Summary
NON-FATAL OFFENCES AGAINST THE PERSON summary notes
- Module
- Criminal Law
- Institution
- The University Of Birmingham (UBir)
NON-FATAL OFFENCES AGAINST THE PERSON summary notes
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NON-FATAL OFFENCES AGAINST THE PERSONA) The offences
1) Common assault and battery
S39 Criminal Justice Act 1988 provides that:
“Common assault and battery shall be summary offences and a person guilty of either of them shall
be liable to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, to imprisonment not exceeding six
months or to both.”
Common Assault = Causing another to apprehend immediate unlawful force upon his or her body.
Battery = Inflicting unlawful force upon the body of another.
a) Assault
Actus reus – Causing the victim to apprehend imminent unlawful force.
V has expectation/awareness of imminent unlawful force. V does not need to be afraid.
• Mens rea - Intention or recklessness (Cunningham subjective recklessness) -> If a defendant
foresees risk and takes it, he is liable for consequences
Can words alone amount to an assault? -> old law was that words in themselves could not amount
to an assault – needed to be accompanied by a gesture etc.
Current law – it is clear that words alone can constitute an assault (D can cause V to apprehend
immediate force through words alone). In fact, silence can constitute an assault if cause the V to
apprehend the immediate infliction of force.
R v. Ireland [1997] 4 All ER 225 (HL) -> malicious phone calls caused apprehension of immediate
unlawful force. “A thing said is a thing done”. “At your door in a minute or two” can constitute
assault
What is considered ‘imminent unlawful force’? - ‘Immediate’ does not have to be instantaneous
R v Ireland [1997] -> Silence can amount to an assault and psychiatric injury can amount to bodily
harm.
b) Battery
Actus reus - Any unlawful physical contact by D with the body of V
Mens rea – Intention or recklessness (Cunningham subjective)
CPS Guidelines:
• scratches and grazes
• minor bruising and swellings
• superficial cuts
• a black eye
, Various attempts have been made by the courts to try and distinguish contact for battery purposes
and ordinary everyday inevitable social contacts.
In Collins v Wilcock [1984] 3 All ER 374, Goff LJ said that bodily contact would not be actionable
if it was generally acceptable in the ordinary conduct of everyday life; i.e. to be unlawful, must fall
outside the category of ordinary everyday contact.
No requirement for direct force
DPP v K (1990) 91 Cr App R 23 -> A battery was found in the placement of Hydrochloric Acid in a
hand dryer
What is or is not ‘unlawful’ depends primarily on consent
2) Actual bodily harm
s.47 OAPA 1861 - “Whosoever shall be convicted upon an indictment of any assault occasioning
actual bodily harm shall be liable…term not exceeding five years...”
Max. penalty is 5 years; triable either way
Actus reus – the D must commit an assault or a battery which causes the victim to suffer actual
bodily harm.
Note that s. 47 refers to an ‘assault’ – but used in the broad sense of a common assault or a battery
or both.
Mens rea - same mens rea as needed to establish common assault and battery.
Only need mens rea for assault or battery that leads to the ABH. No need to prove intent or
recklessness with regard to causing the ABH.
R v Savage [1992] -> For either a section 47 (ABH) or section 20 (GBH) conviction, it is only
necessary to show intent or recklessness as to some harm being inflicted
The meaning of ‘Actual Bodily Harm’
R v Donovan [1934] 2 KB 498 – ‘any hurt or injury calculated to interfere with the health or
comfort of the victim; not necessarily permanent but more than merely transient and trifling harm’.
R v Chan Fook [1994] 2 All ER 552 – harm = injury. The word held to be a common and easily
understood one and thus in need of no further elaboration.
Psychological injuries are also capable of constituting actual bodily harm, as long as they amount to
a medically recognised psychological disorder (not just mere fear, distress).
R v Ireland [1998]
CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) Charging Standards
• temporary loss of sensory functions
• extensive or multiple bruising
• minor fractures
• minor cuts requiring stitching
• psychiatric treatment that is more than mere distress or panic
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