Common law offences are crimes under English criminal law, the related criminal law of some

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

countries, and under some U.S. State laws. They are offences under the common law, developed entirely by the law courts, having no specific basis in

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 le ...

Australia

Under the

criminal law of Australia The criminal law of Australia is the body of law in Australia that relates to crime. Responsibility for criminal law in Australia is divided between the state and territory parliaments and the Commonwealth Parliament. This division is due to t ...

the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Commonwealth) abolished all common law offences at the federal level.History of Australian Criminal Law
Parliament of Australia Library The Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia have also abolished common law offences, but they still apply in New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. Although some common law offences still exist in New South Wales, many common law offences – for example nightwalking, riot, rout, affray, keeping of bawdy houses, champerty and maintenance, eavesdropping and being a common scold – have been abolished in that State.

Canada

In Canada the consolidation of criminal law in the Criminal Code, enacted in 1953, involved the abolition of all common law offences except

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 ...

(preserved by section 9 of the Code) and contempt of Parliament (preserved by section 18 of the Constitution Act, 1867).

England and Wales

In England and Wales, the Law Commission's programme of codification of the criminal law included the aim of abolishing all the remaining common law offences and replacing them, where appropriate, with offences precisely defined by statute. Common law offences were seen as unacceptably vague and open to development by the courts in ways that might offend the principle of certainty. However, neither the Law Commission nor the UK Parliament have completed the necessary revisions of the law, so some common law offences still exist. In England and Wales, common law offences are punishable by unlimited fines and unlimited imprisonment. Common law offences that have been abolished or redefined as statutory offences are listed at .

List of offences under the common law of England

This list includes offences that have been abolished or codified in one or more or all jurisdictions: A *Abduction, (

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 ...

) * Accessory *Administration of drugs with intent to enable or assist the commission of a crime *Administration of poison with intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy any person * Affray *

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, wat ...

* Assault with intent to rape *

Assault with intent to rob 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 ...

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 - ...

B * Barratry, inciting litigation for profit * Battery *Being a common scold *

Blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

Blasphemous libel Blasphemous libel was originally an offence under the common law of England. Today, it is an offence under the common law of Northern Ireland, but has been abolished in England and Wales, and repealed in Canada and New Zealand. It consists of t ...

* Breach of prison *Bribery – Offering or paying a bribe * Buggery *

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 murder ...

C *(Causing a) public nuisance *

Champerty Champerty and maintenance are doctrines in common law jurisdictions that aim to preclude frivolous litigation: *Maintenance is the intermeddling of a disinterested party to encourage a lawsuit. It is: "A taking in hand, a bearing up or upholding ...

*Champerty and maintenance - Maintenance * Cheating * Common assault 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 crim ...

* Compounding treason * Compounding a felony *

Concealment of treasure trove A treasure trove is an amount of money or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion found hidden underground or in places such as cellars or attics, where the treasure seems old enough for it to be presumed that the true owner is dead and the hei ...

* Conspiracy *

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 ...

a.k.a. criminal contempt, contumacy *

Contempt of the sovereign Contempt of the Sovereign (also called contempt of statute) was an ancient doctrine in English law dating from medieval times, and now obsolete. It was the crime imputed by common law whereby a person disobeyed an Act of Parliament which did not s ...

D *

Defamatory libel Defamatory libel was originally an offence under the common law of England. It has been established in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. It was or is a form of criminal libel, a term with which it is synonymous. England, Wales and Northern ...

(sometimes known as criminal libel, although this can refer to several offences of libel) *Disabling in order to commit an indictable offence (in other words choking or strangulation) E * Eavesdropping *

Effecting a public mischief The first signs of the modern distinction between criminal and civil proceedings were during the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The earliest criminal trials had very little, if any, settled law to apply. However, the civil delictual law wa ...

(disputed - held to no longer exist) *

Embracery In the common law, embracery is the attempt to influence a juror corruptly to give their verdict in favour of one side or the other in a trial. This may be by promise, persuasions, entreaties, money, entertainments and the like. Early English l ...

Escape from lawful custody Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some s ...

