The Immigration Act 1971 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning immigration.The Act, as with the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, and that of 1968, restricted immigration, especially primary immigration into the UK....
- Coinage offences under Part II of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981The Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaces the Forgery Act 1913, the Coinage Offences Act 1936 and parts of the Forgery Act 1861...
- Offences relating to public stores under the Public Stores Act 1875
- Offences relating to military stores under military law
- Offences against postal and electronic communication services
- Misconduct in public office
- Refusal to execute public office
- Offences of selling public offices under the Sale of Offices Act 1551 and Sale of Offices Act 1809
- Purchasing the office of clerk of the peace or under-sheriff, contrary to section 27 of the Sheriffs Act 1887Sheriffs Act 1887The Sheriffs Act 1887 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sets out the appointments and qualifications of Sheriffs in England and Wales.The Act gives sheriffs the right to arrest those resisting a warrant ....
- Cheating the public revenue
- Offences under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979
- Tax evasion and money laundering offences
See also Offences against military law in the United Kingdom
Offences against military law in the United Kingdom
The main Offences against military law in the United Kingdom are set out in the Armed Forces Act 2006.The offences fall into two main categories, discipline offences and criminal conduct offences...
Harmful or dangerous drugs
- Offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971Misuse of Drugs Act 1971The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is an Act of Parliament which represents UK action in line with treaty commitments under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic...
, the Intoxicating Substances (Supply) Act 1985, the Licensing Act 2003Licensing Act 2003The Licensing Act of 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that applies only to England and Wales. The Act establishes a single integrated scheme for licensing premises which are used for the sale or supply of alcohol, to provide regulated entertainment, or to provide late night...
, section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933Children and Young Persons Act 1933The Children and Young Persons Act 1933 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland...
and other provisions relating to tobacco, and the Drug Trafficking Act 1994Drug Trafficking Act 1994The Drug Trafficking Act 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It largely replaced the Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1986....
.
Offences against religion and public worship
- Offences under section 7 of the Burial Laws Amendment Act 1880
- Offences under sections 75 to 77 of the Marriage Act 1949Marriage Act 1949The Marriage Act 1949 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom regulating marriages in England and Wales. The act abolished marriages for those under 16 years of age in England and Wales....
Offences against the administration of public justice
- Doing an act tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice - a.k.a. perverting the course of justicePerverting the course of justicePerverting the course of justice, in English, Canadian , and Irish law, is a criminal offence in which someone prevents justice from being served on himself or on another party...
, defeating the ends of justice, obstructing the administration of justice - Concealing evidence, contrary to section 5(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1967Criminal Law Act 1967The Criminal Law Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. However, with some minor exceptions, it generally applies to only England and Wales. It made some major changes to English criminal law...
- Contempt of courtContempt of courtContempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
a.k.a criminal contempt - IntimidationIntimidationIntimidation is intentional behavior "which would cause a person of ordinary sensibilities" fear of injury or harm. It's not necessary to prove that the behavior was so violent as to cause terror or that the victim was actually frightened.Criminal threatening is the crime of intentionally or...
, contrary to section 51(1) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the existing law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights and in greater penalties for certain "anti-social" behaviours... - Taking or threatening to take revenge, contrary to section 51(2) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
- PerjuryPerjuryPerjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
, contrary to section 1 of the Perjury Act 1911Perjury Act 1911The Perjury Act 1911 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates the offence of perjury and a number of similar offences.... - Perjury, contrary to section 6 of the Piracy Act 1850Piracy Act 1850The Piracy Act 1850 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It relates to proceedings for the condemnation of ships and other things taken from pirates and creates an offence of perjury in such proceedings.-Section 1:...
- Offences under sections 2 to 4 of the Perjury Act 1911
- Making a false statutory declaration, contrary to section 5 of the Perjury Act 1911
- Offences under section 6 of the Perjury Act 1911
- Fabrication of false evidence
- Offences under section 89 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967
- Offences under 106 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980Magistrates' Courts Act 1980The Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It codifies the procedures applicable in magistrates' courts in the United Kingdom and largely replaces the Magistrates' Courts Act 1952...
- Offences under section 11(1) of the European Communities Act 1972European Communities Act 1972 (UK)The European Communities Act 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom providing for the incorporation of European Community law into the domestic law of the United Kingdom. It is not to be confused with the Irish law of the same name, Act No...
