''Collins v Wilcock'' is an
appellate
In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...
case decided in 1984 by a
divisional court of the
Queen's Bench Division of the
High Court of
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, 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. Th ...
. It is concerned with
trespass to the person focusing on
battery.
Collins v Wilcock is a
leading case. Expanding on
Lord John Holt's definition of intent in ''
Cole v Turner'',
Lord Robert Goff's ruling in ''Collins v Wilcock'' narrowed the law. "An assault is committed when a person intentionally or recklessly harms someone indirectly. A battery is committed when a person intentionally and recklessly harms someone directly." But it also says this: "An offence of
Common Assault
Common assault is an offence in English law. It is committed by a person who causes another person to apprehend the immediate use of unlawful violence by the defendant. In England and Wales, the penalty and mode of trial for this offence is pro ...
is committed when a person either assaults another person or commits a battery." It notes that the only distinction between common assault and causing actual bodily harm (under section 47 of the
Offences Against the Person Act 1861
The Offences against the Person Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. 100) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated provisions related to offences against the person (an expression which, in particular, includes offences of ...
) is the degree of injury.
[ 9843 All ER 374 et seq]
References
*Dorothy J Wilson, "Divisional Court" (1984
48The Journal of Criminal La
321*(1984
148The Justice of the Peace Reports 692
*"Notes of Cases" (1984
148The Justice of the Peac
621(29 September 1984)
*(1984) 79 The Criminal Appeal Reports 229
*"Crime" (1984
128The Solicitors Journal 660 (28 September 1984)
*(1984) 81
LS Gaz 2140
*"Queen's Bench Division" (1985
104Law Notes 10 (No 1, January 1985)
*
984The Criminal Law Review 481
*"Soliciting", The Police Journal
vols 58 and 59 pp 71 and 72
*"Collins v Wilcock" in "Monthly Updater" in "Law and Practice" (1984) Legal Actio
*Harvey and Marston. "Collins v Wilcock". Cases and Commentary on Tort. Sixth Edition. Oxford University Press. 2009. Page
350to 353. See further pages 354 to 356, 358 and 360.
*Dias (ed). Clerk and Lindsell on Torts. Sixteenth Edition. Sweet & Maxwell. 1989. Paragraphs 17–01, 17–04, 17–05, 22-119 and 27–113.
*Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice. 1999 Edition. Paragraphs 19–171, 19-175 and 19-271.
United Kingdom tort case law
{{UK-law-stub