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

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

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