- Escape
- Permitting an escape
- Assisting a prisoner to escape, contrary to section 39 of the Prison Act 1952
- Breach of prison/breaking prison
- Rescue/rescuing a prisoner in custody
- Harbouring an escaped prisoner, contrary to section 22(2) of the Prison Act 1952
- Taking part in a prison mutiny, contrary to section 1(1) of the Prison Security Act 1992Prison Security Act 1992The Prison Security Act 1992 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-Section 1 - Offence of prison mutiny:This section reads:...
- Offences under section 128 of the Mental Health Act 1983Mental Health Act 1983The Mental Health Act 1983 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which applies to people in England and Wales. It covers the reception, care and treatment of mentally disordered persons, the management of their property and other related matters...
- Causing a wasteful employment of the police, contrary to section 5(2) of the Criminal Law Act 1967
- Administering an unlawful oath, contrary to section 13 of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835
Prospectively abolished offence
- EmbraceryEmbraceryEmbracery is the attempt to influence a juror corruptly to give his verdict in favour of one side or the other in a trial, by promise, persuasions, entreaties, money, entertainments and the like....
will be abolished when section 17(1)(a) of the Bribery Act 2010Bribery Act 2010The Bribery Act 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that covers the criminal law relating to bribery. Introduced to Parliament in the Queen's Speech in 2009 after several decades of reports and draft bills, the Act received the Royal Assent on 8 April 2010 following cross-party...
comes into force
Public order offences
- Offences under the Public Order Act 1986Public Order Act 1986The Public Order Act 1986 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates a number of public order offences. They replace similar common law offences and parts of the Public Order Act 1936...
- Offences under section 31 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998Crime and Disorder Act 1998The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was published on 2 December 1997 and received Royal Assent in July 1998...
- Offences under Part V of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the existing law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights and in greater penalties for certain "anti-social" behaviours...
- Offences under Part II of the Criminal Law Act 1977Criminal Law Act 1977The Criminal Law Act 1977 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Most of it only applies to England and Wales. It is mainly significant because it defines the offence of conspiracy in English law...
- Offences under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977
- Bomb hoaxes, contrary to section 51 of the Criminal Law Act 1977Criminal Law Act 1977The Criminal Law Act 1977 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Most of it only applies to England and Wales. It is mainly significant because it defines the offence of conspiracy in English law...
Offences against public morals and public policy
- BigamyBigamyIn cultures that practice marital monogamy, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. Bigamy is a crime in most western countries, and when it occurs in this context often neither the first nor second spouse is aware of the other...
, contrary to section 57 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861Offences Against The Person Act 1861The Offences against the Person Act 1861 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It consolidated provisions related to offences against the person from a number of earlier statutes into a single Act...
- Offences under section 2(1) of the Obscene Publications Act 1959Obscene Publications Act 1959The Obscene Publications Act 1959 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom Parliament that significantly reformed the law related to obscenity. Prior to the passage of the Act, the law on publishing obscene materials was governed by the common law case of R v Hicklin, which had no exceptions...
- Offences under section 2(2) of the Theatres Act 1968Theatres Act 1968The Theatres Act 1968 abolished censorship of the stage in the United Kingdom.Since 1737, scripts had been licensed for performance by the Lord Chamberlain's Office a measure initially introduced to protect Walpole's administration from political satire...
- Certain offences under the Postal Services Act 2000Postal Services Act 2000The Postal Services Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relating to the postal industry. It established an industry regulator, Postcomm , a consumer watchdog, Postwatch , required a "universal service" of post to be provided and set up rules for licensing postal services...
- Offences under section 1(1) of the Indecent Displays (Control) Act 1981Indecent Displays (Control) Act 1981The Indecent Displays Act is an Act of Parliament covering Scotland, England and Wales but not Northern Ireland. It is concerned with preventing the display of “indecent” material to the unsuspecting public. As with the Protection of Children Act, the Act does not define indecency, although it...
- Offences under section 1(1) of the Protection of Children Act 1978Protection of Children Act 1978The Protection of Children Act 1978 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The Protection of Children Bill was put before Parliament as a Private Member's Bill by Cyril Townsend in the 1977-1978 session of Parliament....
