Elements Defined

Question 1

INTENTIONALLY

Answer 1

There must be an intention to commit a deliberate act to produce a specific result.

R v Collister- intent can be inferred from the circumstances

Circumstantial evidence can include:
1. Offenders actions before, during, and after the event
2. The surrounding circumstances
3. The act itself.

Question 2

RECKLESSLY

Answer 2

Recklessness is the: “Consciously and deliberately taking an unjustified risk”

Cameron v R:
Recklessness is established if:
(a) the defendant recognised that there was a real possibility that their actions would bring proscribed result/proscribed circumstances existed
AND
(b) having regard to that risk those actions were unreasonable (ie no social utility)

Question 3

DAMAGES

Answer 3

It is not necessary that the property is actually set alight, melting blistering of paint, significant smoke damage…

R v Archer
…permanent or temporary physical harm or permanent or temporary impairment of its use or value

Question 4

FIRE

Answer 4

Fire is the result of combustion, a chemical reaction between fuel and oxygen, triggered by heat

Question 5

EXPLOSIVE

Answer 5

S2 Arms Act

Any substance or mixture or combination of substances which in its normal state is capable of either decomposition at such a rapid rate as to result in an explosion…

Question 6

ANY PROPERTY

Answer 6

S2 crimes act

Property includes any real and personal property…

NB: For the purpose of arson, only tangible property is capable of being damaged directly by fire, however intangible property (info on a computer) may be damaged indirectly

Question 7

KNOWS OR OUGHT TO KNOW

Answer 7

Knowing means “knowing or correctly believing” (you cannot know something that is false)

Subjective test: what was the defendant thinking at the time?

Objective test: what would a reasonable person have thought in the same circumstances?

Question 8

DANGER TO LIFE

Answer 8

“Life” in this context means human life
(Someone other than the defendant)

Question 9

WITHOUT CLAIM OF RIGHT

Answer 9

No belief (at the time of the act) in a proprietary or possessory right to the property in which the offence is alleged

1. Belief must relate to an element of ownership of the property
2. Relate to the property in question,
3. Be held at the time
4. Actually held by the defendant

Question 10

IMMOVABLE PROPERTY

Answer 10

Immovable property is currently fixed in place and unable to be moved. Ie buildings, land, things growing on land.

Question 11

VEHICLE

Answer 11

A contrivance equipped with wheels, tracks… on which it moves or is moved…

Question 12

HAS NO INTEREST

Answer 12

R v Wilson
Tenancy of a property constitutes an interest in it

Question 13

TO OBTAIN ANY BENEFIT

Answer 13

Obtain = “To obtain or retain for himself or for any other”

Benefit = “any benefit, pecuniary advantage, privilege, property, service, or valuable consideration”

Question 14

CAUSE LOSS

Answer 14

In most cases, financial detriment

R v Morley
Loss is assessed by the extent to which the complainants position prior to the offence has been diminished or impaired

NB it is not necessary that the victims loss cause benefit to the offender

Question 15

…Loss to ANY PERSON

Answer 15

This is the wider definition which includes companies and organisations