Category: Crime

Dearden v Townsend: QBD 11 Nov 1865

By a by-law of a railway company, no passenger was to be allowed to enter or travel in a carriage without having paid his fare and obtained a ticket, which the passenger was to shew whenever. required, and give up on demand before leaving the company’s premises. And any passenger not so producing or delivering up his ticket was to be required to pay the fare from the place whence the train originally started, or forfeit a sum not exceeding forty shillings.
Held: that this by-law only applied to the case of a person having and wilfully refusing to produce or give up his ticket, and not to the case of a person travelling without having paid for and obtained a ticket, with no intention to defraud the company.
Held: Also, that if the by-law extended to the latter case, it would have been illegal and void under the 8 Vict. c. 20, s. 109, as repugnant to section 103, which makes a fraudulent intention the gist of the offence of travelling without having paid the fare.
[1865] EngR 724, (1865) 6 B and S 861, (1865) 122 ER 1411, (1865-1866) LR 1 QB 10, [1865] UKLawRpKQB 12
Commonlii, Commonlii
England and Wales

Updated: 27 September 2021; Ref: scu.281636

Regina v Foster: CACD 10 Feb 2003

On a reference by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the appellant appealed his conviction for a murder in 1985. The appellant said he was suggestible, with an IQ of 72 and a mental age of 10, and that the confessions he made should not have been relied upon.
Held: The general approach had been set out in Ashley King. The fairness of the police interviews should be considered in the context both of the procedures and standards of fairness in force at the time of the trial and now. On such standards, the conviction should stand.
Lord Justice Auld, Mr Justice Poole, Mr Justice Gage
[2003] EWCA Crim 178
Bailii
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v King CACD 25-May-1999
. .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 27 September 2021; Ref: scu.179011

Regina v Clouden: CACD 1987

The appellant approached a woman who was carrying a shopping basket in her left hand from behind and wrenched it down and out of her grasp with both hands and ran off with it. He was convicted of robbery.
Held: His appeal was dismissed.
‘The old cases distinguished between force on the actual person and force on the property which in fact causes force on the person but, following Dawson and James, the court should direct attention to the words of the statute without referring to the old authorities. The old distinctions have gone. Whether the defendant used force on any person in order to steal is an issue that should be left to the jury. The judge’s direction to the jury was adequate. He told the jury quite clearly at the outset what the statutory definition was, though thereafter he merely used the word ‘force’ and did not use the expression ‘on the person’.’
(1987) Crim LR 56
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Dawson and James CACD 1977
At Liverpool Pier Head a sailor on shore leave waiting for the ferry was surrounded by two men, one standing on either side of him, who nudged him on the shoulder, causing him to lose his balance. While trying to keep his balance, a third man got . .

Cited by:
Cited – RP and Others v Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 25-May-2012
Appeal from conviction for robbery – theft of cigarette out of victim’s hand.
Held: The appeal was allowed. The court recognised the distinction between force applied to the object and the person: ‘ This case falls squarely on the side of . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 27 September 2021; Ref: scu.618910

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Re Judicial Review: QBNI 30 Nov 2015

The Court concludes that in Northern Ireland:
(i) There is no general right to abortion whether under the common law or under statute.
(ii) The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (‘the Commission’) has legal standing under the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (‘the 1998 Act’) to bring this application seeking a declaration of incompatibility in respect of Sections 58 and 59 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 (‘the 1861 Act’) and Section 25 of the Criminal Justice Act (NI) 1945 (‘the 1945 Act’) (hereinafter referred to as ‘the impugned provisions’).
(iii) The absence of a victim as an applicant in this judicial review is not fatal to the application.
(iv) The right to life from conception is not protected by the common law of Northern Ireland. There are certain protections for pre-natal life under various statutes.
(v) The failure to provide exceptions to the prohibition of abortion in cases of serious malformation of the foetus (‘SMF’), fatal foetal abnormality (‘FFA’) and pregnancies due to rape and incest (‘sexual crime’) to the impugned provisions does not breach Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (‘the Convention’). The Commission has failed to satisfy the Court on the evidence adduced before it that the minimum level of severity required by Article 3 has been attained.
(vi) Article 8 of the Convention is breached only by the absence of exceptions to the general prohibition on abortions in the cases of:
(a) FFAs at any time; and
(b) pregnancies which are a consequence of sexual crime up to the date when the foetus becomes capable of existing independently of the mother.
For the avoidance of doubt the prohibition on child destruction under the 1945 Act does not breach Article 8.
(vii) There is no requirement to consider Article 14 given the conclusion reached in respect of Article 8 above. However, there is no breach of Article 14 in conjunction with Article 8 disclosed on the present evidence.
(viii) It may be possible to read the impugned provisions under the 1861 Act in a Convention compliant way. Alternatively, the court may be satisfied that prosecution under those provisions in respect of those circumstances set out at (vi) above would be an abuse. However, the court requires to hear the parties on these issues before it reaches a concluded view.
(ix) In the event that it is not possible to read the relevant legislative provisions in a Convention compliant way or to conclude that prosecution under those provisions in respect of the circumstances set out at (vi) above is an abuse, the court considers it appropriate and proper that a declaration of incompatibility should be made pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) in respect of the impugned provisions under the 1861 Act.
[2015] NIQB 96, [2016] 2 FCR 418
Bailii
Northern Ireland
Cited by:
Cited – A and B, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Health SC 14-Jun-2017
The court was asked: ‘Was it unlawful for the Secretary of State for Health, the respondent, who had power to make provisions for the functioning of the National Health Service in England, to have failed to make a provision which would have enabled . .
Cited – Crowter and Others, Regina (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Health And Social Care Admn 23-Sep-2021
Foetus has no Established Human Rights
The Claimants sought a declaration that section 1(1)(d) of the Abortion Act 1967, as amended, is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’), as well as some other remedies. The claimant had Down’s Syndrome, and complained the . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 26 September 2021; Ref: scu.641770

Human Rights Commission for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland : Abortion): SC 7 Jun 2018