- Offences under section 160 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988
- Offences under section 170 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 consisting of importation in breach of the prohibition under section 42 of the Customs Consolidation Act 1876
Prospectively abolished offences
- Offences under the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889 to 1916 will be abolished when section 17(3) of, and Schedule 2 to, the Bribery Act 2010Bribery Act 2010The Bribery Act 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that covers the criminal law relating to bribery. Introduced to Parliament in the Queen's Speech in 2009 after several decades of reports and draft bills, the Act received the Royal Assent on 8 April 2010 following cross-party...
come into force - The common law offence of briberyBriberyBribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
will be abolished when section 17(1)(a) of that Act comes into force
Protection of animals and the environment
See Cruelty to animals#United Kingdom and Environmental crimeEnvironmental crime
Environmental crime can be broadly defined as illegal acts, which directly harmthe environment. International bodies such as the G8, Interpol, EU, UN Environment Programme and the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute have recognised the following environmental crimes:* Illegal...
Road traffic and motor vehicle offences
Participatory and inchoate offences
- Encouraging or assisting crime - Part 2 of the Serious Crime Act 2007Serious Crime Act 2007The Serious Crime Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that makes several radical changes to English criminal law. In particular, it creates a new scheme of serious crime prevention orders to frustrate crime in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland, replaces the common law...
- Soliciting to murderSoliciting to murderSoliciting to murder is a statutory offence of incitement in England and Wales and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.-England and Wales:This offence is created by section 4 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 which reads:...
, contrary to section 4 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861Offences Against The Person Act 1861The Offences against the Person Act 1861 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It consolidated provisions related to offences against the person from a number of earlier statutes into a single Act... - Aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of an offence
- ConspiracyConspiracy (crime)In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
, contrary to section 1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977Criminal Law Act 1977The Criminal Law Act 1977 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Most of it only applies to England and Wales. It is mainly significant because it defines the offence of conspiracy in English law... - Conspiracy to defraudConspiracy to defraudConspiracy to defraud is an offence under the common law of England and Wales and Northern Ireland.-England and Wales:The standard definition of a conspiracy to defraud was provided by Lord Dilhorne in Scott v Metropolitan Police Commissioner, when he said that Conspiracy to defraud therefore...
- Conspiracy to corrupt public morals
- Conspiracy to outrage public decency
- AttemptAttemptAttempt was originally an offence under the common law of England.Attempt crimes are crimes where the defendant's actions have the form of the actual enaction of the crime itself: the actions must go beyond mere preparation....
, contrary to section 1(1) of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981Criminal Attempts Act 1981The Criminal Attempts Act 1981 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It applies to England and Wales and creates criminal offences pertaining to attempting to commit crimes...
Parts 1 to 3 of Schedule 3 to the Serious Crime Act 2007
Serious Crime Act 2007
The Serious Crime Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that makes several radical changes to English criminal law. In particular, it creates a new scheme of serious crime prevention orders to frustrate crime in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland, replaces the common law...
list numerous statutory offences of assisting, encouraging, inciting, attempting or conspiring at the commission of various crimes.
Criminal law defences
The defences which are available to any given offence depend on the wording of the statuteStatute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
and rules of the common law. There are general defences. Insanity, automatism
Automatism (law)
-Definition:Automatism is a rarely used criminal defence. It is one of the mental condition defences that relate to the mental state of the defendant. Automatism can be seen variously as lack of voluntariness, lack of culpability or excuse...
, mistake
Mistake (criminal law)
A mistake of fact may sometimes offer exculpation by allowing a criminal defendant some relief from liability for having broken the law...
and self defence
Self-defense (theory)
The right of self-defense is the right for civilians acting on their own behalf to engage in violence for the sake of defending one's own life or the lives of others, including the use of deadly force.- Theory :The...
operate as defences to any offence. Inadvertence due to intoxication
Intoxication defense
General intent crimes do not require an intent to break the law, just an unlawful act and an intent to act in such a fashion. Specific intent crimes, however, require a certain mental state to break the law. One such offense, for example, is residential burglary...
is a defence to all offences requiring proof of basic intent if the intoxication is involuntary, and in cases where the risk would not have been obvious to a reasonable and sober person and/or the defendant, if it is voluntary, and to offences that require proof of a specific intent. Duress
Duress
In jurisprudence, duress or coercion refers to a situation whereby a person performs an act as a result of violence, threat or other pressure against the person. Black's Law Dictionary defines duress as "any unlawful threat or coercion used... to induce another to act [or not act] in a manner...
and necessity operate as a defence to all crimes except murder, attempted murder and some forms of treason. Marital coercion
Marital coercion
Marital coercion is a statutory defence to most crimes under English criminal law and under the criminal law of Northern Ireland. It is similar to duress.-Legislation:The defence is contained in of the Criminal Justice Act 1925:...
is a defence to all crimes except treason and murder.
