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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 105 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 U.K. Law
| Which article refers to the right to freedom of speech in the Human Rights Act 1998? | U.K. Criminal Law
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Article 10. Article 10 refers to the right to freedom of speech, but there are limitations. These are discrimination, contempt of court, national security, breach of the deformation law, and breach of the obscenity law. Article 2 is the right to life, article 11 is the right to freedom of association and article 5 is the right to liberty.
| Which section of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act deals with ABH? | U.K. Criminal Law
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Section 47. Section 47 deals with ABH (actual bodily harm) which can result in 5 years in prison if the defendant is found guilty. Section 20 deals with wounding without intent and Section 18 deals with wounding with intent.
Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. The Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act (1861) is old law, but good law. Wounding with intent is a serious crime and the defendant would have to go to crown court and may get a life sentence.
| Which member of the magistrates court is legally qualified and is paid? | U.K. Criminal Law
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stipendiary magistrate. A judge is legally qualified and paid but he or she does not work in a magistrates court. A lay magistrate is not paid or qualified and must sit on a bench as one of three, compared to a stipendiary magistrate who can sit on their own.
the guilty mind. In Latin, "mens rea" means "guilty mind" and it is used in law to explain the intent that the criminal had when they committed the crime. For example, the mens rea for theft is the intention to permanently deprive and dishonestly appropriate an item.
Theft Act 1968. Theft can be found under section 1 of the Theft Act 1968, Burglary under section 9 and robbery under section 8. There is a Theft Act 1978 but this does not include these particular crimes. The main section a student learns about in the Theft Act 1978 is section 3- making off without payment.
Magistrates Court. Summary offences, such as common assault, are dealt with in the magistrates court. The magistrates only have limited powers however, and it is important to remember that most criminal cases begin in a magistrates court, but are passed onto the crown court if they are serious crimes (e.g. rape/ manslaughter).
| If a person cannot be shown to have acted dishonestly, is he/she guilty of Theft? | A 'Steal' of a Quiz
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No. All elements of the offence have to be proved, dishonesty being one of them.
| Robbery is triable only on indictment at the Crown Court. What is the maximum term of imprisonment that can be imposed? | A 'Steal' of a Quiz
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Life imprisonment. Life sentences are rare and usually imposed when fireams are used or the offence is severe. Each case being judged accordingly.
| Robbery is covered by Section 8 of the act. Robbery is defined as follows: ' A person is guilty of robbery if he steals and immediately before or at the time of doing so, and in order to do so, he uses force on any person or puts or seeks to put any person in fear of being then and there subjected to force. ' Is a person guilty of this offence if he steals from a person and used force only to effect his escape? | A 'Steal' of a Quiz
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No. The force must be used immediately before, or at the time of stealing.
| What is the maximum term of imprisonment that an be imposed by a court ( on indictment at Crown Court ) for Handling Stolen Goods? | A 'Steal' of a Quiz
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14 years. Section 22 deals wth Handling Stolen Goods. On indictment the maximum term is 14 years.
No. Electricity is not classed as property. A specific offence was created to cater for its dishonest use or waste. The offence is Abstracting electricity under section 13 of the Act, 'A person who dishonestly uses without due authority, or dishonestly causes to be wasted or diverted, any electricity shall be guilty of an offence'.
| Section 10 of the Theft Act 1968, is the offence of Aggravated Burglary. A person commits this offence, if he has what, with him, at the time of committing the offence? | A 'Steal' of a Quiz
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Firearm, imitation firearm, any weapon of offence, any explosive. The definition of Aggravated Burglary is ' A person is guilty of aggravated burglary if he commits any burglary and at the time has with him any firearm, imitation firearm, or any weapon of offence, or any explosive.
| With regard to property in accordance with the Theft Act 1968, is a human body regarded as property? | A 'Steal' of a Quiz
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No. In the stated case of Doodeward v Spence, 1907, 6 CLR 406 human bodies are not property. This case was decided in New South Wales, Australia,( it would appear that this is an accepted precedent in the English Courts) although a driver has been convicted of stealing a specimen of his own urine ( R v Welsh (1974) RTR 478) This principle was upheld in R v Kelly, R v Lindsay, The Times, 15th May 1998 after the conviction of two people involved in the theft of body parts from the Royal College of Surgeons. The Court ruled the conviction for theft, as the amputation, dissection and preservation which the body parts had undergone made them 'property' for the purposes of the Act. The common law rule was that there was no property in a corpse and any change to that rule would have to be made by parliament.