The Commission challenged the compatibility of the NI law relating to banning nearly all abortions with Human Rights Law. It now challenged a decision that it did not have standing to bring the case.
Held: (Lady Hale, Lord Kerr and Lord Wilson dissenting) The Commission did not have standing, and a declaration could not be made. The Court did however consider the law, and a majority thought the current law was disproportionate and was incompatible with Article 8 to the extent that that law prohibits abortion in cases of (a) fatal foetal abnormality, (b) pregnancy as a result of rape and (c) pregnancy as a result of incest.
Lady Hale said: ‘It is more difficult to articulate the legitimate aim. It cannot be protecting the rights and freedoms of others, because the unborn are not the holders of rights under the Convention (Vo v France (2004) 40 EHRR 12) or under domestic law (In re MB (Medical Treatment) [1997] 2 FLR 426). But the community undoubtedly does have a moral interest in protecting the life, health and welfare of the unborn – it is that interest which underlies many areas of the law, including the regulation of assisted reproduction, and of the practice of midwifery, as well as of the termination of pregnancy. But the community also has an interest in protecting the life, health and welfare of the pregnant woman – that interest also underlies the regulation of assisted reproduction, of midwifery and of the termination of pregnancy. And pregnant women are undoubtedly rights-holders under the both the Convention and domestic law with autonomy as well as health and welfare rights. The question, therefore, is how the balance is to be struck between the two.’
Lady Hale, President, Lord Mance, Lord Kerr, Lord Wilson, Lord Reed, Lady Black, Lord Lloyd-Jones
[2018] UKSC 27, [2018] NI 228, 46 BHRC 1, [2019] 1 All ER 173, [2018] HRLR 14
Bailii, Bailii Summary, Supreme Court, SC Summary, SC Summary Video, SC Video 2017 Oct 24am, SC 2017 Oct 24 pm Video, SC Video 2017 Oct 25 am, SC 2017 Oct 25 pm Video, SC 2017 Oct 26 am Video, SC 2017 Oct 26 pm Video
Offences Against the Person Act 1861 58 59, Criminal Justice Act (NI) 1945 25(1), European Convention on Human Rights 8 14, Northern Ireland Act 1998
Northern Ireland
Citing:
Appeal from – The Attorney General for Northern Ireland and Another v The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission CANI 29-Jun-2017
Appeal by the Attorney General and Department of Justice against an Order declaring that sections 58 and 59 of the 1861 Act and section 25 of the 1945 Act were incompatible with Article 8 of ECHR insofar as it is an offence:
(i) to procure a . .
Cited – Rex v Bourne 1939
An eminent surgeon openly in a public hospital operated to terminate the pregnancy of a 14 year old girl who had become pregnant in consequence of a violent rape.
Held: The court suggested when summing up that there might be a duty in certain . .
Cited – In re MB (Medical Treatment) CA 26-Mar-1997
The patient was due to deliver a child. A delivery by cesarean section was necessary, but the mother had a great fear of needles, and despite consenting to the operation, refused the necessary consent to anesthesia in any workable form.
Held: . .
Cited – Pretty v The United Kingdom ECHR 29-Apr-2002
Right to Life Did Not include Right to Death
The applicant was paralysed and suffered a degenerative condition. She wanted her husband to be allowed to assist her suicide by accompanying her to Switzerland. English law would not excuse such behaviour. She argued that the right to die is not . .
Cited – In Re Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Northern Ireland HL 20-Jun-2002
The coroner intended to hold an inquest into the deaths on the Omagh bombing. The Commission sought the right to be involved on the basis that human rights of interest to it might arise, and the coroner refused, saying that they had no standing to . .
Cited – Wilson v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry; Wilson v First County Trust Ltd (No 2) HL 10-Jul-2003
The respondent appealed against a finding that the provision which made a loan agreement completely invalid for lack of compliance with the 1974 Act was itself invalid under the Human Rights Act since it deprived the respondent of its property . .
Cited – Ghaidan v Godin-Mendoza HL 21-Jun-2004
Same Sex Partner Entitled to tenancy Succession
The protected tenant had died. His same-sex partner sought a statutory inheritance of the tenancy.
Held: His appeal succeeded. The Fitzpatrick case referred to the position before the 1998 Act: ‘Discriminatory law undermines the rule of law . .
Cited – Vo v France ECHR 8-Jul-2004
Hudoc Preliminary objection rejected (ratione materiae, non-exhaustion of domestic remedies) ; No violation of Art. 2
A doctor by negligence had caused the termination of a pregnancy at the 20 to 24 weeks . .
Cited – Family Planning Association of Northern Ireland v Minister for Health Social Services and Public Safety CANI 8-Oct-2004
A termination of pregnancy is lawful when its continuation would threaten the woman’s life or when it would probably affect her physical or mental health but only if the effect would be serious and, in particular, permanent or long-term . .
Cited – A, B And C v Ireland ECHR 16-Dec-2010
Grand Chamber – The Court considered the prohibition of abortion in Ireland: ‘The first two applicants principally complained under Article 8 about, inter alia, the prohibition of abortion for health and well-being reasons in Ireland and the third . .
Cited – Steinfeld and Another v Secretary of State for Education CA 21-Feb-2017
Hetero Partnerships – wait and see proportionate
The claimants, a heterosexual couple complained that their inability to have a civil partnership was an unlawful discrimination against them and a denial of their Article 8 rights. The argument that the appellants’ case did not come within the ambit . .
Cited – Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board SC 11-Mar-2015
Change in Doctors’ Information Obligations
The pursuer claimed that her obstetrician had been negligent, after her son suffered severe injury at birth. The baby faced a birth with shoulder dystocia – the inability of the shoulders to pass through the pelvis. The consultant considered that a . .
Cited – Klass And Others v Germany ECHR 6-Sep-1978
(Plenary Court) The claimant objected to the disclosure by the police of matters revealed during their investigation, but in this case, it was held, disclosure even after the event ‘might well jeopardise the long-term purpose that originally . .
Cited – Nicklinson and Another, Regina (on The Application of) SC 25-Jun-2014
Criminality of Assisting Suicide not Infringing
The court was asked: ‘whether the present state of the law of England and Wales relating to assisting suicide infringes the European Convention on Human Rights, and whether the code published by the Director of Public Prosecutions relating to . .
Cited – Stubing v Germany ECHR 12-Apr-2012
‘. . in cases arising from individual applications it is not the Court’s task to examine domestic legislation in the abstract. Rather, it must examine the manner in which the relevant legislation was applied to the applicant in the particular . .
Cited – In re P and Others, (Adoption: Unmarried couple) (Northern Ireland); In re G HL 18-Jun-2008
The applicants complained that as an unmarried couple they had been excluded from consideration as adopters.
Held: Northern Ireland legislation had not moved in the same way as it had for other jurisdictions within the UK. The greater . .
Cited – Taylor v Lancashire County Council and others CA 17-Mar-2005
The tenant occupied his farm under a lease limiting his use of the farm. He was found to be trading in breach of his covenant and a notice to quit was issued and possession sought. He argued that the 1986 Act was discriminatory and inadequate to . .
Cited – Chahal v The United Kingdom ECHR 15-Nov-1996
Proper Reply Opportunity Required on Deportation
(Grand Chamber) The claimant was an Indian citizen who had been granted indefinite leave to remain in this country but whose activities as a Sikh separatist brought him to the notice of the authorities both in India and here. The Home Secretary of . .
Cited – Regina v Secretary of State for Home Department ex parte Chahal Admn 22-Oct-1997
. .
Cited – The Christian Institute and Others v The Lord Advocate SC 28-Jul-2016
(Scotland) By the 2014 Act, the Scottish Parliament had provided that each child should have a named person to monitor that child’s needs, with information about him or her shared as necessary. The Institute objected that the imposed obligation to . .
Cited – Regina v Her Majesty’s Attorney General ex parte Rusbridger and Another HL 26-Jun-2003
Limit to Declaratory Refilef as to Future Acts
The applicant newspaper editor wanted to campaign for a republican government. Articles were published, and he sought confirmation that he would not be prosecuted under the Act, in the light of the 1998 Act.
Held: Declaratory relief as to the . .
Cited – Ali and Bibi, Regina (on The Applications of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department SC 18-Nov-2015
At the claimants alleged that the rules requiring a foreign spouse or partner of a British citizen or a person settled in this country to pass a test of competence in the English language before coming to live here were an unjustifiable interference . .
Cited – Saadi v Italy (United Kingdom intervening) ECHR 28-Feb-2008
(Grand Chamber) When considering the appropriateness of a deportation order to a country with which the deporting country had a memorandum of understanding that the destination country would not torture the deportee, a court must look beyond the . .
Cited – Parochial Church Council of the Parish of Aston Cantlow and Wilmcote with Billesley, Warwickshire v Wallbank and another HL 26-Jun-2003
Parish Councils are Hybrid Public Authorities
The owners of glebe land were called upon as lay rectors to contribute to the cost of repairs to the local church. They argued that the claim was unlawful by section 6 of the 1998 Act as an act by a public authority incompatible with a Convention . .
Cited – MM (Lebanon) and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department and Another CA 11-Jul-2014
Aikens LJ said: ‘The court would not be entitled to strike down the rule unless satisfied that it was incapable of being operated in a proportionate way and so was inherently unjustified in all or nearly all cases.’ and ‘If the particular . .
Cited – Attorney-General’s Reference (No 3 of 1994) HL 24-Jul-1997
The defendant stabbed a pregnant woman. The child was born prematurely and died. The attack had been directed at the mother, and the proper offence was manslaughter.
Held: The only questions which need to be addressed are (1) whether the act . .
Cited – Gafgen v Germany ECHR 1-Jun-2010
(Grand Chamber) The claimant said that police treatment during his interview had amounted to torture.
Held: The Salduz principles were not restricted to the failure to provide access to a lawyer during interview. There is no clear consensus . .
Cited – Marckx v Belgium ECHR 13-Jun-1979
Recognition of illegitimate children
The complaint related to the manner in which parents were required to adopt their own illegitimate child in order to increase his rights. Under Belgian law, no legal bond between an unmarried mother and her child results from the mere fact of birth. . .
Cited – Stec and Others v United Kingdom ECHR 12-Apr-2006
(Grand Chamber) The claimants said that differences between the sexes in the payment of reduced earning allowances and retirement allowances were sex discrimination.
Held: The differences were not infringing sex discrimination. The differences . .
Cited – RR v Poland ECHR 26-May-2011
The applicant learned of possible malformation of the foetus from an ultrasound at the 18-week stage. Her repeated requests for genetic tests were met with procrastination, confusion and a lack of proper counselling and information, and it was not . .
Cited – Ilhan v Turkey ECHR 27-Jun-2000
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Preliminary objection dismissed (victim); Preliminary objection dismissed (non-exhaustion); No violation of Art. 2; Violation of Art. 3; Violation of Art. 13; . .
Cited – Tysiac v Poland ECHR 16-Mar-2007
The complainant complained about the failure to afford her an abortion in circumstances where she had an understandable fear that giving birth would lead to her losing her already poor sight, leading to a further six-months of pregnancy and a . .
Cited – P and S v Poland ECHR 30-Oct-2012
P aged 14 became pregnant due to rape, evidenced by bruises. Polish law permitted an abortion in such circumstances, but the reality of its practical implementation was in striking discordance with the theoretical right. P was given contradictory . .
Cited – Open Door and Dublin Well Woman v Ireland ECHR 29-Oct-1992
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Lack of jurisdiction (Art. 8); Preliminary objection rejected (victim); Preliminary objection rejected (six month period); Preliminary objection rejected . .
Cited – Opuz v Turkey ECHR 9-Jun-2009
The applicant alleged, in particular, that the State authorities had failed to protect her and her mother from domestic violence, which had resulted in the death of her mother and her own ill-treatment. . .
Cited – Attorney General v X 5-Mar-1992
(Supreme Court of Ireland) Refusal of abortion following a rape . .
Cited – MacFarlane and Another v Tayside Health Board HL 21-Oct-1999
Child born after vasectomy – Damages Limited
Despite a vasectomy, Mr MacFarlane fathered a child, and he and his wife sought damages for the cost of care and otherwise of the child. He appealed a rejection of his claim.
Held: The doctor undertakes a duty of care in regard to the . .
Cited – Parkinson v St James and Seacroft University Hospital NHS Trust CA 11-Apr-2001
A mother had undergone a negligent sterilisation, and in due course she gave birth to a disabled child.
Held: The right to bodily integrity is the first and most important of the interests protected by the law of tort. The cases saying that . .
Cited – Regina v Z (Attorney General for Northern Ireland’s Reference) HL 19-May-2005
The defendants appealed their convictions for being members of proscribed organisations. They were members of the ‘Real IRA’, but only the IRA was actually proscribed.
Held: The appeals failed. In construing an Act of Parliament it may be of . .
Cited – Regina v Secretary of State for Health ex parte Quintavalle (on behalf of Pro-Life Alliance) HL 13-Mar-2003
Court to seek and Apply Parliamentary Intention
The appellant challenged the practice of permitting cell nuclear replacement (CNR), saying it was either outside the scope of the Act, or was for a purpose which could not be licensed under the Act.
Held: The challenge failed. The court was to . .
Cited – Regina v Director of Public Prosecutions, ex parte Kebilene and others HL 28-Oct-1999
(Orse Kebeline) The DPP’s appeal succeeded. A decision by the DPP to authorise a prosecution could not be judicially reviewed unless dishonesty, bad faith, or some other exceptional circumstance could be shown. A suggestion that the offence for . .
Cited – Egmez v Cyprus ECHR 21-Dec-2000
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Violation of Art. 3; No violation of Art. 5-1; No violation of Art. 5-2; No violation of Art. 5-3; No violation of Art. 5-4; Violation of Art. 13; No separate issue . .
Cited – Gafgen v Germany ECHR 30-Jun-2008
(Fifth Section) The claimant said that having been arrested by police, their treatment of him amounted to torture.
Held: Iit was not necessary to rule on the Government’s preliminary objection of non-exhaustion of domestic remedies. It held, . .
Cited – Krastanov v Bulgaria ECHR 30-Sep-2004
ECHR Judgment (Merits and Just Satisfaction) – Violation of Art. 3; Violation of Art. 6-1; Not necessary to examine P1-1; Non-pecuniary damage – financial award; Costs and expenses partial award – Convention . .
Cited – The Sunday Times (No 1) v The United Kingdom ECHR 26-Apr-1979
Offence must be ;in accordance with law’
The court considered the meaning of the need for an offence to be ‘in accordance with law.’ The applicants did not argue that the expression prescribed by law required legislation in every case, but contended that legislation was required only where . .
Cited – Mayeka and Mitunga v Belgium ECHR 12-Oct-2006
A five-year-old child was detained by the Belgian authorities in an immigration centre.
Held: The court assessed the impact of the treatment on the applicant, stating that her position was: ‘characterised by her very young age, the fact that . .
Cited – Wiktorko v Poland ECHR 31-Mar-2009
. .
Cited – Mouvement Raelien Suisse v Switzerland ECHR 13-Jan-2011
The applicant association alleged that the banning of its posters by the Swiss authorities had breached its right to freedom of religion and its right to freedom of expression, as guaranteed by Articles 9 and 10 of the Convention respectively. . .
Cited – Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department SC 12-Nov-2014
The claimant had supported the grant of a visa to a woman in order to speak to members of Parliament who was de facto leader of an Iranian organsation which had in the past supported terrorism and had been proscribed in the UK, but that proscription . .
Cited – Nada v Switzerland (GC) ECHR 12-Sep-2012
(Grand Chamber) ‘The court has previously found that, for a measure to be regarded as proportionate and as necessary in a democratic society, the possibility of recourse to an alternative measure that would cause less damage to the fundamental right . .
Cited – Sufi and Elmi v The United Kingdom ECHR 28-Jun-2011
The risk of the applicants being subjected to treatment which would violate article 3 if returned to Somalia meant that the British authorities would be in breach of the article if they carried through their intention to deport them to that country. . .
Cited – Quila and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department SC 12-Oct-2011
Parties challenged the rule allowing the respondent to deny the right to enter or remain here to non EU citizens marrying a person settled and present here where either party was under the age of 21. The aim of the rule was to deter forced . .