Diminished responsibility
If one succeeds in being declared "not guilty by reason of insanity" then the result is going to an asylum, a clearly inadequate result for somebody suffering from occasional epilepticEpilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
fits, and many conditions unrecognized by nineteenth century medicine. The law has therefore been reformed in many ways. One important reform, introduced in England and Wales by statute is the diminished responsibility
Diminished responsibility
In criminal law, diminished responsibility is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental functions were "diminished" or impaired. The defense's acceptance in American...
defence. The requirements are usually more lax, for instance, being "an abnormality of mind" which "substantially impair[s] mental responsibility for his acts and omission in doing or being a party to the killing."
Partial defence to murder and manslaughter: infanticide
InfanticideInfanticide
Infanticide or infant homicide is the killing of a human infant. Neonaticide, a killing within 24 hours of a baby's birth, is most commonly done by the mother.In many past societies, certain forms of infanticide were considered permissible...
now operates as a defence to both murder and manslaughter. See the Infanticide Act 1938 as amended by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009
Coroners and Justice Act 2009
-External links:*, as amended from the National Archives.*, as originally enacted from the National Archives.* to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009....
.
Consent
The consent of the 'victim' of what would otherwise be an offence is sometimes an excuse that will exculpate the offender from criminal liability. This is of particular relevance to offences against the person and against property.Insanity
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, were persecuting him. He wanted to shoot and kill Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel, but got Peel's secretary in the back instead. Mr M'Naghten was found to be insane, and instead of prison, put in a mental hospital. The case produced the rules
M'Naghten Rules
The M'Naghten rules were a reaction to the acquittal of Daniel McNaughton. They arise from the attempted assassination of the British Prime Minister, Robert Peel, in 1843 by Daniel M'Naghten. In fact, M'Naghten fired a pistol at the back of Peel's secretary, Edward Drummond, who died five days later...
that a person is presumed to be sane and responsible, unless it is shown that (1) he was laboring under such a defect of reason (2) from disease of the mind (3) as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong. These elements must be proven present on the balance of probabilities.
"Defect of reason" means much more than, for instance, absent mindedness making a lady walk from a supermarket without paying for a jar of mincemeat. A "disease of the mind" includes not just brain diseases, but any impairment "permanent or transient and intermittent" so long as it is not externally caused (e.g. by drugs) and it has some effect on one's mind. So epilepsy can count, as can an artery problem causing temporary loss of consciousness (and a man to attack his wife with a hammer). Diabetes may cause temporary "insanity" and even sleep walking has been deemed "insane". "Not knowing the nature or wrongness of an act" is the final threshold which confirms insanity as related to the act in question. In R v Windle a man helped his wife commit suicide by giving her a hundred aspirin
Aspirin
Aspirin , also known as acetylsalicylic acid , is a salicylate drug, often used as an analgesic to relieve minor aches and pains, as an antipyretic to reduce fever, and as an anti-inflammatory medication. It was discovered by Arthur Eichengrun, a chemist with the German company Bayer...
. He was in fact mentally ill, but as he recognized what he did and that it was wrong by saying to police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
"I suppose they will hang me for this", he was found not insane and guilty of murder.
Automatism
Automatism is a state where the muscleMuscle
Muscle is a contractile tissue of animals and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. Muscle cells contain contractile filaments that move past each other and change the size of the cell. They are classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to...
s act without any control by the mind, or with a lack of consciousness. A successful automatism defence negatives the actus reus element of a crime. If someone raises this defence, then it is for the prosecution to disprove. Automatismic actions can be a product of insanity
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
, or not. One may suddenly fall ill, into a dream like state as a result of post traumatic stress, or even be "attacked by a swarm of bees" and go into an automatic spell. However to be classed as an "automaton" means there must have been a total destruction of voluntary control, which does not include a partial loss of consciousness as the result of driving for too long.
