English criminal law concerns offences, their prevention and the consequences, in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...

. Criminal conduct is considered to be a wrong against the whole of a community, rather than just the private individuals affected. The state, in addition to certain international organisations, has responsibility for crime prevention, for bringing the culprits to

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

, and for dealing with convicted offenders. The

police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

, the criminal

courts A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accorda ...

and

prisons A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correct ...

are all publicly funded services, though the main focus of criminal law concerns the role of the courts, how they apply criminal

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by ...

s and

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

, and why some forms of behaviour are considered criminal. The fundamentals of a crime are a guilty act (or ''

actus reus (), sometimes called the external element or the objective element of a crime, is the Law Latin term for the "guilty act" which, when proved beyond a reasonable doubt in combination with the ("guilty mind"), produces criminal liability in t ...

'') and a guilty mental state (or ''

mens rea In criminal law, (; Law Latin for "guilty mind") is the mental element of a person's intention to commit a crime; or knowledge that one's action (or lack of action) would cause a crime to be committed. It is considered a necessary element ...

''). The traditional view is that moral culpability requires that a defendant should have recognised or intended that they were acting wrongly, although in modern regulation a large number of offences relating to road traffic,

environmental damage Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and pollution. It is defin ...

, financial services and

corporations A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

, create

strict liability In criminal and civil law, strict liability is a standard of liability under which a person is legally responsible for the consequences flowing from an activity even in the absence of fault or criminal intent on the part of the defendant. ...

that can be proven simply by the guilty act. Defences exist to crimes. A person who is accused may in certain circumstances plead they are

insane Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

and did not understand what they were doing, that they were not in control of their bodies, they were intoxicated, mistaken about what they were doing, acted in self defence, acted under duress or out of necessity, or were provoked. These are issues to be raised at

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...

, for which there are detailed rules of

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidenc ...

and procedure to be followed.

History

does not have a Criminal Code, though such an enactment has been often recommended and attempted (see English Criminal Code). Many criminal offences are

common law offence Common law offences are crimes under English criminal law, the related criminal law of some Commonwealth countries, and under some U.S. State laws. They are offences under the common law, developed entirely by the law courts, having no specific ...

s rather being specified in legislation. In 1980, a Committee of

JUSTICE Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

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 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. 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. * Treason Act 1351 and

Hanged, drawn and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the reign of King Henry III ...

. Petty treason and High treason in the United Kingdom *

Suppression of Heresy Act 1414 The Suppression of Heresy Act 1414 (2 Hen. V St. 1, c. 7) was an Act of the Parliament of England. The Act made heresy an offence against the common law and temporal officers were to swear to help the spiritual officers in the suppression of h ...

and

John Wycliffe John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of ...

*'' Carrier's Case'' (1473) YB Pasch 13 Edw. IV, f. 9., pl. 5,

larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...

* Jesuits, etc. Act 1584 *'' Bushel’s Case'' (1670) 124 E.R. 1006 writ of habeas corpus * Habeas Corpus Act 1679 *

Transportation Act 1717 The Piracy Act 1717 (4 Geo 1 c 11), sometimes called the Transportation Act 1717 (1718 in New Style), was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain that established a regulated, bonded system to transport criminals to colonies in North Am ...

* Black Act 1723 *

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took ...

and Transportation Act 1746 and 1768 *

Murder Act 1751 The Murder Act 1751 (25 Geo 2 c 37), sometimes referred to as the Murder Act 1752,Leon RadzinowiczA History of English Criminal Law and Its Administration from 1750 Macmillan Company. 1948. Volume 1. Page 801. was an Act of the Parliament of Gr ...

*'' King v Pear'' (1779) 168 Eng Rep 208, larceny by trick *''

Trial of Lord George Gordon The Trial of Lord George Gordon for high treason occurred on 5 February 1781 before Lord Mansfield in the Court of King's Bench, as a result of Gordon's role in the riots named after him. Gordon, President of the Protestant Association, had ...

'' (1781) for treason for the

Gordon riots The Gordon Riots of 1780 were several days of rioting in London motivated by anti-Catholic sentiment. They began with a large and orderly protest against the Papists Act 1778, which was intended to reduce official discrimination against Briti ...

*'' Case of the Dean of St Asaph'' or '' R v Shipley'' (1784) 4 Doug 73, seditious libel * Burning of women in England and Treason Act 1790 *'' Bazeley's Case'' (1799) 2 East P.C. 571, establishing crime of

embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

Debtors' prison A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, Lucinda"A Histori ...

* Offences Against the Person Act 1828 *

Bloody Code The "Bloody Code" was a series of laws in England, Wales and Ireland in the 18th and early 19th centuries which mandated the death penalty for a wide range of crimes. It was not referred to as such in its own time, but the name was given later ...

* Forfeiture Act 1870 *

Capital punishment in the United Kingdom Capital punishment in the United Kingdom predates the formation of the UK, having been used within the British Isles from ancient times until the second half of the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom were by hanging, and ...

*''C'' 009UKHL 42 *'' Clingham v RB Kensington and Chelsea'' 002UKHL 39 *'' Collins v DPP'' 006UKHL 40 *''JTB'' 009UKHL 20 *'' R v K'' 001UKHL 41 *'' Norris v United States'' 008UKHL 16 *''

R (Purdy) v DPP R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars'', or in Irela ...

