Consent

• • Consent is always available in assault and battery if it has been implied
  • It may be used for s.47 ABH or s.20 GBH if it falls within the exceptions - Brown
  • Consent is never available for murder (Pretty) or s.18 GBH (Leach)
• Valid consent - V must have legal capacity, a person does not have legal capacity and cannot consent if:

  • Minors (under 18) - Burrell v Harmer
  • Learning disabilities
  • Mental health problems
• True consent - Fraud can negate consent if

  • The V does not know the identity of the D - Tabassum
  • Nature and quality of D's acts cannot be known - Dica (HIV)
• Exceptions - Case of Brown created a list of activities that can be classed as lawful for s.47 ABH and s.20 GBH so they can be consented to:

  • Organised/contact sports - Must be played within the rules of the game (Barnes) or (Billinghurst)
  • Tattooing and branding - Consent is valid for tattooing (Wilson) but consent is not allowed for sado-masochistic activity (Brown)
  • Horseplay - Consent is valid for rough and undisciplined horseplay, e.g. in the playground (Jones)
• Euthanasia is not an exception to consent, any person who kills a terminally ill person will be guilty of murder and if they help that person die will be guilty of assisting suicide - Pretty