LONDON COLLEGE OF LEGAL STUDIES (SOUTH)

Qualifying Midterm Examination

Criminal Law
Total Marks: 100
Duration: 4 Hours and 15 Minutes

Instructions
Candidates should answer any ONE of the following TWO questions. (All question carry equal
marks = 25 x 1 = 25 marks Total)

1. ‘The range of duty situations which ground liability for omissions is far too narrow and
should be expanded. Imposing a general duty of “easy rescue” would be straightforward
and a welcome development of the law.’

Discuss.

2. In English law what is meant by:

(a) intention; and

(b) recklessness?

What do these two fault elements have in common, what differentiates them, and why
has there been uncertainty surrounding their definition?
Instructions

Candidates should answer any THREE of the following SIX questions. (All question carry equal
marks = 25 x 3 = 75 marks Total)

3. During a professional football match between Frensham FC and Rowledge Rovers,

Ade, a Frensham player, tackled Bharat, a Rowledge Rovers player, from behind, to
prevent him passing the ball. The tackle caused Bharat to fall on top of Charlie, who
suffered a broken ankle. This led to an argument between Ade and Bharat in which
Bharat was heard to threaten Ade with serious violence. Ade then punched Bharat
causing cuts and bruises. Immediately after the incident, Desi, the referee, approached
Bharat to see if he was all right. Bharat, confused as a result of the punch, punched
Desi, who sent him off the pitch. At a disciplinary hearing Rowledge Rovers sacked
Bharat. Bharat decided to get even with Ade. Every night for a month he made silent
telephone calls to Ade and, on a number of occasions, sent anonymous letters to his
house saying ‘I know where you live’. This had the consequence of causing Ade’s
partner, Ekisha, to suffer long-term panic attacks and depression.

Discuss.

4. “When the court is assessing whether consent can negate liability for activities
causing personal injury, the major influence appears to be whether the injury
consented to is inflicted intentionally or unintentionally. If it is inflicted intentionally
the presumption is that it is unlawful irrespective of consent. If it is inflicted
unintentionally the presumption is that consent renders it lawful.”

Discuss.

5. Discuss how far the actions of the victim or a third party can break the chain of
causation in result crimes. Critically assess how far the law in this area is fair and
consistent.
6. Consider which, if any, of the following cases place A under a duty to act and, if a
duty does exist, what is the source of that duty.

a. A is a swimming pool attendant. He sees V, a swimmer, struggling out of her depth in

the pool.
b. A is the son of V. He sees V struggling out of her depth in the pool.
c. A is the mother of T (aged 10) who has invited V, his friend (also aged 10), to go
swimming with him at the local pool. A sees V struggling out of his depth in the pool.
d. A, who is supervising her child at a swimming pool, drops an ice cream accidentally
at the poolside. V (a child) slips on the ice cream and falls into the pool. A sees V
struggling out of her depth in the pool.

7. In each of the following questions state whether Adam intentionally kills Eve and, if
so, whether the form of intention is direct or indirect.

a. Adam’s wife, Eve, is trapped in a car which is about to be engulfed by flames after an
accident. She pleads with Adam, who has escaped the wreckage, to kill her before she
is burnt to death. Adam does so by a gunshot through the heart.
b. Adam and Eve go climbing together in the mountains. While climbing a steep cliff,
for which they are roped together, Eve slips and starts to fall. The weight of Eve’s
body begins to drag Adam off the cliff. Adam therefore cuts the rope, causing Eve to
fall to her death.
c. Adam, sees Eve trespassing on his field about a kilometre away. In a fury, he takes
out his rifle and aims it at her. He knows he is unlikely to hit her since the rifle has a
range of only around a kilometre, it is not a very reliable rifle and he is not a very
accurate shot. However, Adam is so angry he takes aim and shoots anyway. The shot
hits Eve and she is killed.
8. Norberto opens a hair and beauty salon to make some money while he finishes
qualifying as a beautician at college. He is already a qualified hairdresser. His first
customer is Veronica who asks him to dye her hair blond. Shortly after he applied a
colour treatment to her hair, his phone rings and he spends over an hour chatting to
Bruno, his friend. By this time, the colour treatment has been on Veronica’s hair for
too long and when he washes it out her hair has turned green. Veronica storms out of
the salon.

Freya then comes into the salon and asks for a piercing. She says she wants him to
pierce her nose (which has been tattooed with a heart) with a metal arrow to signify
her love for her partner, Dolly. Norberto agrees and uses a sharp kitchen knife to cut
right through the nose. Dolly is pleased with the result but a week later is admitted to
hospital with septicaemia as a result of an infection as the knife was not sterilised.

Eric is Norberto’s next customer. He asks Norberto if he is qualified to inject Botox as

he wants some treatment to eradicate the signs of aging around his eyes. Norberto
replies, “oh yes, I’ve done that loads of times.” He has practised injections on an
orange at college but has not yet injected a real face. He proceeds with the injection,
but as he is unfamiliar with the anatomy of a human face, he hits a blood vessel and
Eric suffers from a very bloodshot eye, bruising and a minor infection which requires
antibiotics.

Later, Bruno visits Norberto in his salon. Norberto is Bruno’s friend. Bruno asks
Norberto to pluck his eyebrows. When Norberto attempts to do so he carelessly jabs
Bruno in the eye with the tweezers. Although he is not badly hurt, Bruno pretends he
has gone blind to give Norberto a scare. Bruno staggers around the salon and, in so
doing, he hits his head on the coat stand and is knocked unconscious.

Discuss the liability, if any, of Norberto.

THE END