Defences: Consent

Question 1

What is consent?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

When in consent available?

Answer 2

Assault and Battery
S.47 ABH
S.20 if within exceptions

Question 3

When is consent not available?

Answer 3

Murder (Pretty)
S.18 OAPA 1861 (Leach)

Question 4

What is valid consent?

Answer 4

Victim has to have legal capacity

Question 5

Who can’t give valid consent?

Answer 5

Underage
Mental health issues/learning difficulties
Intoxicated

Question 6

What happened in Burrell v Harmer?

Answer 6

Boys were underage so couldn’t give valid consent

Question 7

What is true consent?

Answer 7

Fraud can negate consent if the victim doesn’t know the identity or nature and quality of the defendant’s act

Question 8

What happened in Tabassum?

Answer 8

Doctor lied about his identity so true consent wasn’t given

Question 9

What happened in Dica?

Answer 9

Women were unaware of the defendant’s true nature and quality so defendant was guilty of S.20

Question 10

Which case established the exceptions?

Answer 10

Brown

Question 11

What exceptions did Brown establish?

Answer 11

Tattooing and branding
Sexual activity
Horseplay
Sports

Question 12

What are the rules with contact sports as an exception?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

What happened in AG Ref No.6?

Answer 13

Consent not valid as fight wasn’t held under the Queensbury rules

Question 14

What are rules with tattooing and branding as an exception?

Answer 14

Law Lords in Brown stated that consent is a valid defence to tattooing

Question 15

What happened in Wilson?

Answer 15

Extendend the meaning of tattooing to include branding

Question 16

What does the area of sexual activity fall under?

Answer 16

Inadvertent violence
Sado-masochistic sexual activity

Question 17

What is inadvertent violence?

Answer 17

Accidental injuries during sexual activity is allowed (Slingsby)

Question 18

What is sado-masochistic sexual activity?

Answer 18

Law doesn’t tolerate deliberate infliction of injury for sexual gratification
Consent is not a valid defence

Question 19

What happened in Brown?

Answer 19

Not in the public’s interest for the defendant to cause bodily harm for no reason

Question 20

What happened in R v Lock?

Answer 20

Re - enacted scene from fifty shades of grey, jury accepted it was consensual behaviour

Question 21

What are the rules on horseplay as an exception?

Answer 21

Consent is valid for rough and undisciplined horseplay e.g., in the playground

Question 22

What happened in Jones?

Answer 22

Kid injured when D threw him in air and failed to catch him, was considered horseplay

Question 23

What is Euthanasia?

Answer 23

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)