Automatism can also be self induced, particularly by taking medical treatment. Self induced automatism can always be a defence to crimes of specific intent (such as murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, wounding or causing grievous bodily harm
Grievous bodily harm
Grievous bodily harm is a term of art used in English criminal law which has become synonymous with the offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861....
with intent, theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
, robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
and burglary
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
). But automatism is no defence to other crimes (i.e. of basic intent, e.g. manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
, assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
and battery
Battery (crime)
Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the fear of such contact.In the United States, criminal battery, or simply battery, is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact...
) if the defendant was reckless in becoming automatismic or it happens through alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
or illegal drugs. Only where the defendant does not know his actions will lead to an automatismic state where he could harm something can self induced automatism be a defence to these crimes. For example, in R v Hardie Mr Hardie took his girlfriend's Valium, because she had just kicked him out
Relationship breakup
A relationship breakup, often referred to simply as a breakup, is the termination of a usually intimate relationship by any means other than death. The act is commonly termed "dumping [someone]" in slang when it is initiated by one partner...
and he was depressed
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
. She encouraged him to take them, to make him feel better. But he got angry and set fire to the wardrobe
Wardrobe
A Wardrobe is a cabinet used for storing clothes.Wardrobe may also refer to:* Wardrobe , a full set of multiple clothing items* Wardrobe , part of royal administration in medieval England...
. It was held that he should not be convicted of arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
because he expected the Valium to calm him down, and this was its normal effect.
Intoxication
Recklessness
Recklessness may be:* Recklessness , a legal term describing a person's state of mind when allegedly committing a criminal offence* Recklessness , a state of mind in which a person acts without caring what the consequences may be...
, a state of basic intent, which means one cannot have ones sentence reduced for crimes of basic intent (e.g. manslaughter, assault, etc.). So for instance, in R v Sheehan and Moore two viciously drunken scoundrels threw petrol on a tramp
Tramp
A tramp is a long term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking or hiking all year round. In British English meanwhile a tramp simply refers to a homeless person, usually not a travelling one....
and set fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
to him. They got off for murder, but still went down for manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
, since that is a crime of basic intent. Of course, it can well be the case that someone is not drunk enough to support any intoxication defence at all. On the other hand, if someone becomes involuntarily intoxicated, because her drink is laced or spiked, then the question is whether the normal mens rea was present at the incident's time. So where a blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
er drugged a man's coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, invited him to abuse
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
a 15 year old boy, and photographed it, the man was denied the defence of intoxication because the court simply did not believe that the man did not intend to commit the abuse.
Sometimes intoxicated people make mistakes, as in R v Lipman
R v Lipman
R v Lipman [1970] 1 QB 152 is an English criminal law case establishing that voluntary intoxication, however extreme, can not be a defense to manslaughter...
where the defendant took LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
, thought his girlfriend was a snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
and strangled her. Here, intoxication operated as a defence because Mr Lipman was mistaken in his specific intent of killing a snake. But intoxication does not negative the basic intent crime of manslaughter, with his "reckless course of conduct" in taking drugs. Lastly, while a mistake about a person or the actual action is acceptable, a mistake about how much force to use to defend oneself is not. Using a sledgehammer
Sledgehammer
A sledgehammer is a tool consisting of a large, flat head attached to a lever . The head is typically made of metal. The sledgehammer can apply more impulse than other hammers, due to its large size. Along with the mallet, it shares the ability to distribute force over a wide area...
to fend off an "attacker" after 20 pint
Pint
The pint is a unit of volume or capacity that was once used across much of Europe with values varying from state to state from less than half a litre to over one litre. Within continental Europe, the pint was replaced with the metric system during the nineteenth century...
s of beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
is disproportionate.
Self defence
In all instances, one may only use reasonable, and not excessive force in self defence. In R v Clegg a soldier in Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
shouted at a car approaching a checkpoint to halt. When it did not, Mr Clegg fired three shots, killing a woman. It had hit her in the back, and Mr Clegg was sentenced for murder because by then the car had passed, the force was excessive and there was no justification for self defence. Another way of expressing the rule on defensive force is that it must be proportionate to the threat. For instance, as the notorious case of R v Martin shows, shooting a teenager in the back with a shotgun several times as he tries to escape is not a justified or proportionate exercise of self defensive force for Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
hermit, even if robbers had trespass
Trespass
Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels and trespass to land.Trespass to the person, historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, mayhem, and maiming...
ed on his property
Property
Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...
