s47 ABH

    Cards (6)

    • Charged under what Act?
      s47 Offences Against the Person Act 1861
    • Define s47 ABH
      An assault (or battery) which caused actual bodily harm to V and D intends or is subjectively reckless as to whether V fears unlawful force or is actually subjected to unlawful force.
      1. Assault (or battery)
      Must prove either:
      • D acted in a way which caused the V to apprehend immediate unlawful force.
      OR
      • D applied unlawful force to V
    • 2. Occasioning
      Means "leading to".
      Did D's act cause the ABH?
      Must consider Factual Causation (Pagett), Legal Causation (Kimsey), Thin Skull Rule (Blaue) and Intervening Acts (Jordan, Roberts).
    • 3. Actual Bodily Harm
      'Any hurt or injury calculated to interfere with the health or comfort of the victim' (Miller).
      "Actual" - must be a form of physical or psychological injury.
      "Harm" - Need not be serious.
      Examples: Psychiatric harm (Chan Fook) - not mere emotions (fear etc). Loss of consciousness (T v DPP), bruising, grazes, cutting of hair (DPP v Smith).
    • 4. s47 ABH - MR
      Uses same MR as assault/battery.
      D does not need to intend or be reckless regarding the ABH caused.