Cited by:
Cited – Crowter and Others, Regina (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Health And Social Care Admn 23-Sep-2021
Foetus has no Established Human Rights
The Claimants sought a declaration that section 1(1)(d) of the Abortion Act 1967, as amended, is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’), as well as some other remedies. The claimant had Down’s Syndrome, and complained the . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 26 September 2021; Ref: scu.617206

Paton v British Pregnancy Advisory Service Trustees: QBD 1979

Sir George Baker P said: ‘The case put to me finally by Mr. Rankin . . is that while he cannot say here that there is any suggestion of a criminal abortion nevertheless if doctors did not hold their views, or come to their conclusions, in good faith which would be an issue triable by a jury (see Reg. v. Smith (John) [1973] 1 W.L.R. 1510) then this plaintiff might recover an injunction. That is not accepted by Mr. Denny. It is unnecessary for me to decide that academic question because it does not arise in this case. My own view is that it would be quite impossible for the courts in any event to supervise the operation of the Abortion Act 1967 . . . That does not now arise in this case. The two doctors have given a certificate. It is not and cannot be suggested that the certificate was given in other than good faith and it seems to me that there is the end of the matter in English law.’
Sir George Baker P
[1979] QB 276
Abortion Act 1967
England and Wales
Cited by:
Distinguished – Crowter and Others, Regina (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Health And Social Care Admn 23-Sep-2021
Foetus has no Established Human Rights
The Claimants sought a declaration that section 1(1)(d) of the Abortion Act 1967, as amended, is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’), as well as some other remedies. The claimant had Down’s Syndrome, and complained the . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 26 September 2021; Ref: scu.668235

Jepson v Chief Constable of West Mercia Police: Admn 2003

An abortion had been carried out of a foetus which was of more than 24 weeks’ gestation. The foetus had been diagnosed as suffering from a bilateral cleft lip and palate. The abortion was carried out pursuant to section 1(1)(d) of the 1967 Act. The claimant was a Church of England curate who was herself born with a significant facial impairment, which had been successfully treated. She was opposed in principle to abortion. She considered that a cleft lip and palate could not amount to a ‘serious handicap’ within the meaning of section 1(1)(d) and that, accordingly, the abortion must have been unlawful.
Held: Permission was granted; a cleft lip and palate could not be a serious handicap within the meaning of section 1(1)(d)
Rose LJ and Jackson J
[2003] EWHC 3318 (Admin)
Abortion Act 1967 1(1)(d)
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Crowter and Others, Regina (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Health And Social Care Admn 23-Sep-2021
Foetus has no Established Human Rights
The Claimants sought a declaration that section 1(1)(d) of the Abortion Act 1967, as amended, is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’), as well as some other remedies. The claimant had Down’s Syndrome, and complained the . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 26 September 2021; Ref: scu.668233

Regina v Tandy: CACD 1987

The issue of alcoholism in a murder case may be dealt with solely under diminished responsibility. A craving for alcohol would only give rise to an abnormality of mind for the purpose of section 2(1) of the Homicide Act if it was such that the defendant’s use of alcohol was involuntary.
[1989] 1 WLR 350, [1987] 87 CAR 45, [1989] 1 All ER 267
Homicide Act 1957 2
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Stewart, Regina v CACD 26-Mar-2009
The defendant appealed against his conviction for murder, saying that the judge should have directed the jury as to the impact of alcohol dependency syndrome on his plea of diminished responsibility where there had been no discernible brain damage. . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 25 September 2021; Ref: scu.376201

Saunders v Baldy: QBD 11 Nov 1865

The 1 and 2 Will. 4, c. 32, s. 3, forbids, under penalties, the killing or taking certain game during certain intervals of the year; and section 23 imposes penalties on any person taking or killing game, or using a dog or engine for that purpose, not being authorized for want of a certificate.
Held:, that a person using an engine for taking game without a certificate during the forbidden interval, was liable to penalties under the latter section, although he might also be liable to penalties under section 3.
[1865] EngR 725, (1865) 6 B and S 791, (1865) 122 ER 1385, [1865] UKLawRpKQB 14, (1865-1866) LR 1 QB 87
Commonlii, Commonlii
England and Wales

Updated: 25 September 2021; Ref: scu.281637

Rex v Sykes: 1913

,
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Shagang Shipping Company Ltd v HNA Group Company Ltd SC 5-Aug-2020
Allegations had been made that a contract had been procured by bribery. The other party said that the admissions of bribery had been extracted by torture and were inadmissible. The CA had decided that the unproven possibility that it was obtained by . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 25 September 2021; Ref: scu.652988

Kendall v Director of Public Prosecutions: Admn 26 Jun 2008

Appeal by case stated against conviction for racially aggravated publishing of threatening abusive or insulting materials. The defendant had put up posters at various places with pictures of people convicted of murder and announcing ‘Illegal Immigrant Murder Scum.’
Held: The appeal failed. The poster appeared to be motivated by hostility to people according to their race and colour.
Richards LJ, Keith J
[2008] EWHC 1848 (Admin)
Bailii
Public Order Act 1986 5, Crime and Disorder Act 1988
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Norwood v Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 3-Jul-2003
The appellant a BNP member had displayed a large poster in his bedroom window saying ‘Islam out of Britain’. He was convicted of an aggravated attempt to cause alarm or distress. The offence was established on proof of several matters, unless the . .
Cited – Attorney General’s Reference (No 4 of 2004) CACD 22-Apr-2005
The defendant was accused of having racially abused the complainant by referring to him as an ‘immigrant doctor’ before the assault. The trial judge had held that the word ‘immigrant’ was so wide in its possible application as not to be capable of . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 23 September 2021; Ref: scu.272295

Lancashire County Council v Buchanan: Admn 7 Nov 2007

The defendant estate agent was prosecuted for misdescribing the ability of his client to convey good title to the land offered. The seller did not initially have a registered possessory title to part of the land.
Held: The agent’s appeal succeeded: ‘In advertising a property for sale the estate agent is making no representation as to title. No reasonable person reading the particulars of the house and garden offered for sale could infer that any representation as to title was being made, still less as to the nature of the title. After all, these particulars, as is the almost invariable practice of such advertisements, were headed ‘subject to contract.’ A reasonable person would have appreciated that issues as to title would be dealt with during the process of conveyance.’
and ‘No reasonable person would have inferred any representation as to the nature or quality of the title to be conveyed. No reasonable person would have suspected that Mr Watson could not convey good title to the garden to the purchaser. The District Judge was correct in concluding that there were no reasonable grounds for suspicion and that accordingly the respondent was not guilty. I would dismiss this appeal.’
Moses LJ, Jackson J
[2007] EWHC 3194 (Admin)
Bailii
Property Misdescriptions Act 1991, Property Misdescriptions (Specified Matters) Order 1992
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – J A Pye (Oxford) Ltd and Others v Graham and Another HL 4-Jul-2002
The claimants sought ownership by adverse possession of land. Once the paper owner had been found, they indicated a readiness to purchase their interest. The court had found that this letter contradicted an animus possidendi. The claimant had . .
Cited – J A Pye (Oxford) Ltd v The United Kingdom ECHR 30-Aug-2007
UK Advers Possession Law – Not Compliant
The claimant had said that the UK law which allowed it to lose land by virtue of twelve year’s occupation by a squatter, interfered with its right to ownership of property.
Held: The UK law on adverse possession did comply with the Convention. . .
Cited – Beaulane Properties Ltd v Palmer ChD 23-Mar-2005
The paper owner sought possession of land. The defendant said he had acquired a possessory title. The land was registered.
Held: The claimant’s human rights under article 1 were engaged. To be justifiable, the interference in that right had to . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 23 September 2021; Ref: scu.271177

B v Director of Public Prosecutions: Admn 3 Jul 2008

The defendant, a minor, appealed against conviction for obstructing a police constable and breach of the peace. He said he was resisting an unlawful search.
Held: The officer’s conduct must be lawful to support such an allegation.
Moses LJ, Blake J
[2008] EWHC 1655 (Admin)
Bailii
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 2(2)(b)
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – McCann v Crown Prosecution Service Admn 21-Aug-2015
Appeal by case stated against conviction for obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty. The appellant had been protesting. She, correctly, thought the land to be a rivate highway. The police officer had thought it a public hghway and . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 23 September 2021; Ref: scu.270901

