The Infanticide Act 1938 ( 1 & 2 Geo. 6. c. 36) is an act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

that created the offence of

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 being the prevention of re ...

for

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 ...

Section 1 - Offence of infanticide

Sections 1(1) to (3) now read:

Amendments

The word "if" was substituted for the words "notwithstanding that" in sections 1(1) and (2) by sections 57(2)(a) and (3)(a) of the

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 ...

. The words "or manslaughter" were inserted in sections 1(1) and (2) by sections 57(2)(a) and (3)(a) of that Act. The words at the end of section 1(3) were repealed by Part III of schedule 3 to the

Criminal Law Act 1967 The Criminal Law Act 1967 (c. 58) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made some major changes to English criminal law, as part of wider liberal reforms by the Labour government elected in 1966. Most of it is still in force. ...

. Section 1(4) was also repealed by that Part.

"Notwithstanding that"

In ''R v Gore'', the Court of Appeal held that this expression meant "even if".

Restriction on institution of proceedings

Proceedings against a woman for infanticide, if the injury alleged to have caused the death was sustained more than three years before the death occurred, or the person has previously been convicted of an offence committed in circumstances alleged to be connected with the death, may only be instituted by or with the consent of the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Alternative verdict

Where on the trial of any person for infanticide the jury are of the opinion that the person charged is not guilty of infanticide, but that she is shown by the evidence to be guilty of

child destruction Child destruction is the name of a statutory offence in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Hong Kong and in some parts of Australia. Child destruction is the crime of killing an unborn but viable foetus; that is, a child "capable of being bor ...

, the jury may find her guilty of that offence.

Mode of trial

Infanticide is triable only on indictment.

Sentence

The effect of the words "punished as if she had been guilty of the offence of manslaughter" is that a person convicted of infanticide is liable to imprisonment for life.''

Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice ''Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice'' (usually called simply ''Archbold'') is a leading practitioners' text book for the practice of criminal law in the Crown Court of England and Wales. It is also referred to and used in sever ...

''. 1999. Paragraph 19-141 at page 1598.

Section 2 - Short title, extent and repeal

Section 2(2) provides that the act does not extend to Scotland or Northern Ireland. Section 2(3) repealed the Infanticide Act 1922 ( 12 & 13 Geo. 5. c. 18). It was in turn repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1950 because it was spent by virtue of the

Interpretation Act 1889 The Interpretation Act 1889 ( 52 & 53 Vict. c. 63) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated enactments relating to statutory construction and provided definitions to shorten the language used in acts of Parliament. ...

( 52 & 53 Vict. c. 63).

Notes

References

Halsbury's Statutes ''Halsbury's Statutes of England and Wales'' (commonly referred to as ''Halsbury's Statutes'') provides updated texts of every Public General Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Measure of the Welsh Assembly, or Church of England Me ...

External links

*
The Infanticide Act 1938
as amended from the

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.
The Infanticide Act 1938
as originally enacted from the

. {{Authority control United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1938 Infanticide Child murder in the United Kingdom