'' 009UKHL 45 *'' R v Rahman'' 008UKHL 45 *'' GG plc'' 008UKHL 17 *'' R v Rimmington and Goldstein'' 005UKHL 63 *'' R v Saik'' 006UKHL 18 *'' R v Sheldrake'' 004UKHL 43 *'' Hashnan and Harrup'' (2000) 30 EHRR 241

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 ''

'' and the ''

''. In many crimes however, there is no necessity of showing a guilty mind, which is why the term "

" is used.

Actus reus

''Actus reus'' is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

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 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 A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. T ...

. These are guilty acts and the unlawful application or force. Alternatively, one may have a pre-existing duty to another person and by deliberately 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 A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

, a voluntary undertaking, a blood relation with whom one lives, and occasionally through one's official position. As the 19th century English

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

, 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'' a squatter flicked away a still lit

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

, which landed on a

mattress A mattress is a large, usually rectangular pad for supporting a lying person. It is designed to be used as a bed, or on a bed frame as part of a bed. Mattresses may consist of a quilted or similarly fastened case, usually of heavy cloth, conta ...

. He failed to take action, and after the building had burned down, he was convicted of

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wate ...

. He failed to correct the dangerous situation he created, as he was duty bound to do. In many countries in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

, Good Samaritan laws 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 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 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 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 Resuscitation is the process of correcting physiological disorders (such as lack of breathing or heartbeat) in an acutely ill patient. It is an important part of intensive care medicine, anesthesiology, trauma surgery and emergency medicine. ...

, 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'' 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. *'' R v Holland'' (1841) 2 Mood. & R. 351 break in causal chain *'' R v Instan'' (1893) 1 QB 450 duty of care, to not omit to help some dying of gangrene *''

R v Smith (Thomas Joseph) ''R. v. Smith (Thomas Joseph)'' 9592 QB 35, 959A.C. is an English criminal law case, dealing with causation and homicide. The court ruled that negligence of medical staff, nor being dropped on the way from a stretcher twice, does not break t ...

'' 959QB, negligence of medics does not stop murder *'' R v Hughes'' 013UKSC 56, driver who was not as fault for a crash could not be responsible for others deaths although he was prosecuted for driving without a licence or insurance

Mens rea

''Mens rea'' is another

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

offenses have encroached on this notion. A guilty mind means intending to do that which harms someone. Intention under criminal law is separate from a person's motive. ''

R v Mohan is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on the use of expert witnesses in trial testimony. Background Chikmaglur Mohan was a pediatrician in North Bay, Ontario. He was charged with sexual assault of four teenage patients. During his tri ...

'' 9752 All ER 193, intention defined as "a decision to bring about... he ''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 is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

or serious bodily harm would be the result of his actions. In ''

R v Woolin ''R v Woollin'' was a decision of the highest court of law-defining in English criminal law, in which the subject of intention in '' mens rea'', especially for murder was examined and refined. Facts Having given various explanations for his thre ...

'', 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 The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

sentenced him for

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

, 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 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 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 most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

toward her. Malice can also be general, so that

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

s 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

. 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. *'' R v Steane''

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KB 997, defective intent to help the Nazis, by doing radio broadcasts, rather than help family *''

Fagan v Metropolitan Police Commissioner ''Fagan v Metropolitan Police Commissioner'' is a leading case that confirms the need for concurrence (or coincidence) of ''actus reus'' (Latin for "guilty act") and ''mens rea'' (Latin for "guilty mind") in most offences of the criminal law ...

'' 9691 QB 439 *'' R v Parker''

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1 WLR 600 *'' R v Heard''

007 The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

EWCA Crim 125 *'' R v Faulkner'' (1877) 13 Cox CC 550 mens rea for one act does not transfer to others

Strict liability

Not all crimes have a

requirement, or the threshold of culpability required may be reduced. For example, it might be sufficient to show that a defendant acted negligently, rather than intentionally or recklessly. In offences of absolute liability, 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

offences, which criminalize behavior without the need to show a criminal mens rea. 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 Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is i ...

. *'' R v Woodrow'' (1846) 15 M&W 404 selling impure food, strict liability, overturning '' R v Dixon'' (1814) 3 M. & S. 11 that required mens rea *''

R v Stephens ''R v Stephens'' (1866) is an English criminal law, public nuisance in land law and vicarious liability case decided by the Queen's Bench that applied a strict liability standard (that is no requirement of mens rea) to the violation of the crimi ...

'' (1866) LR 1 QB 702 strict liability for dumping refuse into a river, despite the defendant (ostensibly) having no knowledge *'' Betts v Armstead'' (1888) LR 20 QBD 771 *'' Fitzpatrick v Kelly'' (1873) LR 8 QB 337 food safety *''

Sweet v Parsley ''Sweet v Parsley'' was an English criminal law case where the defendant landlady of a farmhouse (which was let to students and which she visited infrequently) was charged under a 1965 Act "of having been concerned in the management of premises ...

970 Year 970 ( CMLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 970th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' designations, the 970th year of the 1st millennium, the 70th year ...