T, Regina v: CACD 25 Feb 2021

The defendant appealed his conviction of rape. He had been married to the victim. At trial he sought to put questions to the complainant about whether she now identified as lesbian or bisexual, saying that the complaint was her way now of validating a change in her sexual orientation. The judge excluded the questions as speculative and as to her sexual activities. The defendant said that ‘sexual behaviour’ within the section was limited to actions and conduct and did not extend to exclude ‘internal conflicts as to sexuality’.
Held: The appeal failed. According to the facts of each case sexual orientation might be equated with sexual experience and behaviour, and so fall within the section. The proposed questions were entirely general and fell foul of section 41(4).
[2021] WLR(D) 223, [2021] EWCA Crim 318, [2021] 4 WLR 59
Bailii, WLRD
Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999
England and Wales

Updated: 23 September 2021; Ref: scu.659655

Regina v Dyke and Others: CACD 19 Oct 2001

Appeal from conviction and sentence – theft from children’s charity – failure to pay in funds collected.
Held: ‘At common law and by statute when a person who collects money for a charity is subject to an obligation to account for money by reason of the donor’s intention to give money to the charity, that imposes a trust, and to misappropriate that money is to take property which belongs to the beneficiaries of that trust, ie the charity. Incorrect offence charged.
[2001] EWCA Crim 2184
Bailii
Theft Act 1968 (3)
England and Wales

Updated: 20 September 2021; Ref: scu.167033

Regina v Strugnell: 28 Nov 1865

A person who hires an unlicensed public room for six nights, and publicly performs stage plays in it, is not liable to be convicted under section 2 of the G and 7 Vict. c. 68, for ‘ having and keeping ‘ a place of public resort for the public performance of stage plays without a license.
(1865-1866) LR 1 QB 93, [1865] UKLawRpKQB 33
Commonlii
England and Wales

Updated: 20 September 2021; Ref: scu.653043

Garyfallou Aebe v Greece: ECHR 24 Sep 1997

The fact that only a fine was imposed did not prevent an allegation being one of a criminal offence.
[1997] ECHR 74, 18996/91
Worldlii, Bailii
Human Rights
Cited by:
Cited – Regina v Parole Board ex parte Smith, Regina v Parole Board ex parte West (Conjoined Appeals) HL 27-Jan-2005
Each defendant challenged the way he had been treated on revocation of his parole licence, saying he should have been given the opportunity to make oral representations.
Held: The prisoners’ appeals were allowed.
Lord Bingham stated: . .
Cited – Clingham (formerly C (a minor)) v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea; Regina v Crown Court at Manchester Ex parte McCann and Others HL 17-Oct-2002
The applicants had been made subject of anti-social behaviour orders. They challenged the basis upon which the orders had been made.
Held: The orders had no identifiable consequences which would make the process a criminal one. Civil standards . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 17 September 2021; Ref: scu.165542

Appleyard, Regina v: CACD 17 Oct 2005

Resumed hearing of appeal against conviction at a court martial – suggestions that directions given by the judge advocate on duress were defective rejected. Now consideration on words used to jury as to attempts to reach a unanimous verdict.
Held: The challenge that the direction given by the Judge Advocate that the Board should ‘try’ to reach a unanimous verdict somehow deprived the court martial and its members of its and their independence and impartiality as a tribunal established by law does not withstand analysis. The Judge Advocate had no jurisdiction to refuse to accept a majority verdict from the Board. However, he was entitled to direct the members to seek or try to return a unanimous verdict if they could. That is what he did. A unanimous verdict is, indeed, preferable, if that is the verdict to which each member can conscientiously come. The direction given by the Judge Advocate did not produce a situation in which a majority of votes in favour of an acquittal (a majority verdict acquittal) would somehow have been rejected or treated as if it could not be returned.
Sir Igor Judge PBD
[2005] EWCA Crim 2750
Bailii
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Boyd, Hastie, Spear (Courts Martial Appeal Court), Regina v Saunby, Clarkson, English, Williams, Dodds, and others HL 18-Jul-2002
Corts Martial System Complant with Human Rights
The applicants were each convicted by courts martial of offences under civil law. They claimed that the courts martial were not independent tribunals because of the position of the president of the court, and that it was wrong to try a serviceman by . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 14 September 2021; Ref: scu.441053

T, Regina v: CACD 26 Oct 2010

The court heard an appeal against a conviction for murder, the principle evidence being in the form of likelihood ratios in the interpretation of footwear marks.
Thomas LJ, giving the reserved judgment of the court, stated that if a footwear examiner expressed a view that went beyond saying that the footwear could or could not make the mark concerned, the report should make it clear that the view is subjective and based on experience of the examiner, so that words such as ‘scientific’ used in making evaluations should not in fact be used because they would, before a jury, give an impression of a degree of precision and objectivity which is not present given the current state of expertise. The factors that the expert does use should, however, be set out and explained.
Thomas LJ, Beatson, Kitchin JJ
[2011] 1 Cr App Rep 9, [2010] EWCA Crim 2439
Bailii
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – South, Regina v CACD 18-Mar-2011
Appeal against conviction of burglary. Admission of bad character evidence (many convictions of dishonesty) against alibi witness put forward only late – use of footprint matching evidence . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 14 September 2021; Ref: scu.425560

Bath and North East Somerset District Council v Warman: Admn 19 Nov 1998

A fifteen year old girl absented herself from school when she went to live with a boyfriend at an address which was not known to her mother. The justices acquitted the mother for failing to secure her attendance at school on the basis of ‘any unavoidable cause’ but the prosecutor’s appeal to the Divisional Court was allowed for the same reasons as in Jenkins v Howels and Crump v. Gilmore, both of which were followed.
Held: The construction placed of this statutory provision in the authorities makes the conclusion inescapable that the circumstances did not give rise to unavoidable cause for the child’s absence from school.
Lord Justice Rose
[1999] ELR 81, [1998] EWHC Admin 1078
Bailii
Education Act 1993 444
England and Wales
Cited by:
Appeal from – Berezovsky and Another v Forbes Inc and Another CA 27-Nov-1998
Where a defamatory article was published in many jurisdictions, there is no rule preventing a plaintiff recovering in those jurisdictions where a remedy is given. Not confined by restriction to most appropriate jurisdiction. . .
Cited – Isle of Wight Council v Platt SC 6-Apr-2017
Regular school attendance is following the rules
The respondent had taken his child out of school during term time to go on holiday. The child otherwise had an excellent attendance record. The Council having failed on appeal to the Administrative Court, it appealed saying that the word ‘regularly’ . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 14 September 2021; Ref: scu.139199

Liewe Hoekstra and Jan Van Rijs and Ronny Van Rijs and Hendrik Van Rijs v Hm Advocate: HCJ 14 Apr 2000

A judge, having given judgment in an appeal case involving the application of the convention on Human Rights, wrote and published an article critical of the convention, and of its application in national law. The appeal decision was set aside, since the reality or appearance of objective impartiality which was clearly required by both common law and the convention had been lost. The requirement for impartiality was both objective and subjective.
Lord Justice General and Lady Cosgrove and Lord Sutherland
Times 14-Apr-2000, [2000] ScotHC 32
Bailii
European Convention on Human Rights
Scotland
Citing:
See Also – Note of Appeal Against Conviction and Sentence By Lieuwe Hoekstra and Jan Van Rijs and Ronny Van Rijs and Hendrik Van Rijs v Her Majesty’s Advocate HCJ 28-Jan-2000
. .
See Also – Lieuwe Hoekstra and Jan Van Rijs and Ronny Van Rijs and Endrik Van Rijs v Her Majesty’s Advocate HCJ 7-Mar-2000
. .

Cited by:
See Also – Lieuwe Hoekstra and Jan Van Rijs and Ronny Van Rijs and Hendrik Van Rijs v Her Majesty’s Advocate HCJ 2-Jun-2000
. .
See Also – Hoekstra and Others v Her Majesty’s Advocate High Court of Justiciary PC 26-Oct-2000
The Privy Council has no standing to act as a general court of appeal on Scottish law. The jurisdiction given to it by the Act, was limited as prescribed by the Act to what are called devolution issues, issues related to the acts of devolution. Not . .
See Also – Hoekstra and Van Rijs etc v Her Majesty’s Advocate HCJ 18-Jan-2001
. .
See Also – Hoekstra and Van Rijs and Van Rijs and Van Rijs v Her Majesty’s Advocate HCJ 23-Jan-2002
. .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 14 September 2021; Ref: scu.81423

Horner v Kingsley Clothing Limited: QBD 1989

The court described the process for considering whether an offence had been committed under the Act: ‘The proper approach is to consider the matter in four stages; (1) Had a trade description been applied to the goods? (2) Was that description false in any particular? (3) If it was, was it false to a material degree? (4) If it was not, the justices should put themselves in the position of the ordinary shopper to decide if it was misleading.’
[1989] Crim LR 911
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Lewin v Truebell Plc Admn 24-Mar-1997
The prosecutor appealed against dismissal of his claim that the defendants had sold kits advertised to contain 100 pieces, when they said the pack contained only 61 pieces usable seperately. The defendants ponted to 100 pieces, of which 39 were not . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 12 September 2021; Ref: scu.258606

Pierce v Regina: CACD 8 Jul 2020

Appeal against convictions for offences of indecent assault, indecency with a child and attempted rape. It raises an issue about the effect of a deletion after trial of a police caution, which had been admitted into evidence at trial as bad character evidence of the defendant, on the safety of the conviction.
Lord Justice Dingemans VP QBD, Cutts J, Karu HHJ
[2020] EWCA Crim 855
Bailii
England and Wales

Updated: 12 September 2021; Ref: scu.652607

Fa’afete Taito v The Queen and James McLeod Bennett and 10 others v The Queen (Consolidated Appeals): PC 19 Mar 2002

PC (New Zealand) In each case the defendants had sought and been refused legal aid to appeal against some aspect of their conviction. The system for deciding upon whether they should be granted legal aid did not allow for their participation. They also alleged that the full appeal was then heard again without their involvement and on the basis that since the application for legal aid had been refused, the case was without merit, and the appeal itself was also refused.
Held: The system did not properly implement that statute which had been brought in to correct defects in the court practice. Varying orders were made for the several individual cases.
Lord Bingham of Cornhill Lord Steyn Lord Hope of Craighead Lord Hutton Lord Rodger of Earlsferry
[2002] EWPC 14, [2002] UKPC 15
PC, PC, Bailii, PC
England and Wales

