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Summary Criminal Law (LL1003)
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Lecture notes on the topic of Actus Reus
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Lecture 2: Actus Reus• Building Blocks of Criminal Liability:
o Actus Reus+ Mens Reau- Defences
o Actus Reus- external element, physical act of omission of the offence
• Basics of Actus Reus:
o “Guilty Act”- however may not always be an act- which is why it is defined as
external element
▪ Criminal liability is impossible to assign to any person without the Actus
Reus
▪ Criminal law punishes for behaviour not thoughts- how do you prove this?
o
▪ Actus Reus must be voluntary:
• Individual freedom, responsibility
o No general obligation to prevent harm:
▪ No Good Samaritan Principal: Helping fellow people
• However, there are some example in English Law there is some
obligation to Act
• Omissions:
o Defendant who is under some duty has the duty to act
o Some offences cannot be admitted by omission: depriving people of their homes
o Specific crime where the failure to act is itself a criminal act:
▪ Road Traffic Act:
• E.g. if police officer asks for breath test- if you refuse to give the test
it is a criminal offence
• E.g. If you get into an accident legally you must stop even if it is not
your fault- fail to stop or fail to give insurance detail that is a
criminal offence
• E.g. Terrorism Act: If you work for a bank or company where you
know or have suspicion that money is being used to funds Terrorist
it is an offence to not report it to the authorities
• Misconduct whilst acting as officer of justice: failure to do
something
• Special Relationships:
o Special relationship between the defendant or the victim
o Gibbins and Proctor 1918:
▪ Married couple- father was Gibbens and he married Proctor- step mother of
children
▪ Gave wife money for food etc
▪ Youngest child was deprived of food and was starved to death
▪ Wife was not investing in feeding the child- only girl
▪ Not proven that it was deliberate
▪ Charge with murder and convicted
▪ Defence- we did not kill the child just fail to feed
▪ Gibbins convicted that he was the father and he had responsibility- he had
the special relationships
▪ Proctor was the stepmother
o Smith:
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