| Section 1 of the Theft Act 1968, states that a person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to whom? | A 'Steal' of a Quiz
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another. The full definition of Section 1 of the Theft Act states ' A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belongng to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it; and 'thief' and 'steal' shall be construed accordingly
| In English law, what is the maximum sentence that can be imposed by a court for manslaughter? | A 'Killer' of a Quiz
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Life imprisonment. Unlike murder which is a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment, this is not applicable to manslaughter. Defendants can be imprisoned for any length of time, and on occasion receive probation orders. The sentence in each case differing.
| In English law, with regard to the offence of manslaughter, there must be an 'unlawful act'. Can this act include acts towards property as opposed to a person? | A 'Killer' of a Quiz
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Yes. Manslaughter, like murder, is the unlawful killing of another human being, but it does not require the intention to kill or to cause grievous bodily harm.
It is where the defendant kills another by an unlawful act which was likely to cause bodily harm or kills another by gross negligence.
The act need not be directed or aimed at anybody and can include acts towards property, for example setting fire to a house ( R v Goodfellow (1986) 83 Cr App R 23)
Such acts might include dropping a paving stone off a bridge into the path of a train. ( R v Newbury (1977) AC 500 )
| In English law, what is the maximum term of imprisonment that a court can impose for aiding another to commit suicide, (Section 2 of the Suicide Act 1961)? | A 'Killer' of a Quiz
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14 years. The most topical aspect of this offence, is 'mercy killings'.
| In English law, can a British citizen, who has committed a murder anywhere else in the world, be tried for the offence in England? | A 'Killer' of a Quiz
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Yes. Section 9 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 states, 'Where any murder or manslaughter shall be committed on land out of the United Kingdom, whether within the Queen's dominions or without, and whether the person killed were a subject of Her Majesty or not, every offence committed by any subject of Her Majesty in respect of any such case, whether the same shall amount to the offence of murder or of manslaughter, may be dealt with, inquired of, tried, determined, and punished in The United Kingdom Provided, that nothing herein contained shall prevent any person from being tried in any place out of England or Ireland for any murder or manslaughter committed out of the United Kingdom in the same manner as such person might have been tried before the passing of this Act'
Section 10 states 'Where any person being [criminally] stricken, poisoned, or otherwise hurt upon the sea, or at any place out of England or Ireland, shall die of such stroke, poisoning, or hurt in England or Ireland, or, being [criminally] stricken, poisoned, or otherwise hurt in any place in England or Ireland, shall die of such stroke, poisoning, or hurt upon the sea, or at any place out of England or Ireland, every offence committed in respect of any such case, whether the same shall amount to the offence of murder or of manslaughter, may be tried in England'
| In English law, who can commit the offence of Infanticide, under Section 1 of the Infanticide Act 1938? | A 'Killer' of a Quiz
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The mother of the child. This offence can only be committed by a mother.
The child has to be under 12 months of age and it relates to mothers who are suffering the effects of post natal depression.
| In English law can a person be convicted of murder if he was suffering an 'abnormality of mind' ? | A 'Killer' of a Quiz
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No. The Homicide Act 1957, Section 2 states 'Where a person kills or is party to the killing of another, he shall not be convicted of murder if he was suffering such abnormality of mind (whether arising from a condition of arrested or retarded development of mind or any inherent causes or induced by disease or injury) as substantially impaired his mental responsibility for his acts, omissions in doing or being a party to the killing'.
| The definition of murder under English law is, " Murder is committed when a person unlawfully kills another human being under the Queen's Peace, with ____________"? | A 'Killer' of a Quiz
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Malice aforethought. Murder is an offence at Common Law.
'Unlawful killing', means actively causing the death of another without justification. It can include occasions where someone fails to act after creating a situation of danger. For example R-v Miller (1983) 2 AC 161, where the defendant accidentally started a fire in a house, and then moved to another room, taking no action to rectify the danger he had created.
'Another human being' includes a baby who has been born alive and has an existence independent of its mother.