Updated: 10 September 2021; Ref: scu.168106

Defazio v Director Of Public Prosecutions: Admn 17 Jul 2007

Appeal by way of case stated against a decision of a district judge, sitting at Reading, whereby he convicted the appellant of an offence of dishonestly receiving a Barclaycard Visa. Card found in street, [laced in drawer and forgotten.
Held: Allowed.
[2007] EWHC 3529 (Admin)
Bailii
England and Wales

Updated: 10 September 2021; Ref: scu.375950

Boggild and Others, Regina v: CACD 19 Jul 2011

Prosecutor’s appeal from refusal to make football banning orders against the defendants.
Hughes LJ VP CACD, Bean Blake JJ
[2011] EWCA Crim 1928, [2012] 1 WLR 1298, (2012) 176 JP 85, [2011] 5 Costs LR 879, [2012] 1 Cr App R (S) 81, 176 JP 85, [2011] 4 All ER 1285, [2012] Crim LR 48
Bailii
Football Spectators Act 1989 14A(5A)
England and Wales

Updated: 09 September 2021; Ref: scu.442719

Regina v Governor of Brixton Prison, ex parte Caborn-Waterfield: QBD 1960

When an accused person is committed under the first paragraph of section 10 and surrendered to a foreign government he is surrendered for trial. Before that course is taken the magistrate has to be satisfied that a prima facie case is made out. When a convicted person is committed under the second paragraph of section 10 and surrendered to a foreign government he is surrendered to serve his sentence, in which case all that is necessary in the magistrates’ court is to prove his conviction. The applicant had been wrongly treated as an accused person when he should, having regard to the final nature of the French judgment ultimately passed upon him, have been treated as a convicted person.
Salmon J
[1960] 2 QB 498
Extradition Act 1870
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – In re Guisto (application for a writ of Habeas Corpus) (Criminal Appeal from Her Majesty’s High Court of Justice) HL 3-Apr-2003
The applicant challenged an order for his extradition to the US. He had been convicted in his absence having absconded from bail.
Held: He had been arrested and held on the basis that he was a convicted person, but the procedure should have . .
Cited – Caldarelli v Court of Naples HL 30-Jul-2008
The appellant challenged his extradition saying that the European Arrest Warrant under which he was held wrongly said that he was convicted, whilst he said he was wanted for trial. He had been tried in his absence, and the judgment and sentence were . .
Cited – Caborn-Waterfield v Gold and Others QBD 11-Mar-2013
The defendants requested a preliminary ruling that the words complained of in the claimant’s action were not capable of bearing a defamatory meaning.
Held: Some of the pleaded meanings were not supported, but others were clearly defamatory, . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 09 September 2021; Ref: scu.180424

Sutherland v United Kingdom: ECHR 27 Mar 2001

A case before the court was struck out at the request of both parties after the coming into force, in January 2001, of the Act which equalised the ages of consent for homosexual sexual acts and heterosexual sexual acts to 16. There was no longer any risk of discriminatory prosecutions.
Hudoc Judgment (Struck out of the list) Struck out of the list (solution of the matter)
Times 13-Apr-2001, 25186/94, [2001] ECHR 234
Worldlii, Bailii
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000
Human Rights

Updated: 09 September 2021; Ref: scu.166071

Rex v Berg and others: CCA 1927

The defendants were said to have conducted a disorderly house in providing exhibitions of a perverted nature.
Held: The common law offence of keeping a disorderly house is committed when the house is so conducted as to violate law and good order. Letters found in such a house referring to unnatural practices may be put in evidence of such use.
(1927) 20 Cr App R 38
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Court, Regina v CACD 9-Feb-2012
The defendants appealed against their convictions under common law for keeping a disorderly house. They were landlords using an agreement requiring the tenant not to be used for immoral purposes. There was evidence of limited sexual activity. Only . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 05 September 2021; Ref: scu.451143

Rex v Hopwood: CCA 1913

A person who, in an attempt tp commit suicide, instead kills another in that act, can be guilty of murder under the doctrine of transferred malice.
(1913) 8 Cr App R 143
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Gnango, Regina v SC 14-Dec-2011
The prosecutor appealed against a successful appeal by the defendant against his conviction for murder. He and an opponent had engaged in a street battle using guns. His opponent had shot an innocent passer by. The court was now asked as to whether . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 05 September 2021; Ref: scu.467711

Rex v Croft: CCA 1944

A person who was present at the suicide of another and who assisted or encouraged the suicide, is guilty of murder as a principal in the second degree. The survivor of a suicide pact was properly convicted of murder. The court considered liability for suicide as an accessory.

Lawrence J said: ‘Counsel for the appellant also complains that the summing-up does not contain any reference to the possibility of the agreement to commit suicide having been determined. It is true that the learned judge does not deal expressly with that matter except in a passage where he says: ‘Even if you accept his statement in the witness-box that the vital and second shot was fired when he had gone through that window, he would still be guilty of murder if she was then committing suicide as the result of an agreement which they had mutually arrived at that that should be the fate of both of them, and it is no answer for him that he altered his mind after she was dead and did not commit suicide himself. The authorities, however, such as they are, show, in our opinion, that the appellant, to escape being held guilty as an accessory before the fact must establish that he expressly countermanded or revoked the advising counselling, procuring or abetting which he had previously given.’
. . and ‘We are of opinion that the circumstances in this case did not amount, and could not reasonably have been held to amount, to such a clear countermanding or determination of the agreement as would discharge the appellant from liability to a charge of murder if that which occurred was the result of what he had done before. He never said anything to the woman which could have removed from her mind the effect of the counsel which he had previously given her.’
Lawrence J
[1944] 1 KB 295
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Purdy, Regina (on the Application of) v Director of Public Prosecutions HL 30-Jul-2009
Need for Certainty in Scope of Offence
The appellant suffered a severe chronic illness and anticipated that she might want to go to Switzerland to commit suicide. She would need her husband to accompany her, and sought an order requiring the respondent to provide clear guidelines on the . .
Cited – Regina v Becerra and Cooper CACD 1975
The defendants sought leave to appeal against their convictions for a brutal and horrific murder. Becerra suggeste dtat he had wanted to withdraw from the event before the murder took place.
Held: The appeal failed: ‘ in the circumstances then . .
Cited – Nicklinson and Another, Regina (on The Application of) SC 25-Jun-2014
Criminality of Assisting Suicide not Infringing
The court was asked: ‘whether the present state of the law of England and Wales relating to assisting suicide infringes the European Convention on Human Rights, and whether the code published by the Director of Public Prosecutions relating to . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 05 September 2021; Ref: scu.373403

Lockwood v The Attorney-General: 28 Jun 1842

Alderson B said: ‘The rule of law, I take it, upon the construction of all statutes . . is, whether they be penal or remedial, to construe them according to the plain, literal, and grammatical meaning of the words in which they are expressed, unless that construction leads to a plain and clear contradiction of the apparent purpose of the Act, or to some palpable and evident absurdity.’
Alderson B
[1842] EngR 835, (1842) 10 M and W 464, (1842) 152 ER 552
Commonlii
England and Wales
Citing:
Appeal from – The Attorney-General v Lockwood CEC 22-Jan-1842
The keeper of a beer-shop, licensed under statute is liable to the penalties imposed by 56 Cleo. 3, e. 58, s. 2, for having in his possession any of the prohibited articles therein specified, or any other article or preparation to be used as a . .

Cited by:
Cited – Sweet v Parsley HL 23-Jan-1969
Mens Rea essential element of statutory Offence
The appellant had been convicted under the Act 1965 of having been concerned in the management of premises used for smoking cannabis. This was a farmhouse which she visited infrequently. The prosecutor had conceded that she was unaware that the . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 05 September 2021; Ref: scu.307790

Regina v Hopkins; Regina v Collins: CCA 1957

Lord Goddard said that although it was clear that a false entry made into an accounting register or a wrongful alteration of a register would clearly be an offence within section 1, it remained an open question as to whether a failure to make an entry could properly be called forgery.
Lord Goddard LCJ
(1957) 41 Cr App Rep 231
Forgery Act 1913 1
England and Wales

Updated: 05 September 2021; Ref: scu.271335

Regina v Carr: CCA 1956

Lord Goddard CJ considered the elements of the offence of obtaining property by fraud. In doing so he considered the position of a defendant who took a bribe but did not then carry out what he had ben paid to do and said: ‘It does not matter if he did not show favour. If the person did what is called ‘double-crossing,’ and did not do what he was bribed for, that is no reason why he should be acquitted of taking a bribe.’
Lord Goddard CJ
[1956] 40 Cr AR 188, [1956] 3 All ER 979, [1957] 1 WLR 165, [1956] 101 Sol Jo 112
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Grobbelaar v News Group Newspapers Ltd and Another CA 18-Jan-2001
The claimant had been awarded andpound;85,000 damages in defamation after the defendant had wrongly accused him of cheating at football. The newspaper sought to appeal saying that the verdict was perverse and the defence of qualified privilege . .
Mentioned – Grobbelaar v News Group Newspapers Ltd and Another HL 24-Oct-2002
The claimant appealed against a decision of the Court of Appeal quashing the judgement in his favour for damages for defamation.
Held: The Court of Appeal was not able to quash a jury verdict as perverse, and the appeal succeeded. An appellate . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 05 September 2021; Ref: scu.272788