AC 132 mens rea needed for liability for cannibis being smoked on premises, statutory construction presumes a mens rea *'' R v Lambert'' UKHL_37
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Corporate crime

Serious torts and fatal injuries occur as a result of actions by company employees, have increasingly been subject to criminal sanctions. All torts committed by employees in the course of employment will attribute liability to their company even if acting wholly outside authority, so long as there is some temporal and close connection to work. It is also clear that acts by directors become acts of the company, as they are "the very ego and centre of the personality of the corporation." But despite

in tort, civil remedies are in some instances insufficient to provide a deterrent to a company pursuing business practices that could seriously injure the life, health and environment of other people. Even with additional regulation by government bodies, such as the Health and Safety Executive or the Environment Agency, companies may still have a collective incentive to ignore the rules in the knowledge that the costs and likelihood of enforcement is weaker than potential profits. Criminal sanctions remain problematic, for instance if a company director had no intention to harm anyone, no ''

'', and managers in the corporate hierarchy had systems to prevent employees committing offences. One step toward reform is found in the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. This creates a criminal offence for

, meaning a penal fine of up to 10 per cent of turnover against companies whose managers conduct business in a grossly negligent fashion, resulting in deaths. Without lifting the veil there remains, however, no personal liability for directors or employees acting in the course of employment, for

corporate manslaughter Corporate manslaughter is a crime in several jurisdictions, including England and Wales and Hong Kong. It enables a corporation to be punished and censured for culpable conduct that leads to a person's death. This extends beyond any compensat ...

or otherwise. The quality of a company's accountability to a broader public and the conscientiousness of its behaviour must rely also, in great measure, on its governance. * Criminal Finances Act 2017 * Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

Participatory and inchoate offences

Encouraging or assisting crime Encouraging or assisting a crime is itself a crime in English law, by virtue of the Serious Crime Act 2007. It is one of the inchoate offences of English law. Definition Inchoate means "just begun" or "undeveloped", and is used in English crim ...

- Part 2 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 *

Soliciting to murder Soliciting to murder is a statutory offence of incitement in England and Wales and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In common parlance, the act of soliciting to murder may be thought of as "hiring a hitman", though the word "hiring" i ...

, contrary to section 4 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 *Aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of an offence *

Conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agr ...

, contrary to section 1(1) of the

Criminal Law Act 1977 The Criminal Law Act 1977 (c.45) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Most of it only applies to England and Wales. It creates the offence of conspiracy in English law. It also created offences concerned with criminal trespass in ...

* Conspiracy to defraud *Conspiracy to corrupt public morals *Conspiracy to outrage public decency *

Attempt An attempt to commit a crime occurs if a criminal has an intent to commit a crime and takes a substantial step toward completing the crime, but for reasons not intended by the criminal, the final resulting crime does not occur.''Criminal Law - ...

, contrary to section 1(1) of the

Criminal Attempts Act 1981 The Criminal Attempts Act 1981 (c 47) 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. It abolished the common law offence of attempt. P ...

Parts 1 to 3 of Schedule 3 to the Serious Crime Act 2007 list numerous statutory offences of assisting, encouraging, inciting, attempting or conspiring at the commission of various crimes. *'' R v Shivpuri'' UKHL_2
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attempting the impossible *''R v Anderson'' [1986] AC 27 *''R v Betts and Ridley'' (1930) 22 Cr App R, accessory to crime need not be present *''R v Clarkson'' (1971) 55 Cr. App. Rep. 445 for aiding and abetting, need evidence of actually encouraging a crime *''

R v Gnango ''Regina v Armel Gnango'' is the leading English criminal law case on the interaction of joint enterprise, transferred malice, and exemption from criminal liability where a party to what would normally be a crime is the victim of it. The Supreme ...

'' UKSC_59
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joint enterprise *''R v Jogee'' [2016] UKSC 8 joint enterprise in a stabbing, need to act or encourage an offence *''R v Reed'' 982Crim. L.R. 819 suicide pact conspiracy *''R v Richards'' [1974] 1 QB 776 accomplice cannot be convicted of worse offence than the main actor even if he has the mens rea for one ;Inchoate * Serious Crime Act 2007 ss 44-46 *

ss 1-5 *

Criminal Justice Act 1987 In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

s 12 and 1988 s 39 *'' Wai Yu-tsang v R'' 9921 AC 269 *'' R v Stracusa'' (1990) 90 Cr App R 340 *'' R v Sadique'' 013EWCA Crim 1150 ;Complicity *'' R v Stringer (Ian)''

012 012 may refer to: * Tyrrell 012, a Formula One racing car * The dialing code for Pretoria, South Africa See also * 12 (disambiguation) Twelve or 12 may refer to: * 12 (number) * December, the twelfth and final month of the year Years * 12 BC ...

EWCA Crim 1396 *'' R v Rook'' 993Crim LR 698 *'' R v Giametto''

997 Year 997 ( CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first child of the ...

9 Cr App R 1 *'' R v Daley''

015 Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak albu ...

EWCA Crim 1515 *

Terrorism Act 2000 The Terrorism Act 2000 (c.11) is the first of a number of general Terrorism Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It superseded and repealed the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland (Em ...

s 11

Criminal offences

Homicide

*'' R v Wallace'' (1931) 23 Cr App R 32 murder conviction overturned for being unreasonable *'' R v Adams''

957 Year 957 ( CMLVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * September 6 – Liudolf, the eldest son of King Otto I, dies of a violent fever ne ...

Crim LR 365 *'' R v Hancock'' 985UKHL 9, foresight needed for murder *'' R v Dear''

996 Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Emp ...

Crim LR 595 chain of causation not broken for murder when wounds reopened by victim *''

R v Woollin ''R v Woollin'' was a decision of the highest court of law-defining in English criminal law, in which the subject of intention in '' mens rea'', especially for murder was examined and refined. Facts Having given various explanations for his thre ...

'' 9991 AC 82 *'' R v Golds'' UKSC_61
*Road_Traffic_Act_1988.html" ;"title="016
UKSC 61
*Road Traffic Act 1988">016
UKSC 61
*Road Traffic Act 1988 s 143 * Infanticide Act 1938 s 1 *Homicide Act 195 ss 2-4 *''R v Adomoako'' *''R v Ahluwalia'' *''Attorney General's Reference (No 3 of 1994)'' 998AC 245 *''R v Brennan'' 014EWCA Crim 2387 *'' R (Nicklinson) v Ministry of Justice'' 014UKSC 34

Sexual offences

* Sexual Offences Act 1956 *

Sexual Offences Act 2003 The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (c. 42) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It partly replaced the Sexual Offences Act 1956 with more specific and explicit wording. It also created several new offences such as non-consensual voyeur ...

