In legal systems based on

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 omnipres ...

, a partial defence is a

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indus ...

that does not completely absolve the defendant of guilt.A
claim of

self-defence Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...

, for example, may be a complete defence to a charge of murder, leading to an acquittal; or it may be a partial defence, which leads to conviction to a lesser

verdict In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. In a bench trial, the judge's decision near the end of the trial is simply referred to as a finding. In England and Wales ...

, such as manslaughter. In England and Wales, successfully pleading a partial defence for murder may reduce the conviction to

voluntary manslaughter Voluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human being in which the offender acted during ''the heat of passion'', under circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed to the point that they canno ...

. There are three types of partial defence - loss of control,

diminished responsibility In criminal law, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental func ...

and suicide pact. These defences can only be applied to the charge of murder as per section 54 of the '' Coroners and Justice Act 2009''.

References

Criminal defenses Criminal law of the United Kingdom Common law legal terminology {{UK-law-stub