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Lecture 1 Actus Reus - Criminal Law
Criminal Law
Course
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Academic year: 2023/2024

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Leslie Grobler
University of Central Lancashire
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Preview text
Where opportunity creates success
Criminal Law
Lecture 1: Introduction to Criminal Law
and the actus reus of an offence
Dr Katrina Miles KMiles2@uclan.ac Contact Details
 Sem 1 Module Leader: Katrina Miles
 Email: KMiles2@uclan.ac
 Office: Harris Building - HB
 Phone: [01772] 895691
 Drop in office hours: Check Starfish or email me
About the Module: Important Information
 1 weekly online lecture (recorded for distance learners and apprentices)
 6 workshops in total (check timetable for dates and check the workshop booklet for preparation
and topics) Module Aims
o To understand the primary concepts of criminal liability
o To understand the law surrounding a variety of criminal offences
o To apply the law to hypothetical scenarios
o To be able to answer SQE exam style questions
o To critically assess the current state of criminal law
Key Texts - Jonathan Herring, Criminal Law (13th edn, Hart Law Masters 2023) - See Module
Reading list for other relevant texts Assessment - 50% coursework (1500 words – answer
problem scenario) - 50% online exam (answer 3/ questions) - Coursework release: 12 th Feb -
Coursework deadline: 11 th Mar - Unseen examination: TBC
Criminal Law: What is our focus?
 Essential core subject area for a qualifying law degree
 Area of law that most people are familiar with
 BUT, our focus is on the substantive criminal law
 We will explore legal principles derived from legislation, case law, and the constituent parts of
each offence What is ‘crime’ and criminal law?
 No universal definition of ‘crime’ in modern criminal law
 Can change over time
 Created by Parliament and Courts
 A means of regulating behaviour
 Different from civil law
 Crime is ‘wrongdoing which directly and in a serious degree threatens the security or well-being
of society’ (CK Allen,
1931.
 Sources of criminal law
 Domestic and international law
 The criminal law can be found in a mixture of court judgements (case law / common law) and
legislation (statutory law)
 For example, murder is a common law offence whereas theft is found in statute (s Theft Act
1968. Summary, either way & indictable offences
 3 main types of offence under UK law: summary only, either way and indictable only
 Summary only: lower severity (e., most driving offences and common assault) and are tried in the
magistrates’ court (without a jury)
 Indictable only: most serious (e., murder, manslaughter and rape) and can only be tried in Crown
Court (with a jury)
 Either way: cover a wide range of crimes (e., theft and drug offences) and can be tried in either
court
Hierarchy of criminal courts and appeals Burden of proof
 Prosecution bears the burden of proving that the defendant committed the offence in question
(the golden rule – Woolmington v DPP [1935] / Article 6(2) ECHR)
 There are two burdens of proof: a legal burden and an evidential burden
 Legal burden: proving all elements of the offence
 Evidential burden: providing sufficient evidence on any issues being submitted for contention
(failure to satisfy the evidential burden means that the issue cannot be considered by the court)
Elements of an offence Offence Prosecution must prove all elements beyond reasonable doubt
Actus reus ‘Wrongful act’ Conduct, circumstance, consequence elements Mens rea ‘Guilty mind’
Internal / mental elements Defence Accused bears initial, evidential burden; prosecution must
(usually) then disprove Golden Rule: Reminder Woolmington v DPP [1935]
 Defendant is presumed to be innocent
 It is the duty of the prosecution to prove the defendant’s guilt, beyond reasonable doubt
 The defendant need only raise doubt as to an element of the crime
 When a defence is raised, the burden usually lies with the prosecution to DISPROVE it
Actus Reus (AR)
 What is the AR?
 Typically some form of action or conduct
 E., theft requires the ‘appropriation of property belonging to another’
 AR will depend on the TYPE of crime with which we are dealing Battery, ABH, GBH Criminal
Damage Murder, manslaughter Types of crime
 There are a variety of different types of crime and each will require different elements to be
proven to establish liability - Result crimes: causing a prohibited result (e., murder) - Conduct
crimes: performing a prohibited action (e., theft or perjury) - State of affairs: a state of ‘being’
rather than ‘doing’ (e. being drunk and in charge of a vehicle; being found in possession of an
illegal substance) - Larsonneur (1933) / Winzar v Chief Constable of Kent (1983) - Omissions (in
exceptional circumstances): a failure to act where a duty is owed Note: Each of these different
types of crime has a different type of AR
Types of Crime: Omissions
 As a general rule, there can be no criminal liability for an omission (a failure to act)
 BUT there are situations where an omission will attract criminal liability Types of Crime:
Omissions (continued) Exceptions to the general rule on omissions:
1. Duty arising from the relationship – e. parent towards child (Gibbins and Proctor (1919))
2. Assumption of Responsibility – where a person assumes responsibility for another (e., Stone
& Dobinson [1977])
3. Creation of Danger – where a person creates a dangerous situation and then fails to prevent
harm occurring (e., Miller [1983])
4. Statutory Duty – where a requirement to do something is set out in statute (e., failing to take a
breathalyser (S(6) Road Traffic Act 1988))
5. Contractual Duty – a failure to carry out a contractual obligation that the party agreed to do (or
become responsible for) when they signed a contract (e., Pittwood (1902))
 Continuing acts or omissions?
