Paper One

• Assault


  Defined under s39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988
• Actus reus of assault

  • Causing the victim to apprehend or fear immediate unlawful violence
• Mens rea of assault


  Intention to cause the actus reus
• Battery


  Defined in s39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988
• Actus reus of battery

  • Inflicting unlawful application of force on another
• Mens rea of battery


  Intention or subjective recklessness to inflicting unlawful personal violence
• Section 47 offence


  Defined under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861
• Actus reus of s47


  • Assault or battery causing actual bodily harm
• Mens rea of s47


  Intention to or subjective recklessness to subject to unlawful force
• Section 20 offence


  Defined under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861
• Actus reus of s20

  • Causing grievous bodily harm
• Mens rea of s20


  Intention for their act to result in unlawful bodily harm
• Section 18 offence


  Defined under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861
• Actus reus of s18

  • Causing grievous bodily harm
• Mens rea of s18


  Intention to do some grievous bodily harm
• Murder


  Defined by Sir Edwards Coke as the unlawful killing of a reasonable person in being and under the king's peace with malice aforethought expressed or implied
• Actus reus of murder

  • Unlawful killing of a reasonable person in being and under the king's peace
• Mens rea of murder


  Malice aforethought, expressed or implied
• Unlawful act manslaughter


  Defendant performs a dangerous and unlawful act
• Actus reus of unlawful act manslaughter


  • Unlawful act
  • Dangerous act (objective standard)
• Gross negligence manslaughter


  Death is a result of a grossly negligent act or omission on the part of the defendant
• Actus reus of gross negligence manslaughter


  • Defendant owed a duty of care to the victim
  • Defendant negligently breached that duty of care
  • Serious and obvious risk of death was reasonably foreseeable
  • Breach caused or made a significant contribution to the death
  • Circumstances of the breach were truly exceptionally bad
• Theft


  Defined under S1 of the Theft Act 1968 as someone who dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with intention to permanently deprive the other of it
• Actus reus of theft


  • Appropriation of property belonging to another
• Mens rea of theft


  Dishonest intention to permanently deprive the other of the property
• Robbery


  Defined under s8 Theft Act 1968 as the use of force on any person or seeking to put any person in fear of being subjected to force at the time of the theft
• Actus reus of robbery


  • Use of force or putting or seeking to put any person in fear
• Mens rea of robbery


  Mens rea for theft and intention to use force to steal
• Attempt


  Defined under s1 of the Criminal Attempts act 1981 as when a person does more than merely preparatory to the commission of the offence with intent
• Actus reus of attempt


  • Defendant does an act that is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the offence
• Mens rea of attempt


  Intention to commit a full offence
• Transferred malice


  When the defendant misses their intended target
• Factual causation


  'But for' test
• Legal causation


  'Operating and substantial' test
• Breaks in chain of causation


  • Intervening acts
  • Thin skull rule
  • Victim's own act
• Loss of control defence


  Defined under s54 of the Coroner's and Justice Act 2009, where the defendant must prove a loss of self-control
• Requirements for loss of control defence


  • Qualifying trigger (s55 CJA 2009)
  • Defendant retaliated with reasonable force as anyone suffering from the same loss of control
• Diminished responsibility defence


  Defined under s2 of the Homicide Act 1957 and amended by s52 of the Coroner's and Justice Act 2009, where the defendant must prove that they were suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning which arise from a recognised medical condition
• Requirements for diminished responsibility defence


  • Abnormality of mental functioning substantially impaired the defendant's ability to understand the nature of their conduct, form a rational judgement or exercise self-control
  • Abnormality caused the defendant to carry out the killing or was a significant factor
• Duress defence


  When the defendant is forced to conduct criminal activity