. In that case, Mr Martin
Tony Martin (farmer)
Anthony Edward "Tony" Martin is a farmer from Norfolk, England, who in 1999 killed one burglar and wounded another who had both entered his home...
was found to have diminished responsibility
Diminished responsibility
In criminal law, diminished responsibility is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental functions were "diminished" or impaired. The defense's acceptance in American...
for his actions, because he was mentally ill.
Duress
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, attempted murder
Attempted murder
Attempted murder is a crime in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.-Today:In English criminal law, attempted murder is the crime of more than merely preparing to commit unlawful killing and at the same time having a specific intention to cause the death of human being under the Queen's Peace...
, being an accessory to murder and, seemingly, treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
involving the death of the Sovereign. In relation to such serious crimes, Lord Halisham, Lord Griffiths and Lord Mackay, giving their decision in the appeal case R v Howe said that to allow the defence of duress as a defence to murder would involve overruling the decision in Dudley and Stephens (1884), which decided that duress was not a defence to a charge of murder.
Following R v Howe, there was uncertainty as to whether duress would be available as a defence on a charge of attempted murder, but Lord Griffiths, obiter, stated that it was not. This arose before the Gotts case went to the House of Lords in 1992. R v Gotts dealt with the problems of attempted murder.
If it is shown that the defendant reasonably believed the threat, it must also be shown that "a sober person of reasonable firmness, sharing the characteristics of the accused" would have responded similarly. Examples of someone's characteristics that might be relevant are age, gender, pregnancy, physical disability, mental illness, sexuality, but not IQ.
Using duress as a defence is limited in a number of ways. The accused must not have foregone some safe avenue of escape. The duress must have been an order to do something specific, so that one cannot be threatened with harm to repay money and then choose to rob a bank to repay it, because that choice implies a free will. Intoxication is irrelevant to duress, but one cannot also say one is mistaken about duress, when intoxicated. Then a number of cases turn on the choice to join a gang, and inevitably do bad things. The rule is that where one is aware of the gang's nature and puts himself in a position where he could be threatened, duress is not a defence. So joining a gang that carries out armed robberies probably precludes any duress defence but joining a shoplifting
Shoplifting
Shoplifting is theft of goods from a retail establishment. It is one of the most common property crimes dealt with by police and courts....
gang may well not.
Necessity
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
.
The defence of necessity was first tested in the 19th century English case of R v Dudley and Stephens
R v Dudley and Stephens
R v Dudley and Stephens [1884] 14 QBD 273 DC is a leading English criminal case that established a precedent, throughout the common law world, that necessity is no defense against a charge of murder. It concerned survival cannibalism following a shipwreck and its purported justification on the...
. The Mignotte, sailing from Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, sank. Three crew members and a cabin boy were stranded on a raft. They were starving and the cabin boy close to death. Driven to extreme hunger, the crew killed and ate
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
the cabin boy. The crew survived and were rescued, but put on trial for murder. They argued it was necessary to kill the cabin boy to preserve their own lives. Lord Coleridge
John Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge
John Duke Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge PC was a British lawyer, judge and Liberal politician. He held the posts, in turn, of Solicitor General for England and Wales, Attorney General for England and Wales, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and Lord Chief Justice of England.-Background and...
, expressing immense disapproval, ruled, "to preserve one's life is generally speaking a duty, but it may be the plainest and the highest duty to sacrifice it." The men were sentenced to hang
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
, but public opinion, especially among seafarers, was outraged and overwhelmingly supportive of the crew's right to preserve their own lives. In the end, the Crown
Royal Prerogative
The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy as belonging to the sovereign alone. It is the means by which some of the executive powers of government, possessed by and...
commuted their sentences to six months.
