Criminal Law

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Going Out on a Third Limb: The Problem of the Law of Insanity’s Insistence on Insane Delusions over Irresistible Impulses.

Leave a Comment / Bo Jia Zhang, Criminal Law /

Abstract The insanity rules in England and Wales are potentially per incuriam. While the modern interpretation of the M’Naghten rules recognises the Cognitive and Wrongfulness Limbs, a third Control Limb should be available to cover those whose mental illness manifests irresistible impulses to commit crimes. This third limb was contemplated by judges before and since M’Naghten. It is […]

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Couzens and Carrick — Whole Life Orders for Police Officers after R v Couzens [2022] EWCA Crim 1063

1 Comment / Criminal Law, Fee Robinson /

Content Warning: Discussion of rape, domestic abuse, murder, and police violence. Introduction In January 2023, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, told the public to expect two to three Met officers to face criminal trials each week, including for ‘violence against women and girls offences’.1 The level of criminality within British police forces is

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Silent Lambs to the Slaughter: The Problem with the Current Law Allowing Adverse Inferences from the Accused’s Silence

1 Comment / Ananya Jain, Criminal Law, Popular Posts /

This article examines the provisions of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 which allow the jury to draw adverse inferences from the accused’s silence in the police station and during trial proceedings. It argues that the current law does not account for possible innocent reasons for silence, creating the risk of wrongful convictions.

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The incorporation of the Genocide Convention in France and the UK: a grudging fight against impunity

1 Comment / Chakée Adjemian, Criminal Law, International Law /

Abstract The incorporation of an international convention into national law plays a central part in its effectiveness at the domestic level. This becomes increasingly crucial in the field of international crimes governed by the International Criminal Court (ICC), such as genocide, where States have primary jurisdiction for the prosecution of criminals. Without adequate legislation, States

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Jogee and ‘West Side Story’- Still Unresolved Endings?

1 Comment / Claudia-Skye Lee Xin, Criminal Law, Popular Posts /

Abstract Have you ever wondered how ‘West Side Story’ might have been resolved in the English courts? In such cases of gang violence, the area of complicity governs the typical situation where the accused (the ‘Accessory’) did not commit the crime but assisted or encouraged the principal offender to do so. This note analyses the

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The Grossly Undefined Threshold for Establishing Medical Manslaughter

Leave a Comment / Claudia-Skye Lee Xin, Criminal Law /

Abstract:1 The English Law on “medical manslaughter”, manifested through the common law offence of gross negligence manslaughter, may be broadly defined as the defendant’s grossly negligent act  or omission, when acting within the terms of their duty of care, which results in the victim’s death. With the current crisis facing the NHS, prosecution of medical

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Privilege against Self-Incrimination in Civil Injunctions: the Double-Edged Sword of Themis?

1 Comment / Criminal Law, Jason Lin /

In general, the privilege against self-incrimination (“PSI“) protects a defendant from being compelled to provide (potentially) incriminating statement or information. PSI may be asserted by a defendant in a civil proceeding in opposition to a disclosure order. Like the double-edged sword of Themis, PSI cuts both ways. Upholding a defendant’s assertion of PSI may damage

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The Standard Bank Plc Deferred Prosecution Agreement

4 Comments / Criminal Law, Jonathan Fisher QC /

Dear Editor, The UK’s first deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) was made at the end of last year. After extensive negotiations in an African bribery case, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) agreed terms with Standard Bank Plc for the payment of a significant financial penalty and Lord Justice Leveson, sitting as a Judge of the Crown

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