 Omission or continuing act?
 Fagan [1969] - Failure to move the car Omission as a continuing act Fagan v Commissioner of
Police of the Metropolis [1969] 1 QB 439 AR and MR must coincide AR and continuing acts
AR and MR must coincide
R v Thabo Meli [1954] 1 WLR 228 – ‘It appears to their Lordships impossible to divide up what
was really one transaction in this way. There is no doubt that the accused set out to do all these
acts in order to achieve their plan’ R v Le Brun [1991] 3 WLR 653 – ‘where the unlawful
application of force and the eventual act causing death are parts of the same sequence of
events, the same transaction, the fact that there is an appreciable interval of time between the
two does not serve to exonerate the defendant from liability’
Factual and Legal Causation
 The essence of causation is to assess whether the defendant caused the consequences
 Largely matters of common sense best left to the jury (Finlay [2003]) BUT guided by legal
principles (Pagett (1983))
 Causation can be broken down in to two separate parts
o Factual causation – but for test
o Legal causation – does the harm result from a culpable act? Factual Causation: BUT FOR TEST
BUT FOR the act of the
Defendant the result
would not have occurred.
R v White [1910] 2 KB 124
Legal Causation: Substantial and operating cause
Substantial & operating: A significant
factor; not the sole or even the main
factor but contributed (R v Cheshire; R
v Pagett)
More than de minimis (minimal) (R v
Cato (1976))
NAI
Novus Actus Interveniens (NAI)
• A new intervening act
• Breaks the chain of causation
• Original defendant no longer liable
• Categories:
– Negligent medical treatment
– Intervening acts of the victim
– Intervening acts of third parties
– Intervening natural events
NAI: Third parties
R v Pagett
(1983) 76 Cr
App R 279
NAI: Natural events
 A freak natural event
 No case law
 Example: A person is attacked and on the way to the hospital they are struck by lightning and
immediately killed.
Lecture 1: Recap
 Details about the module
 Criminal law context and terminology
 What actus reus means and what constitutes the actus reus
 The difference between an act and an omission
 The notion of a continuing act and the need for AR and MR to coincide
 Situations in which a person may be liable for an omission to act
 The principles of causation both factual and legal and the test for a new intervening act (NAI)
Any Questions?
Next week: Mens
Rea
####### KMiles2@uclan.ac
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19/02/2024
Continuing acts or
omissions?
• Omission or
continuing act?
• Fagan [1969] -
Failure to move
the car
Omission as a
continuing act
Fagan v Commissioner of
Police of the
Metropolis [1969] 1 QB 439
AR and MR must coincide
AR and continuing acts
AR and MR
must coincide
R v Thabo Meli [1954] 1
WLR 228 – ‘It appears to
their Lordships impossible to
divide up what was
really one transaction in this
way. There is no doubt
that the accused set out to do
all these acts in order
to achieve their plan’
R v Le Brun [1991] 3 WLR
653 – ‘where the unlawful
application of force and the
eventual act causing
death are parts of the same
sequence of events, the
same transaction, the fact
that there is an
appreciable interval of time
between the two does
not serve to exonerate the
defendant from liability’
19/02/2024
Result crimes and
causation
Action
Action
Result
Result
Result crimes:
causing a
prohibited
result (e.g.,
murder
requires
death)
AR and Causation
Adam finds out that his
wife is having an affair
with Ben. Devastated
and uncontrollably angry,
Adam stabs Ben with a
knife. Adam then
panics and calls an
ambulance. The
ambulance arrives late
because
it took a wrong turn. The
paramedics then drop Ben
when
transferring him to the
ambulance, exacerbating
his injuries. On
arrival at the hospital Ben
is seen by a doctor who is
finishing a
double shift and is
incredibly tired. The
doctor makes a mistake
when treating the wound
and Ben loses more blood
and dies.
 • Who caused death here?
Who should be held
accountable?
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