Loss of Control Explained Loss of control is a partial defence to murder, here the law is recognising that the defendant has killed the victim but they are not fully liable for murder as they have acted out of a loss of control. The law therefore provides a partial defence to murder in these circumstances and if the defence is successful, the conviction is reduced to voluntary manslaughter (loss of control). This is important because it removes the mandatory life sentence and

Intoxication Intoxication is a partial defence within criminal law, it provides a defence when the defendant was unable to form the mens rea for the crime as their state of mind was affected by an intoxicating substance such as: alcohol illegal drugs solvents prescribed medication spiked drinks The rules of this defence and availability, are quite strict this is because the courts do not want people to escape liability just because they were under the influence of

The Law of Murder Explained Murder is arguably one of the most serious offences in English criminal law. It is a common law offence, this means that it has been developed over time through court decisions rather than being fully written in to legislation. Over time, judges have shaped the offence so that it can apply to a wide range of real-life situations. The common law definition of murder comes from Lord Coke, who described it as “the unlawful killing of a reasonable crea

Criminal Liability for Omissions To be guilty of a criminal offence under UK law, a defendant must usually have both the actus reus and the mens rea of the criminal offence. The actus reus is the guilty act, and the mens rea is the guilty mind. If both elements are present at the same time, then the defendant can be found guilty and punished under criminal law. When establishing actus reus, it is normally required that the defendant has committed a positive and voluntary act.

Causation in Criminal Law When trying to secure a conviction in criminal law, the prosecution must prove that the defendant’s actions caused the consequences to the victim, here they will establish the principle of causation. Causation is an essential principle that is used by the courts to establish whether the defendant’s actions were responsible for the consequences suffered by the victim. It is not enough to simply show that the defendant committed the actus reus (the phy

Strict Liability in Criminal Law In criminal law, the general rule is simple: to be guilty of a crime, the prosecution must prove both actus reus (the guilty act) and mens rea (the guilty mind). Most crimes require both elements. However, there are some offences that are exceptions to this rule. These are called strict liability offences, here the mens rea is not required for at least part of the actus reus. This means that in strict liability offences, the defendant will be

In criminal law, dishonesty is an essential mens rea element in offences like theft, fraud, and obtaining property by deception. Over the years, judges have refined what it means to be "dishonest." One of the most important recent developments came from R v Barton and Booth (2020), which re-defined the test for dishonesty.

R v Broughton (2020) Gross Negligence Manslaughter (GNM) is a form of involuntary manslaughter. It applies where death results from a defendant’s grossly negligent conduct, even without any intent to harm. GNM often arises in professional or duty based scenarios where a person fails to act when required to do so, and someone then dies as a result of this. The 5-Part Test for Gross Negligence Manslaughter The test for GNM comes from R v Adomako (1995) and has since been upda

The law of non-fatal offences for A level Law and BTEC Applied Law The law of non-fatal offences against the person covers a range of criminal actions where someone is harmed but not killed. These offences play a crucial role in protecting people from violence and threats, and they range from minor incidents like a push to serious injuries like broken bones. This blog will break down the actus reus (the physical element) and mens rea (the mental element) of each non-fatal off

Evaluation of the law upon non-fatal offences In this blog, we are going to evaluate and discuss the law upon the non-fatal offences, this is a key area of criminal law as it covers the crimes of assault, battery, ABH (Actual Bodily Harm), and GBH (Grievous Bodily Harm). We will explain and examine the problems with the common law offences of assault and battery, which were developed by judges rather than Parliament, and issues still remain with the Offences Against the Perso