J, Regina v: CACD 2 Jul 2001

Orse Attorney General’s Reference No 2 of 2001
The AG sought to appeal from the decision that an indictment against the seven defendants should be stayed on the ground that there had been a breach of Article 6(1). They were accused of involvement in a riot in prison in April 1998. They and others were interviewed in June and July 1998, and papers submitted to CPS at the end of July 1998. Informations were laid in February 2000, and the trial started on 31 January 2001. Two issues arose: From when was the time to be calculated, and then as to the remedy to be provided.
Held: Under the Convention, the term ‘charge’ has a broader meaning than it would in UK law. In this case, but not always, its use was as here.
The judge at trial had erred; at the trial of a defendant on a criminal charge, it is not only the defendant who is to be considered. The public are interested in whether or not defendants are tried for criminal offences they have committed. As is the case with many of the rights which are contained in the Convention, the courts are called upon to hold the balance between the rights of the individual and the rights of the public. ‘the judge failed to distinguish between the conduct which constitutes the unlawful act for the purpose of Article 6(1) and the remedy which the court provides for the unlawful act if there has indeed been an unlawful act. If a person complains of a contravention of the reasonable time requirement in Article 6, and if the court comes to the conclusion that there has been a contravention, then at the request of the complainant the court is required to provide the appropriate remedy. If the court is willing and able to provide the appropriate remedy, then the court is not compelled to take the course of staying the proceedings. That is a remedy which the court can grant, but it is certainly not a remedy which it is required to grant. ‘
The Lord Woolf of Barnes LCJ, Wright, Grogson JJ
[2001] EWCA Crim 1568, [2001] 1 WLR 1869, [2002] 1 Cr App Rep 272
Bailii
Eurpean Convention on Human Rights 6(1), Criminal Justice Act 1972 36
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Deweer v Belgium ECHR 27-Feb-1980
The applicant, a Belgian butcher, paid a fine by way of settlement in the face of an order for the closure of his shop until judgment was given in an intended criminal prosecution or until such fine was paid.
Held: Since the payment was made . .
Cited – Eckle v Germany ECHR 15-Jul-1982
Two fraud prosecutions against the claimants had lasted for 15 and 20 years respectively.
Held: Article 6.1 applies to all stages of criminal proceedings, including sentencing and any appeal. The ‘reasonable time’ in criminal matters, . .
Cited – Foti and Others v Italy ECHR 10-Dec-1982
ECHR Judgment (Merits) – Preliminary objection rejected (ex officio examination); Preliminary objection rejected (non-exhaustion); Violation of Art. 6-1; Non necessary to examine Art. 13; Just satisfaction . .
Cited – Corigliano v Italy ECHR 10-Dec-1982
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Preliminary objection rejected (substantially the same); Preliminary objection rejected (non-exhaustion); Preliminary objection rejected (victim); Violation of Art. . .
Cited – Attorney General’s Reference (No 1 of 1990) CACD 1990
A police officer attended an incident where two people were arrested. Complaints about his conduct were made of which he was given notice. A formal investigation was instituted and adjourned pending the outcome of criminal proceedings against those . .
Cited – Bell v The Director of Public Prosecutions and Another PC 30-Apr-1985
(Jamaica) Failure to provide trial within a reasonable time. There had been a lapse of seven years between the date of the alleged offence and the date of the retrial. The view was taken that there was specific prejudice caused as a consequence of . .
Cited – Darmalingum v The State PC 10-Jul-2000
(Mauritius) The constitutional right of a defendant to have his case tried within a reasonable time applied not just to the initial trial but also to any appeal arising from that trial. Where there had been inordinate and inexcusable delay between . .
Cited – Flowers v The Queen PC 30-Oct-2000
(Jamaica) Where a defendant claimed that his constitutional right to a trial within a reasonable time had been infringed, it was correct for the appellate courts to take account of the fact that it remained clear that the defendant was guilty of a . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 05 September 2021; Ref: scu.263611

Regina v Gould: CACD 18 Jan 1968

The defendant had been convicted on his plea of bigamy. His late arriving counsel failed to have the plea withdrawn on his advice that at the second wedding, the defendant had genuinely believed that the first marriage had been dissolved.
Diplock LJ, Widgery, Blain JJ
[1968] EWCA Crim 1, [1968] 2 WLR 643, 52 Cr App Rep 152, 132 JP 209, [1968] 1 All ER 849, [1968] 2 QB 65
Bailii
Offences Against the Person Act 1861 57
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Sweet v Parsley HL 23-Jan-1969
Mens Rea essential element of statutory Offence
The appellant had been convicted under the Act 1965 of having been concerned in the management of premises used for smoking cannabis. This was a farmhouse which she visited infrequently. The prosecutor had conceded that she was unaware that the . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 05 September 2021; Ref: scu.249920

Rex v Creamer: CCA 1919

The prosecution had to prove in a receiving case that the husband and wife were not ‘living together’. Held ‘A husband and wife are living together not only when they are residing together in the same house, but also when they are living in different places, even if they are separated by the high seas, provided the consortium has not been determined.’
[1919] 1 KB 564
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Gully v Dix; In re Dix deceased CA 21-Jan-2004
The claimant sought provision from the estate under the Act. She had cohabited with the deceased for many years, but had moved out several months before the death because of her concern for his drunkenness which lead to threats of self harm.
Updated: 05 September 2021; Ref: scu.196714

Corkery v Carpenter: KBD 1950

The defendant was accused of being drunk in charge of a carriage. He was in fact riding a cycle. Section 12 made it an offence to be ‘drunk while in charge on any highway . . of any carriage, horse, cattle, or steam engine’.
Held: The Act was to be read purposively. The mischief rule allowed the court to hold that a carriage included a bicycle.
Lord Goddard CJ said: ‘for this purpose there cannot be any distinction between a section in a highway statute passed for the protection of the public and a section in a licensing statute passed for the same purpose, both of them concerning the conduct of a person on the highway and the preservation of public order.’ and ‘a bicycle is a carriage . . It is a carriage in my opinion because it carries.’
Lord Goddard CJ, Hilbery, Byrne JJ
[1950] 2 All ER 745, [1951] 1 KB 102
Licensing Act 1872 12
England and Wales
Citing:
Determinative – Taylor v Goodwin QBD 1879
The court was asked whether a bicycle was a ‘carriage’ within the meaning of section 78. It was said to have been ‘ridden at a furious pace’. The appellant argued that: ‘A bicycle is not a ‘carriage’ within the meaning of the Act, nor can it be said . .

Cited by:
Cited – Coates v Crown Prosecution Service Admn 29-Jul-2011
The defendant appealed by case stated against his conviction for driving a Segway scooter on a footpath. He denied that it was ‘a mechanically propelled vehicle intended or adapted for use on roads.’
Held: The appeal failed. The district judge . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 05 September 2021; Ref: scu.200601

Bank of New South Wales v Piper: PC 1897

(New South Wales) ‘the absence of mens rea really consists in an honest and reasonable belief entertained by the accused of facts which, if true, would make the act charged against him innocent.’
Lord Watson, Lord Davey, Sir Richard Couch
[1897] AC 383, [1897] UKPC 23, [1897] UKLawRpAC 21
Bailii, Commonlii
Australia
Cited by:
Cited – B (A Minor) v Director of Public Prosecutions HL 23-Feb-2000
Prosecution to prove absence of genuine belief
To convict a defendant under the 1960 Act, the prosecution had the burden of proving the absence of a genuine belief in the defendant’s mind that the victim was 14 or over. The Act itself said nothing about any mental element, so the assumption must . .
Cited – Sweet v Parsley HL 23-Jan-1969
Mens Rea essential element of statutory Offence
The appellant had been convicted under the Act 1965 of having been concerned in the management of premises used for smoking cannabis. This was a farmhouse which she visited infrequently. The prosecutor had conceded that she was unaware that the . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 05 September 2021; Ref: scu.195969

Regina v Vickers: CCA 1957

The appellant, having broken into a dwelling-house to commit burglary, came upon the occupier whom he struck in a way which according to the medical evidence could have been inflicted with a moderate degree of violence. The victim died as a result.
Held: The defendant had attacked the householder to prevent recognition, with blows and kicks from which she died. With or without the abolition of the felony/murder rule there was no doubt that he was guilty of murder. The court referred to the Act: ‘It would seem clear, therefore, that the legislature is providing that where one has a killing committed in the course or furtherance of another offence, that other offence must be ignored. What have to be considered are the circumstances of the killing, and if the killing would amount to murder by reason of the express or implied malice, then that person is guilty of capital murder. It is not enough to say he killed in the course of the felony unless the killing is done in a manner which would amount to murder ignoring the commission of felony.’
Lord Goddard CJ
[1957] 2 QB 664
Homicide Act 1957 1(1)
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Moses v The State PC 29-Jul-1996
(Trinidad and Tobago) The appellant had been convicted under the felony murder rule, where if a victim dies in the course of the defendant committing a felony, the defendant is guilty of murder.
Held: The distinction between felony and murder . .
Cited – Evon Smith v The Queen PC 14-Nov-2005
PC (Jamaica) The Board was asked whether the offence was a capital murder. The murder was committed in the course of a burglary. The defendant had stood on a ladder and reached in through a window and attacked . .
Cited – Attorney-General’s Reference (No 3 of 1994) HL 24-Jul-1997
The defendant stabbed a pregnant woman. The child was born prematurely and died. The attack had been directed at the mother, and the proper offence was manslaughter.
Held: The only questions which need to be addressed are (1) whether the act . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 05 September 2021; Ref: scu.188587

Brend v Wood: 1946

The court discussed the need to assume that conviction for an offence required proof of mens rea.
Lord Goddard CJ said: ‘It should first be observed that at common law there must always be mens rea to constitute a crime; if a person can show that he acted without mens rea that is a defence to a criminal prosecution. There are statutes and regulations in which Parliament has seen fit to create offences and make people responsible before criminal Courts although there is an absence of mens rea, but it is certainly not the Court’s duty to be acute to find that mens rea is not a constituent part of the crime. It is of the utmost importance for the protection of the liberty of the subject that a Court should always bear in mind that unless a statute, either clearly or by necessary implication, rules out mens rea as a constituent part of a crime, the Court should not find a man guilty of an offence against the criminal law unless he has a guilty mind.’
Lord Goddard CJ
[1946] 175 LT 306, (1946) 62 TLR 462
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – B (A Minor) v Director of Public Prosecutions HL 23-Feb-2000
Prosecution to prove absence of genuine belief
To convict a defendant under the 1960 Act, the prosecution had the burden of proving the absence of a genuine belief in the defendant’s mind that the victim was 14 or over. The Act itself said nothing about any mental element, so the assumption must . .
Cited – Regina v K HL 25-Jul-2001
In a prosecution for an offence of indecent assault on a girl under 16 under the section, it was necessary for the prosecution to prove the absence of a positive belief in the defendant’s mind that the victim was 16 or over. The legislation history . .
Cited – Harding v Price KBD 1948
Section 22 of the 1930 Act obliged a driver in certain circumstances to report an accident causing damage to another vehicle, person or animal. The defendant failed to do so because he was unaware that he had been involved in an accident. He claimed . .
Cited – Warner v Metropolitan Police Commissioner HL 1968
The appellant had been convicted of an offence contrary to section 1 of the 1964 Act, of having been found in possession of drugs.
Held: (Reid dissenting) The prosecution had only to prove that the accused knew of the existence of the thing . .
Cited – Sweet v Parsley HL 23-Jan-1969
Mens Rea essential element of statutory Offence
The appellant had been convicted under the Act 1965 of having been concerned in the management of premises used for smoking cannabis. This was a farmhouse which she visited infrequently. The prosecutor had conceded that she was unaware that the . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 05 September 2021; Ref: scu.195985