* Protection from Harassment Act 1997 ss 1-4 *'' R v R''

991 Year 991 ( CMXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events * March 1: In Rouen, Pope John XV ratifies the first Truce of God, between Æthelred the Unready and Richard I of ...

UKHL 12 a husband can be convicted of raping wife *'' R v Evans and McDonald''

EWCA Crim 2559 rape verdict overturned *''

R v Bowden In ''R v Bowden'', a 1999 appeal, the English Court of Appeal dismissed a defence effort to depart from the literal rule, the taking of the natural meaning of statutory language. It concerned the making (copying with knowledge of the content) of ...

'' 0002 All ER 418, child pornography *''

R v Prince ''Rex v. Prince'', L.R. 2 C.C.R. 154 (1875), was an English case that held the '' mens rea'' necessary for criminal liability should be required for the elements central to the wrongfulness of the act, and that strict liability should apply to ...

'' (1875) LR 2 CCR 154 responsibility for underage sex even though belief girl was 18, not 14 *'' R v Penguin Books Ltd'' DH Lawrence, ''

Lady Chatterley's Lover ''Lady Chatterley's Lover'' is the last novel by English author D. H. Lawrence, which was first published privately in 1928, in Italy, and in 1929, in France. An unexpurgated edition was not published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960, wh ...

'' (1960) and the Obscene Publications Act 1959 *'' R v Peacock''

conviction quashed under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 for hardcore pornography *'' R v Oluboja'' 982QC 320 *'' R v McNalley'' 013EWCA Crim 1051 *'' R v Bree''

EWCA Crim 804 *'' R v B'' 013EWCA Crim 823 *'' R (F) v DPP'' 013EWHC 945

Other personal offences

* Offences Against the Person Act 1861 *'' R v Savage'' 992UKHL 1, mens rea for assault *''

R v Coney ''R v Coney'' (1882) 8 QBD 534 is an English case in which the Court for Crown Cases Reserved found that a bare-knuckle fight was an assault occasioning actual bodily harm, despite the consent of the participants. This marked the end of widespre ...

'' (1882) 8 QBD 534, bare knuckle fight with consent still assault and actual bodily harm *'' R v Brown'' 993UKHL 19 consent not a defence to sadomasochistic harm * Offences against the Person Act 1861 *'' R v Constanza''

2 Cr App Rep 492 meaning of assault, need not be immediate * Serious Crime Act 2007 * Protection from Harassment Act 1997 ss 1-4 *'' R v Wilson (Alan)''

QC 47 *'' R v Colohan'' 001EWCA Crim 1251 * Mental Capacity Act 2005 ss 2-3

Theft and property crime

* Theft Act 1968 and Theft Act 1978 *Offences under the Explosive Substances Act 1883 *Offences under the

Computer Misuse Act 1990 The 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'' (1988) 1 AC 1063 (see below). Critics of the bill complained that it was introduced hastily ...

*'' Oxford v Moss'' (1979) 68 Cr App Rep 183, information could not be property *''

R v Morris; Anderton v Burnside ''R v Morris''; ''Anderton v Burnside'' 984are English highest court conjoined appeal decisions as to the extent of ''appropriation'' that can be considered criminal (as the law of theft is codified in the Theft Act 1968). ''R v Morris'' was a ...

'' 984UKHL 1 meaning of "appropriates" *'' R v Hinks'' 000UKHL 53 meaning of "appropriates" *'' R v Lawrence v Metropolitan Police Commissioner'' 972AC 262, appropriation of property, taxi cab *'' R v Marshall'' 9982 Cr App R 282 *'' R v Hall'' 9731 QB 126 *'' R v Hale'' 979Crim LR 596 *'' R v Bloxham'' 983AC 109 *'' R v Gomez'' 993AC 442 *'' R v Hayes''

EWCA Crim 1944 *'' Haughton v Smith'' 975AC 476, no crime of handling when goods not stolen *

Burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murd ...

and

Blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

*''

R v Collins ''R v Collins'' 1973 QB 100 was a unanimous appeal in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales which examined the meaning of "enters as a trespasser" in the definition of burglary, where the separate legal questions of an invitation based on ...

'' 973QB 100, entering as a trespasser for burglary *'' R v Garwood'' 987Crim LR 476 *Unauthorised access to computer material *Unauthorised impairment of a computer *Impairing a computer to cause damage

Fraud

* Fraud Act 2006 *'' Ivey v Genting Casinos (UK) Ltd''

017 Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese ...

UKSC 67, Ivey was unable to claim £7.7m in winnings from the Genting Casinos because he had won by cheating, by ‘edge sorting’ with an accomplice, at a card game called Punto Banco. Supreme Court held the 'fact-finding tribunal' should establish a defendant's actual state of mind and then judge whether their conduct was honest or not according to the objective standards of ordinary decent people. * Theft Act 1968 s 32 ‘cheating the Revenue’ is an offence *''

R v Chaytor ''R v Chaytor and others'' 010UKSC 52 was a 2010 judgment of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The case concerned the trials of three former Members of Parliament for false accounting in relation to the Parliamentary expenses' scandal of ...

