1、The elements of a criminal offence1. External elements (actus reus) e.g. the acts of the accused2. Mental elements (mens rea) e.g. the defendants intention Different aspects of the external elements A state of affairs Consequences caused by the act Circumstances attached to the conduct Omission Ther

2、e are four particular circumstances in which the duty will arise: 1. Statutory duties 2. Contractual duties 3. Assumption of responsibility 4. Creation of dangerThe voluntary nature of the Actus Reus The voluntariness requirement means is that the defendant must have been able to prevent herself fro

3、m acting in the way she did. Automatism(無意識行為） An act which is done by the muscles without a control by the mind such as a apasm, a reflex action, or a convulsion; or an act done by a person who is not conscious of what he is doing such as an act done while suffering from concussion or while sleepwa

4、lking. Elements involved 1. Total destruction of voluntary control 2. Caused by an external factor 3. The defendant was not responsible for his conditionMental elements (Mens rea) Intention Recklessness NegligenceIntention The core meaning of intention is that a person intends a result when he wants

5、 or desires it to happen. It is irrelevant whether the result was likely or unlikely to occur.Intention A person acts intentionally with respect to a result when: (1) it is his purpose to cause it , or (2) although it is not his purpose to cause it, he knows that it would occur in the ordinary cours

6、e of events if he were to succeed in his purpose of causing some other resultRecklessness A person acts recklessly with respect to (1) a circumstance when he is aware of a risk that it exists or will exist, and (2) a result when he is aware of a risk that it will occur, and it is unreasonable, havin

7、g regard to the circumstances known to him, to take that risk.Negligence Negligence is concerned with an objective standard of behaviour and often involves a failure to think rather than a state of mind. Negligence is rarely found as a componet of serious criminal offence; manslaughter is an excepti

8、on and here the negligence required is gross.Hot TopicEuthanasia and Mercy killing If a person is suffering from a terminal illness and asks a doctor to help him die, what can the doctor lawfully do? If the doctor hastens the death of the patient, could she be convicted of murder?Two key questions a

9、re involved First, did the doctor cause the death of the victim? Second, did the doctor intend to kill or seriously injure the victim?Did the doctor cause the death of the victim? The law draws a sharp distinction in this context between acts and omissions. ACTS 1. If the doctor does an act(for exam

10、ple gives a lethal injection) the actus reus of murder will be established if the act was a substantial and operating cause of death. 2.If a doctor who is seeking to relieve pain may not be found to have caused the death of a patient.Omissions If the defendant does not act, for example, she does not

11、 provide the medical treatment necessary for the victims lifeDoctors Doctors are required to act in the patients best interests. This will neer permit the doctor to act in a way that causes the death of the victim. However, the law has acepted that sometimes it isn ot in the patients best interests

12、to receive treatment, even if without it the patient will die.Carers Carers are expected to act as reasonable people. This means that they must follow medical advice. Therefore a carer who does not give the patient the drugs prescribed by the doctor will infringe his duty.Did the doctor intend to ki

13、ll or seriously injure the victim? 1. If the doctor acts with the purpose of killing the patient this appears to be an example of direct intention and the mental element of murder would be established. The fact that the doctor or patient may be acting with the best of motives is irrelevant if the do

14、ctors purpose was to kill. 2. A little more complex may be an argument that the defendant killed in order to prevent the patient suffering any more. It could be argued that the primary purpose was to end the suffering, not to kill. However, the purpose is to be achieved through the killing. Therefor

15、e, the mens rea of murder could be established. 3. The most controversial case is where the doctor or carer administers a substance which is a pain reliever, while being aware that this substance will also lead to a shortening of the patients life. Here, it is the drug that will ease the pain, and t

16、he death can be regarded as an incidental consequence.(1)The doctor or carer would have to admit that he was aware that death or serious bodily harm was a virtually certain consequence of his action and therefore the jury is entitled to find there is intent.(2) Some people take the view that faced w

17、ith such a case, the jury would in fact be sympathetic to a doctor or carer and decline to find intention.Offences against the person Assault Sexual offences murder Homicide manslaughterAssault Common assault Battery Assault occasioning actual bodily harm Malicious wounding Wounding with intent Mali

18、ciously administering poison Common assault The essence of an assault, in its narrow sense, is the causing of a victim to fear some immediate use of force against him.Element involved The victim must apprehend immediate unlawful violence The defendant must intentionally or recklessly cause the victi

19、m to have this apprehension.Actus reus The form of conduct Apprehension of violence Immediacy Apprehension that there may be harmMens rea Intention recklessnessAssault occasioning actual bodily harm This is an aggaravated assault , that is an assault with the additional element of actual bodily harm

20、, making it more serious than common assault.Actus reus Assault Occasioning Actual bodliy harmMalicious Wounding Whoever shall unlawfully and maliciously wound or inflict any grievous bodily harm upon any other person, either with or without any weapon or instrument, shall be guilty.Actus Reus Wound

21、 Grievous bodily harm Inflicting Maliciously UnlawfulnessWounding with Intention Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously by any means whatsoever wound or cause any grievous bodily harm to any person, with intent to resist or prevent the lawful apprehension or detention of any person shall be guil

22、ty Difference between “Malicious wounding” and “ Wounding with intent” The mens rea of “wounding with intent”Maliciously administering poisonSexual OffencesRape It is an offence for a man to rape a woman or another man. (1) A man commits rape if - (a) he has intercourse with a person who at the time

23、 of the intercourse does not consent to it; and (b) at the time he is reckless as to whether that person consents to the intercourse . (2) A man also commits rape if he induces a married woman to have sexual intercourse with him by impersonating her husbandThe actus reus Sexual intercourse lack of t

24、he victims consentSexual intercourse There must be some penetration of the vagina or anus by the defendants penis, although there does not need to be ejaculation.Lack of the victims consent 1. Where the victim appears to consent, but does so out of fear (What is crucial here is the fear of the victi

25、m, not the threat made) 2. Where the victim appears to consent, but does so under a mistake.Mens Rea The defendant must intend to engage in sexual intercourse. He must either know that the victim is not consenting, or be reckless as to whether or not she is consenting.Indecent Assault The defendant

26、committed an assault or battery upon the victim in circumstances that were indecent.There are three elements An assault In indecent circumstances Intent or reckless to commit the indecent assaultHot topic: Date rape Most cases of so-called date rape are in fact violent attacks on women after a night

27、 out and undoubtedly rape. Sexual Offences Rape Indecent assault Unlawful sexual intercourse Other sexual offencesHomicideHomicide 1. Murder is the most serious type of homicide, requiring an intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harm 2. Manslaughter includes cases of homicide where the mens re

28、a of murder is lacking.Homicide Murder: first degree second degree Manslaughter: voluntary manslaughter involuntary manslaughterMurder Murder is the most serious type of homicide, requiring an intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harmActus reus The actus reus of murder is unlawfully causing the death of another person. 1. Unlawfully 2. Causing a death 3. Causing a death of a person When does life begin? If the foetus is capable of being born alive When does life end