'Under the Queen's Peace', this excludes deaths caused in legitimate warfare.
| In English law, if a person who has been subjected to a serious assault dies a year and twenty days after being assaulted, can the person allegedly responsible for the assault still be tried for murder or manslaughter? | A 'Killer' of a Quiz
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Yes. A ruling was that a person had to die within 'a year and a day'. Since the 'Law and Reform (year and a day rule) Act 1996, there is now no need to show that a victim died within a year and a day of the defendant's actions.
If the victim however dies more than 3 years after being injured, the consent of the Attorney General is required to bring a prosecution.
Similar consent is also required if the defendant has been found guilty of a lesser charge, under circumstances connected with the death.
| What is the only sentence that can be imposed by an English Court of law for an offence of murder? | A 'Killer' of a Quiz
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Life imprisonment. A conviction for murder carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment, or in the case of a child or young person under 18 years of age, they are detained at ' Her Majesty's pleasure', (Children and Young Persons' Act 1933).
It is a well known fact, that 'life' does not always mean 'life'. Judges however do make recommendations as to what sentence a convicted person should serve. With regard to 'serial killers' for example, life imprisonment means life.
| In English law, is the consent of the DPP (Director of Prosecutions), required for offences of Racial Hatred under the Public Order Act 1986? | A 'Riot' of a Quiz
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No. The consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions is not required for these offences.
| In English law, Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 states,' A person is guilty of an offence if he:
(a) uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour, or
(b) displays any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting, within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby.
What is the meaning of disorderly in this section? | A 'Riot' of a Quiz
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The Act does not define what is disorderly. The act does not define what is disorderly, and therefore it ought be given its everyday meaning. It need not be shown that the disorderly behaviour is itself threatening, abusive or insulting, not that it brought any feelings of apprehension in the person to whom it was directed. (Chambers v DPP (1995) Crim LR 896)
To terrify. The test in respect of the offence of Affray is whether or not the defendant's conduct would have caused a hypothetical person (not the actual person(s) present) to fear for his/her personal safety.( R v Sanchez (1996) 160 JP 321)
| In English Law, the offence of Affray (under Section 3 of the Public Order Act 1986) is,' A person is guilty of Affray if a person uses or threatens unlawful violence towards another and the person's conduct is such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness present at the scene to fear for his ________________'? | A 'Riot' of a Quiz
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Personal safety. The definition of Affray is, '1. A person is guilty of Affray if a person uses or threatens unlawful violence towards another and the person's conduct is such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness present at the scene to fear for his personal safety.
2. Where two or more persons use or threaten the unlawful violence, it is the conduct of them taken together that must be considered for the purpose of subsection (1)
3. For the purposes of this section a threat can not be made by the use of words alone.
4. No person of reasonable firmness need actually be, or be likely to be, present at the scene.
5. Affray may be committed in private as well as in public places'.
| In English law, with regard to the offence of Violent Disorder, how many persons must be present together, for it to amount to this offence? | A 'Riot' of a Quiz
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3. The definition of Violent Disorder is, '1) Where 3 or more persons who are present together use or threaten unlawful violence and the conduct of them (taken together) is such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness present at the scene to fear for their personal safety, each of the persons using or threatening unlawful violence is guilty of violent disorder.
2) It is immaterial whether or not the 3 or more use or threaten unlawful violence simultaneously.
3) No person of reasonable firmness need actually be, or be likely to be, present at the scene.
4) Violent disorder may be committed in private as well as in public places'.
If it not proved that there were 3 or more persons threatening or using violence, then the court should acquit each defendant (R v McGuigan (1991) Crim LR 719).
| In English law, what is the maximum term of imprisonment for the offence of Riot? | A 'Riot' of a Quiz
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10 years. This offence can only be tried at the Crown court.
| In English law, what is the minimum number of persons required, who are present together, for the offence of Riot? | A 'Riot' of a Quiz
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12. The definition of Riot is, 'The Public Order Act 1986 s.1' states:
1) Where twelve or more persons who are present together use or threaten unlawful violence for a common purpose and the conduct of them (taken together) is such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness present at the scene to fear for his personal safety, each of the persons using unlawful violence for the common purpose is guilty of riot.
2) It is immaterial whether or not the twelve or more use or threaten unlawful violence simultaneously.
3) The common purpose may be inferred from conduct.
4) No person of reasonable firmness need actually be, or be likely to be, present at the scene.
5) Riot may be committed in private as well as in public places.
To charge someone with this offence requires the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
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