'' 010UKSC 52, false accounting for Parliamentary expenses, no privilege protection *'' R v Ingram'' 003EWCA Crim, cheating by coughing to win Who wants to be a millionaire *'' R v Kylsant'' 931falsifying Royal Mail trading prospectus *'' R v Valujevs'' 014EWCA Crim 2888 *

Forgery Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally refers to the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific intent to defraud anyone (other than themself). Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be forb ...

*Offences under Part I of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 *Falsification of pedigree, contrary t
section 183(1)(b)
of the

Law of Property Act 1925 The Law of Property Act 1925c 20 is a statute of the United Kingdom Parliament. It forms part of an interrelated programme of legislation introduced by Lord Chancellor Lord Birkenhead between 1922 and 1925. The programme was intended to modern ...

*Improper alteration of the registers, contrary t
section 124
of the

Land Registration Act 2002 The Land Registration Act 2002c 9 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 si ...

*Offences unde
section 8
of the Non-Parochial Registers Act 1840 *Offences under sections 36 and 37 of the Forgery Act 1861 *Forgery of passport, contrary t
section 36
of the

Criminal Justice Act 1925 The Criminal Justice Act 1925 (15 & 16 Geo.5 c.86) 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 ...

*Offences under sections 133 and 135 of the County Courts Act 1984 *Offences unde
section 13
of the

Stamp Duties Management Act 1891 Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents ...

; and supplementary offences under section
14
an
15
*Offences unde
section 6
of the

Hallmarking Act 1973 The 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 min ...

*Offences unde
section 126
of the Mental Health Act 1983 *Offences under section
121
an
122(6)
of the

Gun Barrel Proof Act 1868 A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube ( gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing ...

Motor vehicle document offences: *Offences under section 97AA and 99(5) of the Transport Act 1968 *Offences under section 65 of the

Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

*Offences under section 115 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 *Offences under section 173 of the

Road Traffic Act 1988 The Road Traffic Act 1988 (c. 52) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, concerning licensing of vehicles, insurance and road regulation. Contents Part I contains a number of traffic offences including causing death by dangerous driv ...

*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 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 1972 *Offences under section 38 of the

Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995 In economics, goods are items that satisfy human wants and provide utility, for example, to a consumer making a purchase of a satisfying product. A common distinction is made between goods which are transferable, and services, which are not t ...

* Personation *

Personation of a juror Personation of a juror is a common law offence in England and Wales, where a person impersonates a juror in a civil or criminal trial.Halsbury's Laws of England, volume 26: "Criminal Law", paragraph 686 (5th edition)Halsbury's Laws of England, ...

*Offences under section 90(1) of the

Police Act 1996 The Police Act 1996c 16 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which defined the current police areas in England and Wales, constituted police authorities for those areas, and set out the relationship between the Home Secretary and t ...

*Offences under section 30(1) of the

Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 The Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (c 11) 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. The Act also e ...

*Offences under section 34 of the Forgery Act 1861 *Offences under section 24 of the

Family Law Reform Act 1969 The Family Law Reform Act 1969 is an Act of Parliament amending various aspects of Family Law in English Law. The Act is in four parts. PART I – Reduction of Age of Majority and Related Provisions Part I deals with the reduction of the Age o ...

*Offences under section 60 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 * Cheating (law) *Offences under section 17 of the Gaming Act 1845 *Offences under section 1 of the Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951

Criminal damage

* Criminal Damage Act 1971 *'' R v G'' 003UKHL 50 subjective recklessness standard abolishing '' R v Caldwell'' 982AC 341 *'' Morphitis v Salmon''

990 Year 990 ( CMXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Al-Mansur, ''de facto'' ruler of Al-Andalus, conquers the Castle of Montemor-o-Velho (mode ...

Crim LR 48, scratch to scaffolding pole was de minimis damage and not criminal *

Crime and Disorder Act 1998 The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (c.37) 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. Its key areas were the introduction of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, Sex ...

s 30 *'' R v Steer'' 987UKHL *'' R v Hill and Hall'' (1989) 89 Cr App R 74

Offences against the state

* High treason in the United Kingdom * Misprision of treason *

Compounding treason Compounding 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 Nort ...

* Treason felony *Attempting to injure or alarm the Sovereign, contrary to section 2 of the

Treason Act 1842 The Treason Act 1842 (5 & 6 Vict. c.51) 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. The last person to be convicted under the Act was Marcus Sarjeant in 198 ...

* Contempt of the sovereign *

Trading with the enemy Trading 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 #A ground for illegality ...

*Offences under the Official Secrets Acts 1911 to 1989 *Offences under the

Incitement to Disaffection Act 1934 The 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

*Causing disaffection, contrary t
section 6
of the

Ministry of Defence Police Act 1987 The 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 l ...

*Incitement to sedition or disaffection or promoting industrial unrest, contrary to section 3 of the

Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act 1919 The Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act 1919 (9 & 10 Geo 5 c 92) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom originally aimed at continuing and extending the provisions of the Aliens Restriction Act 1914, and the British Nationality and S ...

*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 1936 * Piracy iure gentium *Piracy with violence, contrary to the Piracy Act 1837 *Offences under the

Slave Trade Act 1824 The Slave Trade Act 1824 is 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 capital offence. The sentence was reduced to transportat ...

*Offences under the Foreign Enlistment Act 1870 *Offences under the

Immigration Act 1971 The Immigration Act 1971c 77 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning immigration and nearly entirely remaking the field of British immigration law. The Act, as with the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, and that of 1968, res ...

*Coinage offences under Part II of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 *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 Malfeasance in office is often grounds for a just cause removal of an elected official by statute or recall election. Malfeasance in office contrasts with "misfeasance in office", which is the commission of a ''lawful'' act, done in an officia ...

