Omissions

• Omission - failure to do something when you have a legal duty to do so

  • come largely from common law meaning they are created by judges
• Only certain crimes can be by an Omission:

  • murder
  • GNM
  • GBH
• General Rule:

  • in the UK, you will not be criminally liable for not doing something but there are 6 exceptions

  1. Duty arising from specific relationships
  2. Duty arising from contractual obligations
  3. Duty arising from public office
  4. Duty arising from voluntary assumption
  5. Duty arising from the inadvertent creation of a dangerous situation
  6. Statutory duty
• Duty arising from Specific Relationsips:

  • usually parent-child
  • grown-up child-elderly parent
  • spouse-spouse
  • R v Gibbons and Proctor - responsible, failed to feed child, convicted for murder
  • confirmed in statute in s.1. Child and Young Persons Act 1933
• Duty arising from Contractual Obligations:

  • D is under a contractual duty to act, if they fsil to do so they may be liable if lives of others are likely to be endangered as a result
  • R v Pittwood - left gate at level crossing open, responsible for death of train driver as it was his contractual duty to close the gate
  • R v Adomako - failed to notice v's breathing tube had disconnected, convicted as it was his contractual duty to observe the patient
• Duty arising from Public Office:

  • e.g. emergency services - police, paramedic, firefighter
  • rarely used
  • R v Dytham - d (police officer) stood by whilst bouncer kicked a man to death, guilty of misconduct in office, did not protect V or apprehend the attackers
• Duty arising from Voluntary Assumption:

  • if you voluntarily accept responsibility for another, you may be imposed with a duty to act with regard to that person's welfare
  • R v Stone and Dobinson - liable for death as they assumed a responsibility by taking her in, failed to look after her and ensure she got the medical help she needed
• Creation of a Dangerous Situation:

  • if it creates a risk to another's life or property, then they are under a duty to stop or limit the results on the action
  • if they dont, they may be liable for the results of their action
  • R v Miller - fell asleep with lit cigarette, saw small fire so went into another room to sleep, aware of fire and failed to act
  • R v Santana-Bermudez - allowed to be searcher knowing he had hypodermic needles, failure to tell policewoman of needle was enough, knew the danger and failed to take steps to avert it
• Statutory Duties:

  • covers situations where someone is required to do something by an Act of Parliament
  • s.6 Road Traffic Act 1988 - failing to provide a specimen of breath when requested
  • s.170 Road Traffic Act 1988 - failing to stop at a road accident
  • s.14 Road Traffic Act 1988 - failing to wear a seatbelt