How can an omission form the actus reus of a crime?

A failure to act can constitute actus reus where the defendant was under a legal duty to act

What is meant by a 'state of affairs' as a form of actus reus?

A situation where the defendant's circumstances or condition constitute the prohibited element, rather than any specific act or omission

Why cannot an involuntary act form the basis of criminal liability?

For an act to constitute actus reus, it must be voluntary; involuntary acts lack the element of conscious control required for criminal responsibility

AQA A-Level Law 7162

The Nature of Law

Topic overview Distributive and Corrective Justice Theories of Justice: Rawls, Nozick and Marx What Law Does in Society How Law and Morality Are Enforced Moral Diversity in a Pluralist Society The Hart-Devlin Debate Procedural Justice and Utilitarianism The Rule of Law: Core Requirements Law, Rights and the Resolution of Disputes Fault and Strict Liability Where Law and Morality Overlap Wolfenden and R v Brown Aristotle on Justice Justice through Civil and Criminal Law Criminal and civil law compared Custom, statute and common law as sources Equality, Fairness and Clarity before the Law

The European Union and English Law

Topic overview The Institutions of the European Union Treaties, Regulations and Directives Supremacy and Direct Effect EU Law, Sovereignty and Preliminary References

Legal Personnel and the Judiciary

Topic overview Barristers and Solicitors The Role of Judges in Civil and Criminal Trials Rights of Audience and Legal Documentation The Judges and Their Courts Judicial Independence and Appointments

Access to Justice and Funding

Topic overview Advice Services and Private Funding Advice Agencies and Conditional Fee Agreements Criminal and Civil Legal Aid

Parliamentary Law Making

Topic overview Green Papers, White Papers and Royal Assent Parliamentary Supremacy and Its Limits Influences on Parliament

Delegated Legislation

Topic overview Delegated Legislation and Orders in Council Parliamentary Control of Delegated Legislation Advantages and Disadvantages of Delegated Legislation

Statutory Interpretation

Topic overview The Literal and Golden Rules The Mischief Rule and the Purposive Approach Intrinsic and Extrinsic Aids The Purposive Approach: Evaluation and European Influence Evaluating the Mischief Rule

Judicial Precedent

Topic overview Precedent and the Court Hierarchy Overruling, Distinguishing and Persuasive Precedent Advantages and Disadvantages of Precedent

Law Reform

Topic overview The Law Commission Codification and Consolidation The Law Commission's Reform Process

The Civil Courts and Dispute Resolution

Topic overview The Civil Courts and Their Jurisdiction Civil Appeals Tribunals and Alternative Dispute Resolution

The Criminal Courts and Sentencing

Topic overview Offence Classification and Criminal Appeals The Magistrates' Court and Its Jurisdiction Judge and Jury in the Crown Court Sentencing Aims and Types of Sentence

Lay People: Magistrates and Juries

Topic overview Who the Magistrates Are Jury Selection and Eligibility The Case for Trial by Jury Juries: Representation, Secrecy and Equity

Criminal Law: Rules and Theory

Topic overview Actus Reus, Mens Rea and Coincidence The Harm Principle and Autonomy

General Elements of Liability

Topic overview The External Element of a Crime Voluntariness and Causation Mens Rea, Strict Liability and Coincidence

Fatal Offences Against the Person

Topic overview The Elements of Murder Loss of Control Diminished Responsibility Unlawful Act and Gross Negligence Manslaughter

Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person

Topic overview Assault and Battery Words, Silence and Actual Bodily Harm Grievous Bodily Harm under Sections 18 and 20

Property Offences

Topic overview The Definition of Theft Property and Belonging to Another Dishonesty and the Ivey Test Permanent Deprivation and Robbery

Preliminary Offences

Topic overview Attempts

Criminal Defences

Topic overview Insanity and the M'Naghten Rules Wrongness, Burden of Proof and Automatism Intoxication, Specific and Basic Intent Self-Defence and the Prevention of Crime Duress and Its Limits

Tort: Rules and Theory

Topic overview The Areas of Tort Liability Duty of Care, Breach and Causation Secondary Victims and Occupiers' Liability Nuisance, Rylands v Fletcher and Tort Defences Damages and Injunctions in Tort Policy Limits on the Duty of Care Vicarious Liability: Justifications and Employment Status

Negligence

Topic overview Establishing a Duty of Care Breach of Duty and the Standard of Care Causation and Remoteness of Damage Pure Economic Loss Psychiatric Injury: Primary and Secondary Victims

Occupiers' Liability

Topic overview Occupiers, Premises and Lawful Visitors The Duty to Trespassers under the 1984 Act

Nuisance and Rylands v Fletcher

Topic overview Private Nuisance The Rule in Rylands v Fletcher

Vicarious Liability

Topic overview What Vicarious Liability Is Employment Status and the Close Connection Test

Tort: Defences and Remedies

Topic overview Contributory Negligence, Volenti and Other Defences Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Losses Injunctions as an Equitable Remedy

Contract: Rules and TheoryContract

Topic overview Freedom of Contract and Contract Formation Exemption Clauses and Contractual Remedies

Formation of a ContractContract

Topic overview Offer, Invitation to Treat and Acceptance Consideration, Privity and Legal Relations The Requirements of Offer and Acceptance The Postal Rule and Termination of Offers The Rules of Consideration Promissory Estoppel and Privity of Contract Intention to Create Legal Relations