*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 t
section 27
of the

Sheriffs Act 1887 The 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 (''posse comitat ...

Cheating the public revenue 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. In most cases the cod ...

*Offences under the

Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs h ...

*Tax evasion and money laundering offences * Offences against military law in the United Kingdom

Other offences

* Offences under the

Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It represents action in line with treaty commitments under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the United Nati ...

, the Intoxicating Substances (Supply) Act 1985, the Licensing Act 2003, section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 and other provisions relating to tobacco, and the Drug Trafficking Act 1994. * Offences under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. *

Firearms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

and offensive weapons offences (see also Gun politics in the United Kingdom) *Offences under section 1(1) of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 *Offences under sections 139 and 139A of the

Criminal Justice Act 1988 The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Title The title of this Act is: Unduly lenient sentences In England and Wales, the Act granted the Attorney General the power to refer sentences for c ...

*Offences under the

Knives Act 1997 Knife legislation is defined as the body of statutory law or case law promulgated or enacted by a government or other governing jurisdiction that prohibits, criminalizes, or restricts the otherwise legal manufacture, importation, sale, transfer, p ...

*Offences under sections 75 to 77 of the Marriage Act 1949 *Offences under section 2 of the Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act 1860 *Offences under section 7 of the

Burial Laws Amendment Act 1880 The Burial Laws Amendment Act 1880 (43 & 44 Vict c 41) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is one of the Burial Acts 1852 to 1885. This Act is excluded bsection 4of the Welsh Church (Burial Grounds) Act 1945. For the constru ...

*Offences under section 59 of the Cemeteries Clauses Act 1847 *Offences under articles 18 and 19 of the

Local Authorities' Cemeteries Order 1977 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administr ...

(SI 1977/204) *Doing an act tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice – a.k.a.

perverting the course of justice Perverting the course of justice is an offence committed when a person prevents justice from being served on themselves or on another party. In England and Wales it is a common law offence, carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Stat ...

, defeating the ends of justice, obstructing the administration of justice *Concealing evidence, contrary to section 5(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1967 *

Contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...

, specifically criminal contempt *

Intimidation Intimidation is to "make timid or make fearful"; or to induce fear. This includes intentional behaviors of forcing another person to experience general discomfort such as humiliation, embarrassment, inferiority, limited freedom, etc and the victi ...

, contrary to section 51(1) of the

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c.33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights, clamping down on unlicensed r ...

*Taking or threatening to take revenge, contrary to section 51(2) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 *

Perjury Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...

, contrary to section 1 of the

Perjury Act 1911 The Perjury Act 1911 (1 & 2 Geo 5 c 6) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates the offence of perjury and a number of similar offences. This Act has effect as if section 89 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967 and section 80 ...

*Perjury, contrary to section 6 of the

Piracy Act 1850 The Piracy Act 1850 (13 & 14 Vict c 26), sometimes called the Pirates (Head Money) Repeal Act, 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 c ...

*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 1980 *Offences under section 11(1) of the European Communities Act 1972 *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 1992 The Prison Security Act 1992 (c 25) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 1 - Offence of prison mutiny This section reads: Section 1(6) is prospectively amended by sections 74 and 80 of, anparagraph 115of Schedule 7 to ...

*Offences under section 128 of the Mental Health Act 1983 *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 *Offences under the

Public Order Act 1986 The Public Order Act 1986 (c 64) 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. It implements recommendations

*Offences under section 31 of the

*Offences under Part V of the

*Offences under Part II of the

*Offences under the

Protection from Eviction Act 1977 The Protection from Eviction Act 1977c 43 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom protecting people renting accommodation from losing their homes without the involvement of a court. Contents The Act's aim is to protect tenants from being ej ...

*Bomb hoaxes, contrary to section 51 of the

*Offences against public morals and public policy *

Bigamy In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. ...

, contrary to section 57 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 *Offences under section 2(1) of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 (see also

Obscenity An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be us ...

and

Indecency Inappropriateness refers to standards or ethics that are typically viewed as being negative in a society. It differs from things that are illicit in that inappropriate behavior does not necessarily have any accompanying legal ramifications. C ...

) *Offences under section 2(2) of the

Theatres Act 1968 The Theatres Act 1968 abolished censorship of the stage in the United Kingdom, receiving royal assent on 26 July 1968, after passing both Houses of Parliament.Postal Services Act 2000 *Offences under section 1(1) of the Indecent Displays (Control) Act 1981 *Offences under section 1(1) of the Protection of Children Act 1978 *Offences under section 160 of the

*Offences under section 170 of the

consisting of importation in breach of the prohibition under section 42 of the

Customs Consolidation Act 1876 Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

*Offences under the Bribery Act 2010 *

Cruelty to animals Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or harm upon non-human animals. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suf ...

Environmental crime Environmental crime is an illegal act which directly harms the environment. These illegal activities involve the environment, wildlife, biodiversity and natural resources. International bodies such as, G8, Interpol, European Union, United Natio ...

Traffic offences A moving violation is any violation of the law committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is in motion. The term "motion" distinguishes it from other motor vehicle violations, such as paperwork violations (which include violations involving a ...

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dr ...

Kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

* False imprisonment *

High treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

* Misprision of treason *

* Refusal to execute public office * Public nuisance * Outraging public decency * Conspiracy to defraud * Conspiracy to corrupt public morals or to outrage public decency *

Common assault Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally co ...

aka

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in cr ...

Battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

* Assault with intent to rob

Criminal defences

The defences which are available to any given offence depend on the wording of the

and rules of the common law. There are general defences.

Insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or t ...

, automatism,

mistake Mistake(s) may refer to: * An error Law * Mistake (contract law), an erroneous belief, at contracting, that certain facts are true ** Mistake in English contract law, a specific type of mistake, pertaining to England * Mistake (criminal law) ...

and self defence operate as defences to any offence. Inadvertence due to

intoxication Intoxication — or poisoning, especially by an alcoholic or narcotic substance — may refer to: * Substance intoxication: ** Alcohol intoxication ** LSD intoxication ** Toxidrome ** Tobacco intoxication ** Cannabis intoxication ** Cocaine in ...

is a defence to all offences requiring proof of

basic intent In criminal law, intent is a subjective state of mind () that must accompany the acts of certain crimes to constitute a violation. A more formal, generally synonymous legal term is : intent or knowledge of wrongdoing. Definitions Intent is d ...

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 and necessity operate as a defence to all crimes except murder, attempted murder and some forms of treason.

Marital coercion Marital coercion was a defence to most crimes under English criminal law and under the criminal law of Northern Ireland. It is similar to duress. It was abolished in England and Wales by section 177 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing ...

is a defence to all crimes except treason and murder. *''

Connolly v DPP ''Connolly v. DPP'' 007
007 The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

EWHC 237 (Admin) no Human Rights Act 1998 defence for sending graphic pictures of abortions, considered malicious *''

Director of Public Prosecutions v Camplin Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

'' 978UKHL 2, provocation, now

Coroners and Justice Act 2009 The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (c. 25) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the law on coroners and criminal justice in England and Wales. Among its provisions are: *preventing criminals from profiting from public ...

loss of control *'' R v Oye'' 013EWCA Crim 1725 *'' R v Quayle'' 005EWCA Crim 1415 *'' R v Martin (Anthony)'' 001EWCA Crim 2245 *'' R v Coley'' 013EWCA Crim 223 *'' Re A'' 0012 WLR 480 *'' R v Hitchens'' 011EWCA Crim 1626 *'' R v Howe'' 987AC 417 *'' R v Ray (Steven)

EWCA Crim 1391

Partial defences to murder

There are two main partial defences that reduce murder to manslaughter. 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 epileptic 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 defence. The requirements are usually more lax, for instance, being "an abnormality of mind" which "substantially impair mental responsibility for his acts and omission in doing or being a party to the killing." Loss of control may be pleaded under sections 54 and 55 of the

Infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose is the prevention of resou ...

now operates as a defence to both murder and manslaughter. See the Infanticide Act 1938 as amended by the

Insanity

Insanity is a deranged state of mind, and consequently no defence to strict liability crimes, where ''mens rea'' not is a requirement. An old case which lays down typical rules on insanity is '' M'Naghten's case'' where a man suffering extreme paranoia believed the Tory party of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, 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 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, also known as acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to reduce pain, fever, and/or inflammation, and as an antithrombotic. Specific inflammatory conditions which aspirin is used to treat inc ...

. He was in fact mentally ill, but as he recognized what he did and that it was wrong by saying to

"I suppose they will hang me for this", he was found not insane and guilty of murder.

Automatism

Automatism is a state where the

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of mus ...

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 Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evide ...

. Automatismic actions can be a product of

insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or t ...

, 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 is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

, wounding or causing

grievous bodily harm Grievous bodily harm (often abbreviated to GBH) is a term used in English criminal law to describe the severest forms of battery. It refers to two offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. The ...

with intent,

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for som ...

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

and

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murd ...

). But automatism is no defence to other crimes (i.e. of

, e.g.

and

) if the defendant was reckless in becoming automatismic ''or'' it happens through

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

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 R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars'', or in Irela ...

'' Mr Hardie took his girlfriend's Valium, because she had just kicked him out and he was depressed. She encouraged him to take them, to make him feel better. But he got angry and set fire to the wardrobe. It was held that he should not be convicted of

because he expected the Valium to calm him down, and this was its normal effect. *'' Hill v Baxter'' 9581 QB 277, dangerous driving, when automatism possible

Intoxication

Technically, intoxication is not a defence, but negates the mens rea for specific intent offenses (e.g. it commutes a murder sentence to manslaughter). In other words, a defendant may have been so drunk, or drugged, that he was incapable of forming the criminal intention required. Voluntary intoxication is considered reckless, a state of basic intent, which means one cannot have one's sentence reduced for crimes of basic intent (e.g. manslaughter, assault, etc.). So for instance, in '' R v Sheehan and Moore'' two people threw

petrol Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic c ...

on a

homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

person and set

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames ...

to him. They were cleared of murder, but were still convicted of

, 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 his 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 is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

er drugged a man's

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

, invited him to

abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

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'' where the defendant took LSD, thought his girlfriend was a

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more ...

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 negate 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 A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, often metal head, attached to a long handle. The long handle combined with a heavy head allows the sledgehammer to gather momentum during a swing and apply a large force compared to hammers designed t ...

to fend off an "attacker" after 20 pints of

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

is disproportionate. *'' R v O'Grady'' 987QB 995 voluntary intoxication

Mistake

*'' Williams (Gladstone)'' 9873 All ER 411, mistake of fact depends on reasonableness

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 Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

shouted at a car approaching a checkpoint to halt. When it did not, Mr Clegg fired three shots, killing a woman. She was hit 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 the

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

farmer, even if robbers had

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, woundi ...

ed on his

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...

. In that case, Mr

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

was found to have diminished responsibility for his actions, because he was mentally ill.

