DEPARTMENT OF LEGAL STUDIES

CENTRE FOR FOUNDATION STUDIES, IIUM

INTRODUCTION TO CONTRACT & TORT LAW (LSC0144)

SEMESTER 2, 2021/2022

LECTURER’S NAME: MADAM SITI HUMAIYAH BT BAKRI

SECTION:309

TOPICS: TRESPASS

ASSIGNMENT BY:

NAMES MATRIC NUMBER PROGRAMMES

1. NURALIFAH ILYANA BINTI 214381 LAWS

ZAHARUDIN

2. NUR RABIATUL AMIRAH 214220 LAWS

BINTI MOHD RAZALEIGH

CASE BRIEF: COLLINS V WILCOCK

CITATION OF THE CASE

Collins v. Wilcock [1984] 3 All ER 374

LEGAL ISSUE

The area of law involved in the case is under the law of tort. This case stated that the act of

battery whereby touching another individual without their consent; such consent may be

implied in situations when it is required by daily living.

There are three legal issues contained in the case:

1. Whether the officer was performing her duties in a legal manner when arresting the

woman.

2. Whether the conviction for attacking a police officer was justified, given the officer's

lack of legal power to confine the woman.

3. Was the action of the officer legal to grab a woman's arm and make a battery?

FACTS OF THE CASE

Two on-duty police officers came across two ladies in the street who seemed to be begging

for prostitution. One of the woman was suspected of soliciting prostitution by police officers.

A policewoman wanted to question a woman about her alleged prostitution activities. The

woman refused to speak and chose to walk away, then the policewoman grabbed her arm to

prevent her from going away. The police officer had no authority to hold the woman under

the Street Offences Act 1959 c.57. The police officer was scratched after the woman battled

with her. She was accused of attacking a police officer while she was on duty.
DECISION

The appellant’s appeal was successful, the conviction for attacking a police officer was

overturned. Because the respondent was not exercising her power of arrest when she detained

the appellant, and because the officer's conduct went beyond acceptable lawful physical

contact between two citizens in seizing the appellant's arm to detain her, the officer's act

constituted a battery on the appellant, and she was not acting in the course of her duty when

the assault occurred.

A police officer did not have the authority under the 1959 Act to stop and hold a prostitute in

order to warn her. Furthermore, just though an officer detained a lady to warn her about her

suspicious behaviour did not make the officer's actions legal if he employed a level of

physical contact with her that went above what is permissible between two ordinary citizens

in detaining her. A police officer had no more rights to restrict another person than an

ordinary citizen unless he was legitimately utilising his power of arrest or any other

legislative power.

As a result, whether a police officer's conduct was lawful when detaining a person to question

him in circumstances where the officer was not exercising his power of arrest or other

statutory power depended on whether the physical contact the officer used to detain the

person was no more than generally acceptable physical contact between two citizens for the

purpose of one of them engaging the other's attention, and thus was lawful physical contact as

between two citizens. If the officer's actions went beyond what is normally considered

permissible, such as gripping a person's arm or shoulder rather than just resting a hand on his

sleeve or tapping his shoulder, the officer's actions would be considered the application of

illegal force and therefore a battery.

VOCABULARY

1. Battery

Battery is the intentional and direct use of physical force against another person and a

criminal offence that can also lead to a civil action if there is damage. Actual contact is not

required in an assault, but it is required in a battery. As a result, battery occurs when there is

touch with the person of another. Even if the injury is minor, the deliberate hitting of

someone with the aim to injure or in a "rude and insolent way".

2. Assault

Assault is the threat or effort to hit another person, whether successful or not, as long as the

target is aware of the danger. The attacker must be physically capable of carrying out the

attack. Assault is both a criminal offence for which one can be prosecuted and tried, and a

civil offence for which the victim can claim for damages, including emotional distress.

3. Duty

A legal obligation that can lead to liability if broken. In a lawsuit, a plaintiff must assert and

establish that the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty. In a negligence case, this may be a duty

of care, or in a contract situation, it could be a responsibility to fulfil.

4. Arrest

A law enforcement officer's legal power to seize or detain a suspected criminal. An arrest

may be made legally based on a court warrant issued after receiving a sworn statement of

probable cause to believe a person has committed a crime for an alleged crime committed in

the presence of the arresting officer.