Regina v Stanley: CACD 1965

Lord Parker considered dicta as to the meaning of the expression ‘indecent or obscene’: ‘This court entirely agrees with what Lord Sands there said. The words ‘indecent or obscene’ convey one idea, namely, offending against the recognised standards of propriety, indecent being at the lower end of the scale and obscene at the upper end of the scale’.
Parker CJ, Marshall, Widgery JJ
[1965] 2 QB 327, [1965] 1 All ER 1035
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Connolly v Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 15-Feb-2007
The defendant appealed against her conviction under the Act for having sent indecent or grossly offensive material through the post in the form of pictures of an aborted foetus sent to pharmacists. She denied that they were offensive, or that she . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 07 September 2021; Ref: scu.248837

Dyke v Elliott (The ‘Gauntlet’): PC 9 Feb 1872

A French Ship of War captured in the English Channel a Prussian Ship as prize of war. A prize crew under a French naval Officer was put on board. The prize Ship being driven by stress of weather into the Downs, anchored within British waters, and after lying there two days the French Consul at Dover engaged an English Steam-tug, then lying in the Downs, to tow the captured Ship from British waters to a port of the Captors and under such agreement the Tug towed the prize to Dunkirk Roads. In a suit instituted on behalf of the Crown for condemnation of the Tug for violation of the Foreign Enlistment Act of 1870 (33 and 34 Viet. c. 90), the Judge of the Court of Admiralty held, that no offence had been committed under that Statute, as the Steam-tug was not employed in the military or naval service of France, as declared by the 8th section of the Act, and dismissed the suit, condemning the Crown in costs. On appeal, Held, by the Judicial Committee (reversing such decree), that the engagement by the Owners of the Tug for the express purpose of towing the detached prize crew, its Prisoners and prize Vessel, speedily and safely to French waters, where the Prisoners and prize would be taken charge of by the French authorities, and the prize crew set free, was dispatching a Ship, within the meaning of sect. 8 of the Foreign Enlistment Act of 1870, for the purpose of taking part in the naval service of a belligerent, and condemned the Tug as a forfeiture to the Crown.
Whether a Court of Admiralty has power, under the Foreign Enlistment Act, 1870, to condemn the Crown in costs, Quaere.
James LJ said: ‘No doubt all penal statutes are to be construed strictly, that is to say, the court must see that the thing charged as an offence is within the plain meaning of the words used, and must not strain the words on any notion that there has been a slip, that there has been a casus omissus, that the thing is so clearly within the mischief that it must have been intended to be included and would have been included if thought of. On the other hand, the person charged has a right to say that the thing charged, although within the words, is not within the spirit of the enactment. But where the thing is brought within the words and within the spirit, there a penal enactment is to be construed, like any other instrument, according to the fair common-sense meaning of the language used, and the court is not to find or make any doubt or ambiguity in the language of a penal statute, where such doubt or ambiguity would clearly not be found or made in the same language in any other instrument.’
James LJ
[1872] UKLawRpPC 6, (1871-1873) LR 4 PC 184
Commonlii
Foreign Enlistment Act 1870
England and Wales
Citing:
Appeal from – The Gauntlet (No 2) (Dyke v Elliott) AdCt 2-Aug-1871
During the late war between the North German Confederation and France, a Prussian merchant vessel was captured in the English Channel, as prize of war, by a ship in the service of the government of France. A prize crew, under the command of an . .

Cited by:
Cited – Sweet v Parsley HL 23-Jan-1969
Mens Rea essential element of statutory Offence
The appellant had been convicted under the Act 1965 of having been concerned in the management of premises used for smoking cannabis. This was a farmhouse which she visited infrequently. The prosecutor had conceded that she was unaware that the . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 07 September 2021; Ref: scu.653249

Rex v Wheat; Rex v Stocks: CCA 1921

[1921] 2 KB 119
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Sweet v Parsley HL 23-Jan-1969
Mens Rea essential element of statutory Offence
The appellant had been convicted under the Act 1965 of having been concerned in the management of premises used for smoking cannabis. This was a farmhouse which she visited infrequently. The prosecutor had conceded that she was unaware that the . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 07 September 2021; Ref: scu.653251

Thomas v The King: 17 Dec 1937

High Court of Australia on appeal from the Court of Criminal Appeal of Victoria) The High Court was concerned with a charge of Bigamy. The accused believed that his former marriage was invalid and that he was lawfully entitled to the enter into the ceremony of marriage.
Held: Such a belief constituted a good defence. Dixon J said that ‘The rule accepted was that in the case alike of an offence at common law and, unless expressly or impliedly excluded, by the enactment of a statutory offence, it is a good defence that the accused is not guilty if he had an honest and reasonable belief in the existence of facts which, if they had really existed, would have made his act both legally and morally innocent’
and ‘No doubt, in the application of the principle of interpretation to modern statutes, particularly those dealing with police and social and industrial regulation, a marked tendency has been exhibited to hold that the prima facie rule has been wholly or partly rebutted by indications appearing from the subject matter or character of the legislation.’
Latham CJ, Rich, Starke, Dixon and Evatt JJ
(1937) 59 CLR 279, [1937] HCA 83, [1938] ALR 37
Austlii
Australia
Cited by:
Cited – Sweet v Parsley HL 23-Jan-1969
Mens Rea essential element of statutory Offence
The appellant had been convicted under the Act 1965 of having been concerned in the management of premises used for smoking cannabis. This was a farmhouse which she visited infrequently. The prosecutor had conceded that she was unaware that the . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 07 September 2021; Ref: scu.653250

Pearks, Gunston and Tee Ltd v Ward: KBD 25 Apr 1902

The Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1875, s. 6, enacts that no person shall sell to the prejudice of the purchaser any article of food or any drug which is not of the nature, substance, and quality of the article demanded by such purchaser, under a penalty not exceeding 201. Held, that a joint stock company incorporated under the Companies Acts can be convicted of an offence under s. 6. Held, also, that a sale may be to the prejudice of the purchaser within s. 6, although the purchaser had special knowledge, not derived from information given by the seller, that the article sold was not of the nature, substance, and quality demanded by him. The test is whether the sale would have been to the prejudice of a purchaser who had not that special knowledge.
Channell J said: ‘ . . the Legislature has thought it so important to prevent the particular act from being committed that it absolutely forbids it to be done; and if it is done the offender is liable to a penalty whether he had any mens rea or not, and whether or not he intended to commit a breach of the law.’
Channell J
[1902] 2 KB 1, [1902] UKLawRpKQB 66, (1902) 87 LT 51, (1902) 20 Cox CC 279, (1902) 71 LJKB 656
Commonlii
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Sweet v Parsley HL 23-Jan-1969
Mens Rea essential element of statutory Offence
The appellant had been convicted under the Act 1965 of having been concerned in the management of premises used for smoking cannabis. This was a farmhouse which she visited infrequently. The prosecutor had conceded that she was unaware that the . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 07 September 2021; Ref: scu.653247

AP MP and TP v Switzerland: ECHR 29 Aug 1997

Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Violation of Art. 6-2; Not necessary to examine Art. 6-1; Not necessary to examine Art. 6-3; Costs and expenses award – Convention proceedings
Fines were imposed on the applicants in respect of tax evasion by their late husband and father. The Court reaffirmed the three criteria to be taken into account for the purposes of classification and reiterated that the concept of ‘criminal charge’ within the meaning of Article 6 is an autonomous one. Reference was made to the nature and severity of the penalty risked, and found that the fines were not inconsiderable.
Held: As regards the nature of the offence, tax legislation lays down certain requirements, to which it attached penalties in the event of non-compliance. The penalties, taking the form of fines, are not intended as pecuniary compensation for damages but are essentially punitive and deterrent in nature. As regards the classification of the proceedings under national law, the Court attaches weight to the findings of the highest court in the land, the Federal Court, in its judgment in this case, that the fine in question was ‘penal’ in character and depended on the ‘guilt’ of the offending taxpayer. Having regard to the above Article 6 was applicable nder its criminal head. Inheritance of the guilt of the dead is not compatible with the standards of criminal justice in a society governed by the rule of law.
19958/92, (1997) 26 EHRR 541, [1997] ECHR 50
Worldlii, Bailii
European Convention on Human Rights 6
Human Rights
Cited by:
Cited – Gora and others v Commissioners of Customs and Excise and others CA 11-Apr-2003
gora_custCA2003
The appellants challenged decisions of the VAT and Duties Tribunal after seizure of their goods, and in particular whether the cases had been criminal or civil cases and following Roth, whether the respondent’s policy had been lawful and . .
Cited – Regina v Parole Board ex parte Smith, Regina v Parole Board ex parte West (Conjoined Appeals) HL 27-Jan-2005
Each defendant challenged the way he had been treated on revocation of his parole licence, saying he should have been given the opportunity to make oral representations.
Held: The prisoners’ appeals were allowed.
Lord Bingham stated: . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 06 September 2021; Ref: scu.165525

Highbury Poultry Farm Produce Ltd, Regina (on The Application of) v Crown Prosecution Service: SC 16 Oct 2020

Lord Reed, President, Lord Lloyd-Jones, Lord Kitchin, Lord Hamblen, Lord Burrows
[2020] UKSC 39, [2020] 1 WLR 4309, [2021] Crim LR 299, [2021] 2 All ER 145, [2021] LLR 56, [2020] PTSR 1767
Bailii, Bailii Press Summary, Bailii Issues and Facts
Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015
England and Wales
Citing:
Appeal from – Highbury Poultry Farm Produce Ltd v Crown Prosecution Service Admn 16-Nov-2018
. .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 06 September 2021; Ref: scu.654665