Duress

One who is "under duress" is forced into something. Duress can be a defence for all crimes, except

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven y ...

, being an accessory to murder and

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

involving the death of the Sovereign. In '' R v Howe'' it was held that to allow the defence of duress as a defence to murder would, in the words of Lord Hailsham, withdraw the protection of the criminal law from the innocent victim and cast the cloak of its protection upon the coward and the poltroon - ordinary people ought to be prepared to give up their lives to the person making the threat in preference to killing an innocent. '' R v Gotts'', in a similar fashion, disallowed the defence of duress for someone charged with attempted murder, as the Lords could not see a reason why the defence should be open to an attempted murderer when it was not open to a murderer. In order to prove duress, it must be shown that the defendant was induced by threats of death or serious physical injury to either himself or his family that he reasonably believed would be carried out and that also that "a sober person of reasonable firmness, sharing the characteristics of the accused" would have responded in the same way. 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 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 - joining a gang that carries out armed robberies probably precludes any duress defence but joining a gang that is not violent at the time of joining may not. *'' R v Hasan'' 005UKHL 22, duress, threat of serious injury

Necessity

Whilst a duress defence relates to the situation where a person commits an offense to avoid death or serious injury to himself or another when threatened by a third party, the defence of necessity related to the situation where a person commits an offense to avoid harm which would ensue from circumstances in which he/she or another are placed. Duress operates as an excuse but necessity operates as a justification, rendering the defendant's conduct lawful. Necessity is a defence that argues "I desperately needed to do X, because consequence Y would have been really bad." Logically, this is identical to the concept of "duress of circumstance", where the situation rather than a person is the threat. The common elements are (1) an act is done to prevent a greater evil (2) the evil must be directed to the defendant or someone for who he is responsible (3) the act must have been a proportionate response. But only necessity is a potential defence for

. The defence of necessity was first tested in the 19th century English case of '' R v Dudley and Stephens''. The ''Mignotte'', sailing from

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, 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 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, 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, 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 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'' 975 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

, 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

994 Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish gener ...

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'', 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) ''Re A (conjoined twins)'' 0012 WLR 480 is a Court of Appeal decision on the separation of conjoined twins. The case raised legal and ethical dilemmas. It was ruled it would be permissible to sever and thus kill in a palliative, sympathetic mann ...

'',''

'' 0004 All ER 961 conjoined twins 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.

Procedure and sentencing

In the United Kingdom, a criminal case against Mr Smith is styled ''R v Smith''. "R" is short for Rex or Regina, that is, the King or Queen, and the "v" stands for "versus". *'' Woolmington v DPP'' 935UKHL 1, presumption of innocence *'' Rice v Connolly''

966 Year 966 ( CMLXVI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * 23 June - Byzantine-Arab War: A prisoner exchange occurs at the border betwee ...

2 QB 414, right to refuse to answer questions if not under arrest * Judges' Rules (1912), adverse inferences not to be drawn from silence before arrest. The rule was already long established at common law in relation to silence during trial; both rules were weakened by the

*''

R v Waterfield ''R v Waterfield'' 9633 All E.R. 659 is an English Court of Appeal decision, a court of binding precedent, outlining the modern limits of the law that authorises a police officer to stop (and then conceivably detain) a person. This case produ ...

'' 9633 All E.R. 659 police power to stop and detain, an assault charge against an officer was invalid as the officer was not acting in execution of duty *'' R v Cheshire''

1 WLR 844 role of the jury in finding causation *'' Connelly v DPP'' 964AC 1254 no double jeopardy, but can be tried a second time for a different offence. The rule against double jeopardy was weakened by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 *''

R v Wang R v Wang (2005) in the criminal law of England and Wales is the binding precedent, from the highest court, that a judge in England or in Wales is not entitled to direct, or instruct, order or require, a jury to return a verdict of guilty. Bac ...

'' 0051 WLR 661 judge cannot direct a jury to find a guilty verdict *'' R v Davis'' 008UKHL 36, witness anonymity *''

R v Incedal and Rarmoul-Bouhadjar R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars'', or in Irela ...

'' (2014) terrorism trial not to be held in secret *

Hearsay in English law The 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. Section 114 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 defines he ...

There is a Sentencing Council. This power is now created by section 163 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 It was formerly created by each of the following provisions in turn: *The Criminal Justice Act 1948, section 13. Only applied to

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that res ...

. *The Criminal Law Act 1967, 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 In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

, section 55 and Schedule 4, paragraph 8(3). The

, 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 2000, section 127. A general power of Crown Court to impose a sentence of imprisonment on conviction on indictment is created by section 77 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 It was formerly created by each of the following provisions in turn: *The Criminal Law Act 1967, section 7(1) *The Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973, section 18(1)

International criminal law

Building of the International Criminal Court in The Hague

International law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

Nuremberg Tribunal The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invade ...

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to pro ...

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; french: Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda; rw, Urukiko Mpanabyaha Mpuzamahanga Rwashyiriweho u Rwanda) was an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nation ...

Rome Statute The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998Michael P. Scharf (August 1998)''Results of the ...

Criminal law theory

Crime in the United Kingdom Crime in the United Kingdom describes acts of violent crime and non-violent crime that take place within the United Kingdom. Courts and police systems are separated into three sections, based on the different judicial systems of England and Wale ...

* Crime in London *

Law enforcement in the United Kingdom Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Most law enforcement is carried out by police officers serving in regional po ...

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Directgov
Crime and justice (Directgov, England and Wales) {{DEFAULTSORT:English Criminal Law