* Espionage * Extortion F *

Fabrication of false evidence Fabrication may refer to: * Manufacturing, specifically the crafting of individual parts as a solo product or as part of a larger combined product. Processes in arts, crafts and manufacturing *Semiconductor device fabrication, the process used t ...

* Forcible entry * Forcible detainer *

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 forbidd ...

H * Harbouring a fugitive or felon * High treason * Housebreaking with intent to steal I * Incitement *

Inebriation Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ps ...

public intoxication Public intoxication, also known as "drunk and disorderly" and "drunk in public", is a summary offense in some countries rated to public cases or displays of drunkenness. Public intoxication laws vary widely by jurisdiction, but usually require an ...

posing a danger to others Human positions refer to the different physical configurations that the human body can take. There are several synonyms that refer to human positioning, often used interchangeably, but having specific nuances of meaning. *''Position'' is a gen ...

K *

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 ...

(abduction) L * Larceny M * Maintenance *

Malicious mischief Mischief or malicious mischief is the name for a criminal offenses that is defined differently in different legal jurisdictions. While the wrongful acts will often involve what is popularly described as vandalism, there can be a legal differenti ...

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 cen ...

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 (dra ...

* Misprision of felony (disputed - alleged not to exist) * Misprision of treason (disputed - alleged to be statutory) * Mobbing *

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

N *Nightwalking (so as to cause alarm) O * Obscene libel * Offering or paying a bribe * Outraging public decency P * Petty treason * Piracy * Challenging to fight R * Rape *Rescue/

rescuing a prisoner in custody Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation. Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ho ...

Riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

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 ...

* Rout *Running a disorderly house S *

Sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...

* Seditious libel T * Theft * Trespass U * Unlawful assembly *

Use of threats with intent to extort money or property Use may refer to: * Use (law), an obligation on a person to whom property has been conveyed * Use (liturgy), a special form of Roman Catholic ritual adopted for use in a particular diocese * Use–mention distinction, the distinction between usi ...

W *

Wilful fireraising Wilful fire-raising is a common law offence under Scots law applicable to deliberately starting fires with intent to cause damage to property. The offence is not fully equivalent to the offence of arson in England and Wales. The difference is t ...

and culpable and

reckless fireraising Reckless may refer to: Film and television Film * ''Reckless'' (1935 film), an American musical directed by Victor Fleming * ''Reckless'' (1951 film), a Spanish drama film directed by José Antonio Nieves Conde * ''The Reckless'', a 1965 Italia ...

High crimes and misdemeanours

New Zealand

In New Zealand the ability to be proceeded against at common law for being a party to a criminal offence was abolished by section six of the Criminal Code Act 1893. Section five of the Crimes Act, 1908 (which replaced the 1893 enactment),, and section 9 of the Crimes Act 1961 (which replaced the 1908 enactment) affirmed the abolition of criminal proceedings at common law, with the exception of

and of offences tried by

courts martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

United States

The notion that common law offenses could be enforced in federal courts was found to be unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in '' United States v. Hudson and Goodwin'', 11 U.S. 32 (1812). A woman, Anne Royall, was nonetheless found guilty of being a common scold in Washington, D.C. in 1829; a newspaper paid her fine. Some have argued that common law offences are inconsistent with the prohibition of ex post facto laws. At the state level, the situation varies. Some states, such as New Jersey, have abolished common law crimes (see ''

State v. Palendrano ''State v. Palendrano'', 120 N.J. Super. 336, 293 A.2d 747 (Law Div. 1972), was a legal case decided by the New Jersey Superior Court, Law Division, holding that the common law offense of being a common scold was no longer a crime despite the ...

''), while others have chosen to continue to recognize them. In some states, the elements of many crimes are defined mostly or entirely by common law, i.e., by prior judicial decisions. For instance, Michigan's penal code does not define the crime of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

: while the penalties for murder are laid out in statute, the actual elements of murder, and their meaning, is entirely set out in case law.

References

External links

CASE LAW on free B.E.A.G.L.E.S. legal resource centre
{{English criminal law navbox Common law English criminal law Common law offences in England and Wales