S47 ABH

• what act covers a section 47 ABH?

  the offences against the person act 1861
• what does section 47 actually say?

  whoever shall be convicted of any assault ocassioning actual bodily harm shall be liable to imprisonment for five years
• what is the defenition of a section 47 ABH under the act?

  there is none, we need to look at case law
• what is the AR of ABH?

  assault

  occasioning

  actual bodily harm
• what is the MR of section 47 ABH

  intention or recklessness as to causing apprehension of unlawful violence (assault) OR of applying unlawful iolence (battery)
• what is the first element of AR?

  assault
• assault

  there must be an assault or battery, all elements of this must be proved.
• what is the second element of AR?

  ocassioning
• what does ocacasioning mean?

  causing. the normal rules of causation apply here.
• what is the third element of the AR?

  actual bodily harm
• what does actual bodily harm mean?

  any hurt or injury calculated to interfere with the health and comfort of the victim - R v Miller
• can psychiatric harm be ABH?

  bodily harm is not limited to harm to skin, flesh and bones but includes injuries to nervous system and brain such as recognised psychiatric harm - T v DPP
• can unconsciousness be ABH?

  yes, unonsciousness can amount to an ABH - T v DPP
• can the cutting of hair amount to ABH?

  yes as you dont need physical pain and hair is attached to the body. However, it must be a substantial amount of hair cut off so it is ACTUAL not TRIVIAL - DPP v Smith
• what level of injury does there need to be?

  the injury can't be so trivial that it is wholly insignificant - R v Chan Fook
• MR of ABH?

  the D only needs to have intention or recklessness for assault or battery not the ABH as demonstrated in R v Roberts