Defences: Consent Flashcards
What is consent?
In certain situations, the victim can give permission to an act that would otherwise amount to an offence against a person
A complete defence
Common law defence
When in consent available?
Assault and Battery
S.47 ABH
S.20 if within exceptions
When is consent not available?
Murder (Pretty)
S.18 OAPA 1861 (Leach)
What is valid consent?
Victim has to have legal capacity
Who can’t give valid consent?
Underage
Mental health issues/learning difficulties
Intoxicated
What happened in Burrell v Harmer?
Boys were underage so couldn’t give valid consent
What is true consent?
Fraud can negate consent if the victim doesn’t know the identity or nature and quality of the defendant’s act
What happened in Tabassum?
Doctor lied about his identity so true consent wasn’t given
What happened in Dica?
Women were unaware of the defendant’s true nature and quality so defendant was guilty of S.20
Which case established the exceptions?
Brown
What exceptions did Brown establish?
Tattooing and branding
Sexual activity
Horseplay
Sports
What are the rules with contact sports as an exception?
Consent is only valid for sports if it is played within the rules of the game
E.g., with boxing, must be within the Queensbury rules
What happened in AG Ref No.6?
Consent not valid as fight wasn’t held under the Queensbury rules
What are rules with tattooing and branding as an exception?
Law Lords in Brown stated that consent is a valid defence to tattooing
What happened in Wilson?
Extendend the meaning of tattooing to include branding
What does the area of sexual activity fall under?
Inadvertent violence
Sado-masochistic sexual activity
What is inadvertent violence?
Accidental injuries during sexual activity is allowed (Slingsby)
What is sado-masochistic sexual activity?
Law doesn’t tolerate deliberate infliction of injury for sexual gratification
Consent is not a valid defence
What happened in Brown?
Not in the public’s interest for the defendant to cause bodily harm for no reason
What happened in R v Lock?
Re - enacted scene from fifty shades of grey, jury accepted it was consensual behaviour
What are the rules on horseplay as an exception?
Consent is valid for rough and undisciplined horseplay e.g., in the playground
What happened in Jones?
Kid injured when D threw him in air and failed to catch him, was considered horseplay
What is Euthanasia?
Not an exception
A person can’t consent to their own death
Someone who kills a terminally ill person is guilty or murder
Someone who helps a terminally ill person die is guilty of assissted suicide (Pretty)