Since then, in the 1970s, in several road traffic cases, although obiter dicta, it has been stated that there is a defence of necessity. In Johnson v Phillips [1975], Justice Wein stated that a police constable would be entitled to direct motorists to disobey road traffic regulations if this was reasonably necessary for the protection of life or property. In a later case, Woods v Richards, Justice Eveleigh stated that the defence of necessity depended on the degree of emergency which existed or the alternative danger to be averted. In DPP v Harris a police officer, charged with driving without due care and attention through a red traffic light contrary to s 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, and having collided with another vehicle containing armed robbers whilst pursuing that vehicle, was not allowed to advance the defence of necessity. Again in Chicon v DPP [1994] the defence of necessity was not allowed in a case of a pit bull terrier dog being kept in a public place without a muzzle - the owner had removed the muzzle to allow the dog to drink. But in the case of In re F (Mental Patient Sterilization), the defence of necessity was allowed. In the case of R v Bournewood Community and Mental Health NHS Trust
R v Bournewood Community and Mental Health NHS Trust
In R v Bournewood Community and Mental Health NHS Trust the House of Lords ruled that a man who had been informally admitted to a psychiatric hospital without capable consent had not been unlawfully detained under the common law...
, the defence of necessity (in the case of Tort law) was recognized and applied by the House of Lords to justify the informal detention and treatment of a mentally incompetent person who had become a danger to himself. This approach was subsequently found to be a violation of Article 5 of the European Convention of Human Rights by the European Court of Human Rights in HL v United Kingdom. Subsequent to this decision, individuals who lack capacity must be deprived of their liberty in accordance with the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (an amendment to the Mental Capacity Act 2005), not under the common law doctrine of necessity.
But more recently, duress of circumstance and necessity have been recognized and used by courts. In a leading case, Re A (Conjoined Twins), conjoined twins
Conjoined twins
Conjoined twins are identical twins whose bodies are joined in utero. A rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 50,000 births to 1 in 100,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in Southwest Asia and Africa. Approximately half are stillborn, and a smaller fraction of...
were born, one reliant on the other for her heart and lungs. Unless they were separated, both would die, but if separated, the reliant twin would die, the doctors therefore being liable to prosecution for murder. It was, however, held that in this special and incredibly sensitive situation, that the separation was necessary to save the first twin's life.
International criminal law
Criminal procedure
- Hearsay in English lawHearsay in English LawThe hearsay provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 reformed the common law relating to the admissibility of hearsay evidence in criminal proceedings begun on or after 4 April 2005....
Sentencing
There is a Sentencing CouncilSentencing Council
The Sentencing Council for England and Wales was established in April 2010, replacing the Sentencing Guidelines Council and the Sentencing Advisory Panel, its predecessor bodies....
.
General power to impose a fine on indictment
This power is now created by section 163 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003Criminal Justice Act 2003
The Criminal Justice Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a wide ranging measure introduced to modernise many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland and Northern Ireland....
It was formerly created by each of the following provisions in turn:
- The Criminal Justice Act 1948Criminal Justice Act 1948The Criminal Justice Act 1948 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It has been described as "one of the most important measures relating to the reform of the criminal law and its administration." It abolished penal servitude, hard labour and prison divisions for England and Wales...
, section 13. Only applied to felonyFelonyA felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
. - The Criminal Law Act 1967Criminal Law Act 1967The Criminal Law Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. However, with some minor exceptions, it generally applies to only England and Wales. It made some major changes to English criminal law...
, section 7(3). Only applied where no enactment specified a maximum fine. - The Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973, section 30(1). Amended by the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997, section 55 and Schedule 4, paragraph 8(3). The Criminal Law Act 1977Criminal Law Act 1977The Criminal Law Act 1977 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Most of it only applies to England and Wales. It is mainly significant because it defines the offence of conspiracy in English law...
, Schedule 13 repealed "limiting the amount of the amount of the fine that may be imposed or" and see section 32(1) (removed all statutory limits on fines imposed on convictions on indictment). Repealed in part by the Criminal Justice Act 1991, Schedule 13. - The Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000The Powers of Criminal Courts Act 2000 is a consolidation Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that brings together parts of several other Acts dealing with the sentencing treatment of offenders and defaulters...
, section 127.
General power of Crown Court to impose a sentence of imprisonment on conviction on indictment
This power is created by section 77 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000It was formerly created by each of the following provisions in turn:
- The Criminal Law Act 1967Criminal Law Act 1967The Criminal Law Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. However, with some minor exceptions, it generally applies to only England and Wales. It made some major changes to English criminal law...
, section 7(1) - The Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973, section 18(1)
External links
- Directgov Crime and justice (Directgov, England and Wales)