An NHS Trust and Others v Y and Another: SC 30 Jul 2018

The court was asked whether a court order must always be obtained before clinically assisted nutrition and hydration, which is keeping alive a person with a prolonged disorder of consciousness, can be withdrawn, or whether, in some circumstances, this can occur without court involvement. The Official Solicitor appealed from the grant of a declaration.
Held: The appeal failed. It was not established law that a court’s permission was required. The question facing anyone considering treatment of a patient not able to make his or her own decision is not whether it is lawful to withdraw treatment, but rather the legality of giving it. Treatment is lawful only if it is in the patient’s best interests. A doctor carrying out treatment in the reasonable belief that it will be in the patient’s best interests, is entitled to the protection from liability conferred by section 5 of the 2005 Act. Airedale v Bland did not impose such a requirement. Where the situation was not clear than a court application was appropriate.
Lady Hale, President, Lord Mance, Lord Wilson, Lord Hodge, Lady Black
[2018] UKSC 46, (2018) 21 CCL Rep 410, [2019] AC 978, (2018) 163 BMLR 1, [2018] WLR(D) 490, [2018] 3 WLR 751, UKSC 2017/0202
Bailii, Bailii Summary, WLRD, SC, SC Summary, SC Summary Video, SC 2018 Feb 26 am Video, SC 2018 Feb 26 pm Video, SC 2018 Feb 27 am Video
Mental Capacity Act 2005 42(1), European Convention on Human Rights
England and Wales
Citing:
Appeal from – NHS Trust v Y and Another QBD 13-Nov-2017
Claim for a declaration under CPR Part 8 that it is not mandatory to bring before the Court the withdrawal of Clinically Assisted Nutrition and Hydration (‘CANH’) from a patient who has a prolonged disorder of consciousness in circumstances where . .
Cited – In re F (Mental Patient: Sterilisation) HL 4-May-1989
Where a patient lacks capacity, there is the power to provide him with whatever treatment or care is necessary in his own best interests. Medical treatment can be undertaken in an emergency even if, through a lack of capacity, no consent had been . .
Cited – Airedale NHS Trust v Bland HL 4-Feb-1993
Procedures on Withdrawal of Life Support Treatment
The patient had been severely injured in the Hillsborough disaster, and had come to be in a persistent vegetative state (PVS). The doctors sought permission to withdraw medical treatment. The Official Solicitor appealed against an order of the Court . .
Cited – Glass v The United Kingdom ECHR 9-Mar-2004
The applicant’s adult son was disabled. There was a disagreement with the hospital about his care. The hospital considered that to alleviate his distress, he should not be resuscitated. The family wanted to take him home, fearing euthanasia. The . .
Cited – Burke, Regina (on the Application of) v General Medical Council and others (Official Solicitor and others intervening) CA 28-Jul-2005
The claimant suffered a congenital degenerative brain condition inevitably resulting in a future need to receive nutrition and hydration by artificial means. He was concerned that a decision might be taken by medical practitioners responsible for . .
Cited – Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v James SC 30-Oct-2013
The hospital where a gravely ill man had been treated had asked for a declaration that it would be in his best interests to withhold certain life-sustaining treatments from him. When can it be in the best interests of a living patient to withhold . .
Cited – Director of Legal Aid Casework and Others v Briggs CA 31-Jul-2017
Orse In re Briggs (Incapacitated Person) . .
Cited – SCC v MSA and Another CoP 20-Sep-2017
Orse In re M (Incapacitated Person: Withdrawal of Treatment)
The court was concerned with the withdrawal of CANH from a woman who was suffering from Huntington’s disease and was in a minimally conscious state. Her family, her clinicians, and a . .
Cited – W v M S and Others CoP 28-Sep-2011
Orse – In re M (Adult Patient) (Minimally Conscious State: Withdrawal of Treatment)
The case concerned a woman in a minimally conscious state, Baker J expressed the view that ‘all decisions about the proposed withholding or withdrawal of ANH . .
Cited – LB (Plastics) Ltd v Swish Products Ltd ChD 1979
Whitford J said: ‘The cases since the Act of 1911 have, however, I think quite plainly established that no originality of thought is needed to sustain a claim to copyright. Under copyright ideas are not protected, only the skill and labour needed to . .
Cited – In re Briggs (Incapacitated Person) 2018
. .

Cited by:
Cited – N v ACCG and Others SC 22-Mar-2017
The local authority and a young man’s parents disputed his continued care, he having substantial incapacities. The parents wanted assistance caring for him on visits home. The LA declined to fund that support. The LA now argued that the CoP had not . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 05 September 2021; Ref: scu.620170

Bayliss, Regina (on the Application of) v Director of Public Prosecutions: Admn 6 Feb 2003

The defendant was arrested in Tescos. On being searched he was found to have a lock knife. He had placed it in his belt and forgotten about it. He appealed conviction saying it had not been shown that he knew he still had the knife.
Held: Forgetfulness did not break the possession so as to excuse it. That he may have had a good reason to have the knife with him on one day, and not to have a good reason on the day after was a decision by the justices which they were entitld to find.
[2003] EWHC 245 (Admin)
Bailii
Criminal Justice Act 1988 139(1)
England and Wales
Citing:
Applied – McCalla, Regina v CACD 1988
A cosh had been found in the glove compartment of the appellant’s car. He said he had picked it up a month earlier, had put it away and had forgotten about it.
Held: The court reviewed the authorities on what constituted possession. Once . .
Cited – Cugullere, Regina v 1961
The defendant had been driving a motor-van when he was stopped by the police. In the back of the van there were found three pickaxe handles bound with adhesive tape. His defence was that he did not know that the implements were in the back of his . .
Cited – Buswell, Regina v CACD 1972
The defendant was accused of possession of drugs. The drugs in question had been medically prescribed by the defendant’s doctor. After he had taken them home he genuinely thought that they had been accidentally destroyed by his mother when washing . .
Cited – Cugullere, Regina v 1961
The defendant had been driving a motor-van when he was stopped by the police. In the back of the van there were found three pickaxe handles bound with adhesive tape. His defence was that he did not know that the implements were in the back of his . .
Cited – Regina v Martindale CACD 1986
Possession does not depend upon the alleged possessor’s powers of memory. Nor does possession come and go as memory revives or fails. ‘In the judgment of this court [that the argument that lack of memory or knowledge negatives possession is . .
Cited – Regina v Glidewell CACD 4-May-1999
Forgetfulness might be relevant as a defence on a charge of possessing an offensive weapon. A taxi driver discovered weapons left by a passenger, but forgot having placed them in a glove compartment.
Held: The Appeal was allowed.
Cited – Director of Public Prosecutions v Gregson QBD 23-Sep-1992
A knife fell from the defendant’s jeans during the course of a police search. He claimed to have forgotten about it.
Held: It is important to concentrate on the time in respect of which the defendant is charged. Six days earlier he had the . .
Cited – Regina v Hargreaves CACD 30-Jul-1999
A cyclist stopped by the police had a knife in an inside pocket. He claimed to have taken it from home and then forgotten about it. He was advised that for the purposes of the section neither forgetfulness nor the fact that he was transporting the . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 01 September 2021; Ref: scu.184952

McWhirter v Platten: QBD 1970

An order was made for the inspection of uncounted ballot papers before the institution of a prosecution under the Act, on the ground that the offenders, and the nature of offences could not be ascertained until the ballot papers had been inspected.
[1970] 1 QB 508
Representation of the People Act 1983
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Gough v Local Sunday Newspapers (North) Ltd and Another CA 12-Mar-2003
The appellant claimed he had been libelled, when he was called incompetent by the respondent in the way he dealt with finding an uncounted bundle of votes after an election. He appealed a finding of justification. The finding was based upon an . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 01 September 2021; Ref: scu.179771

Parkin v Norman: QBD 1983

The court had to construe the meaning of ‘likely’ in the section reading: ‘Any person who in any public place . . uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour . . with intent to provoke a breach of the peace or whereby a breach of the peace is likely to be occasioned, shall be guilty of an offence.’ Counsel submitted that ‘likely’ meant ‘probably’.
Held: ‘Our task is to construe the words of section 5 in the light of the Act as a whole, including its long title, to which reference can properly be made if the words of the section are ambiguous.’ and ‘It is to be noted that the words of the statute are: ‘whereby a breach of the peace is likely to be occasioned’ and not ‘whereby a breach of the peace is liable to be occasioned’. This is a penal measure and the courts must take care to see that the former expression is not treated as if it were the latter.’
[1983] QB 92, [1982] 3 WLR 523, [1982] 2 All ER 583
Public Order Act 1936 5
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Wallis v Bristol Water Plc Admn 10-Dec-2009
The farmer appealed against a conviction uder the 1999 Regulations saying that the fitting to his water supply pipework in a dairy udder wash were not likely to allow backwash so as to risk contamination of the respondent’s water supply. He said . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 30 August 2021; Ref: scu.518784

Rex v Taverner: 1616

The court discussed the offence of killing in a duel. It expounded the heinousness of the offence with copious reference to the ancients and to Holy Scripture. Killing in cold blood was the sin of Cain
Coke CJ and Croke J
(1616) 3 Bulstr 171
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Regina v Brown (Anthony); Regina v Lucas; etc HL 11-Mar-1993
The appellants had been convicted of assault, after having engaged in consensual acts of sado-masochism in which they inflicted varying degreees of physical self harm. They had pleaded guilty after a ruling that the prosecution had not needed to . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 29 August 2021; Ref: scu.181968

Rex v Mary Conner: 4 Mar 1835

Where a mother being angry with one of her children, took up a small piece of iron used as a poker, and on his running to the door of the room, which was open, threw it after him, and hit another child who happened to be entering the room at the moment, in consequence of which he died – it was held to be manslaughter, although it appeared that the mother had no intention of hitting the child with whom she was angry, and only intended to frighten him.
[1835] EngR 563, (1835) 7 Car and P 438, (1835) 173 ER 194
Commonlii
England and Wales

Updated: 28 August 2021; Ref: scu.316071