Actus Reus (guilty act)

Question 1

Omissions

Answer 1

General rule: no criminal liability for omission (stranger is under no obligation to save a child drowning)
Exceptions:
1. Statutory offences: e.g. parent duty of care under Children act
2. Common law:
- Duty arising out of contract: doctors/nursers, emergency services, lifeguards
- Special relationships: family ties : caring for others.
- voluntary assumption of duty of care
- Creation of a dangerous situation, under duty to take reasonable steps to prevent harm from occurring

Question 2

Causation

Answer 2

Causation must be proved as part of actus reus for result crime
1. Factual causation: but for D’s conduct, would the consequences have occurred?
2. Legal causation: D’s conduct must be substantial and operating cause of a consequence.

Question 3

Legal causation rules

Answer 3

1. consequence must be attributable to a culpable act or omission
2. culpable act must be more than minimal cause of consequence
3. culpable act need not be the sole cause
4. the accused must take victim as they find them (even if they have special conditions)
5. Chain of causation must not be broken

Question 4

How victims acts can break a chain of causation ?

Answer 4

Victim acts: after initial acts/omission of accused but before consequences occurs, and intervention is free, deliberate and informed (voluntary) (even so rarely applied), except: escape and suicide
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Question 5

How can victim escape break chain of causation?

Answer 5

1. escape :
   - whether escape is within range of reasonable responses expected from a victim;
   - whether victim response is proportionate to the threat
   - whether it is so daft as to be a voluntary act
   - whether victim is acting in the agony of the moment without time for thought or deliberation

Question 6

How a victim suicide be breaking a chain of causation?

Answer 6

Circumstances should be taken into account to determine whether voluntary euthanasia/suicide fell within range of reasonable responses that might have been expected from a victim in their situation

Question 7

Medical negligence

Answer 7

1. If negligent medical treatment is immediate cause of victims death, it should not break the chain of causation unless it is so independent of D’s actions and so potent in causing death that make the contribution by the D acts is insignificant.
2. Only in extraordinary and unusual case that it can break chain of causation

Question 8

Third party intervention

Answer 8

1. D is not liable if a third party intervening act is voluntary (free, deliberate and informed) or is not reasonably foreseeable

Question 9

Other intervening events

Answer 9

Act of Gods and other events may break the chain if it is not reasonably foreseeable.