Contract TermsContract

Topic overview Express and Implied Terms Conditions, Warranties and Their Remedies The Consumer Rights Act: Goods Exclusion and Limitation Clauses The Consumer Rights Act: Quality and Fitness The Consumer Rights Act: Services

Vitiating FactorsContract

Topic overview What Amounts to a Misrepresentation The Elements of an Actionable Misrepresentation Types of Misrepresentation and Remedies Economic Duress

Discharge of a ContractContract

Topic overview Discharge by Performance Remedies for Breach of Contract Performance, Actual and Anticipatory Breach Frustration of a Contract

Contract: RemediesContract

Topic overview Damages, Specific Performance and Rescission Termination and the Right to Reject

Human Rights: Rules and TheoryHuman rights

Topic overview Article 2 and Article 5: Life and Liberty Article 11 and the Conditions for Restriction Rights, Liberties and Correlative Duties The Scope of Fundamental Human Rights Article 2 Exceptions and the Article 5 Guarantee Interfering with Article 8 Rights Article 10: Freedom of Expression and Its Limits The Human Rights Act and Categories of Rights

Human Rights in International and UK LawHuman rights

Topic overview The Origins of International Human Rights The Convention in UK Law before 1998 The Human Rights Act 1998 Criticisms of Human Rights Law

The European Convention ArticlesHuman rights

Topic overview Freedom of Association and Its Limits Article 2: Justified Deprivation of Life Article 5: Lawful Arrest and Detention Article 8: Private and Family Life Article 11: What It Protects Article 2: Negative and Positive Obligations The Article 2.2 Exceptions in Detail Article 5.1: Liberty and Security of Person Detention under Article 5.1(a) to (c)Article 5.2 to 5.5: Information and Review Article 10.1: Freedom of Expression Which Paragraphs Permit Restriction The Grounds for Lawful Detention Enforcing Rights in Strasbourg and by Judicial Review

Restrictions and EnforcementHuman rights

Topic overview The Common Requirements for Restrictions Legitimate Aims and Proportionality Bringing a Claim to the Strasbourg Court Article 46, Judicial Review and Section 7 Claims Prescribed by Law and Necessary in a Democracy Legitimate Aims for Restricting Articles 10 and 11 Enforcement in Strasbourg and at Home The Two General Conditions for Restriction Legitimate Aims across Articles 8, 10 and 11 Who May Claim and How Rights Are Enforced Supervising Judgments and Judicial Review Remedies

Reform of Human Rights LawHuman rights

Topic overview Replacing the Human Rights Act A British Bill of Rights

Human Rights and English LawHuman rights

Topic overview The Right to Life in English Law Protective Policing and the Osman Test Deprivation of Liberty in English Law Privacy in English Law Expression, Assembly and Association in English Law

Criminal Law: Rules and Theory

2 subtopics
8 things to know
Paper 1

What Criminal Law: Rules and Theory covers

The building blocks of criminal liability and the theory beneath them: the harm principle, autonomy and why the state punishes at all.

Where it is assessed

Paper 1

Criminal law, 75 marks.

Check the AQA specification ↗

The 2 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

How can actus reus be satisfied through conduct?

Key term

What must be proved to establish legal causation?

Key term

Beyond foresight of risk, what else must be shown for subjective recklessness?

Key term

From which philosopher does the harm principle derive?

Key term

Define fair labelling in criminal law.

Numbers

Which provision of the European Convention on Human Rights enshrines the principle of no retrospective liability?

Process

When can an omission be the guilty act, what is a state of affairs, and must the act be voluntary?

Process

Why is conduct criminalised, what does autonomy mean, and for whose acts is a person liable?

Take Criminal Law: Rules and Theory further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

Direct intention vs Oblique intention
Direct intention: the defendant's aim or purpose was to bring about the result. Oblique intention: the result was virtually certain and the defendant appreciated that.
Subjective recklessness vs Objective recklessness
Subjective recklessness: the defendant foresaw the risk and went on to take it. Objective recklessness: a reasonable person would have foreseen the risk whether the defendant did or not.
Strict liability vs Absolute liability
Strict liability: liability requiring no mens rea as to at least one element of the offence. Absolute liability: liability requiring no mens rea and no voluntary act at all.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What Latin term describes the 'guilty act' element required for criminal liability?
Model answer
Actus reus
2
How can actus reus be satisfied through conduct?
Model answer
Through positive acts — deliberate physical actions performed by the defendant
3
How can an omission form the actus reus of a crime?
Model answer
A failure to act can constitute actus reus where the defendant was under a legal duty to act
4
What is meant by a 'state of affairs' as a form of actus reus?
Model answer
A situation where the defendant's circumstances or condition constitute the prohibited element, rather than any specific act or omission
5
Why cannot an involuntary act form the basis of criminal liability?
Model answer
For an act to constitute actus reus, it must be voluntary; involuntary acts lack the element of conscious control required for criminal responsibility
6
What must be proved to establish legal causation?
Model answer
That the defendant's act was an operating and substantial cause of the prohibited consequence

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The Nature of Law

The European Union and English Law

Legal Personnel and the Judiciary

Access to Justice and Funding

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Assault and .

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AThe defendant must have brought something onto their land.

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CThere must be a non-natural use of land.

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Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

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