Arson module Flashcards
CA 1961
267(1)(a)
+ penalty
Arson- danger to life.
14 years
Arson (danger to life) section
267(1)(a)
267(1)(a) elements
-Intentionally or recklessly
-Damages by fire or by means of explosive
-Any property
-Knowing ir ought to know, that danger to life is likely to ensue
Def
Intent
A deliberate act to get a specifc result. The act must be a deliberate act and more than accidental or involuntary.
Case law
Intent
R v Collister: Circumstantial evidence from which an offenders intent may be inferred are:
- words or actions before, during or after the event
- The circumstances surrounding the event
- The nature of the act itself
Def
Recklessley
Consciously or deliberately taking an unjustified risk.
Case law
Recklessness (1)
Cameron v R
Recklessness is established if:
The defendant recognised that there was a real possibility that his/her actions would bring about the prescribed result and/or that the proscribed circumstances existed and having regard to that risk those actions were unreasonable.
Case law
Recklessness (2)
R v Tipple
Knowing the relevant risk, the offender makes a deliberate decision to run the risk.
Def
Fire
A process of combustion, a chemical reaction between oxygen and fuel triggered by heat - all three must be present.
Oxygen + fuel + heat
It is not necessary that something is set alight and burnt - melting, blistering of paint or significant smoke damage is sufficient.
Def and case law
Damages by fire
Although fire damage will often involve burning or charring, it is not necessary that the property is actually set alight; melting, blistering of paint or significant smoke damage may be sufficient.
R v Archer
Case law
R v Archer
Damage includes permanent or temporary physical damage and/or permanent or temporary impairment of its use or value.
Proving recklessness
- That the defendant consciously and deliberately ran a risk (subjective)
- The the risk was one that was unreasonable to take in the circumstances as they were known to the defendant (obj. - would a reasonable person have taken the risk)
Def
Property
Section 2 CA 1961
Property includes any real or personal property and any estate or interest in any real or personal property, money, electricity, and any debt and anything in action, and any other right or interest.
Def
Life
Life in this context means human life, and the danger must be to the life of someone other than the defendant.
Def
Explosive
Sec 2 Arms Act 1981
Any substance or mixture or combination of substances which in its normal state is capable either of decomposition at such a rapid rate as to result in an explosion or of producing a pyrotechnic effect.
Includes gun powder, gelignite, detonators
Does not include: firearms, fireworks
Def
Knows
Simester and Brookbanks: Knowing meants “knowing or correctly believing”. The defendant may believe something wrongly but they cannot know something that is false.
Knows
Degree of knowledge
- Subjective - what was the defendant thinking at the time? Did the defendant know that human life was likely to be endangered by their actions?
- Objective - (if insufficient evidence they were conscious of the risk) what would a reasonable person have thought in the same circumstances? Would a reasonable person have recognised the risk?
Def
Claim of right
Section 2 CA 1961
In relation to any act means a belief at the time of the act in a proprietary or possessory right in property to which the offence is alleged to have been committed, although that belief may be based on ignorance or mistake of fact or of any matter of law other than the enactment against which the offence is alleged to have been committed.
COR
Nature of belief
- Belief in a proprietary or possessory right. Element of ownership or right to take or retain possession. Includes intangible property.
- Belief must be about rights to the property in question (involved in act). Taking or dealing with other property
Def
Immovable property
Property currently fixed in place and unable to be moved, even though it may be possible to make it moveable.
(relates to buildings, land and things growing on land)
Def
Vehicle
S2 LTA 1998
A contrivance equipped with wheels, tracks, or runners on which it can move AND includes a hovercraft, skateboard, skates and roller skates.
DNI - wheelchair, pram, trundler, lawnmower.
Def
Ship
S2 CA 1961
Any description of vessel used in navigation, however propelled.
Def
Aircraft
S2 Civil Aviation Act 1990
A machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air
Case law
Interest
R v Wilson
Tenancy constitutes an interest in property
Wilson was a meth cook whose CLAN lab exploded and burnt down his rental
Def
Obtain
S217 CA 1961
Obtain, in relation to any person, means obtain or retain for himself or herself or for any other person.
Def
Benefit
S267 CA 1961
Benefit means any benefit, pecuniary advantage, privilege, property, service or valuable consideration.
Case law
Cause loss
R v Morley
Loss is assessed by the extent to which the complainant’s position prior to the offence has been diminished or impaired.
Def
Person
S2 CA 1961
Includes not only real people but companies and other organisations.
Section and penalty
Attempted Arson
268 CA 1961
10 years
To be guilty of an attempt a person must:
- Intend to commit the offence
- Take a real and substantial step towards achieving that aim
