Evaluation
OCR A-Level Law H418
Civil Courts and Other Forms of Dispute Resolution
Criminal Courts and Lay People
Legal Personnel
Access to Justice
Rules and Theory of Criminal Law
General Elements of Criminal Liability
Fatal Offences Against the Person
Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person
Offences Against Property
Mental Capacity Defences
Preliminary Offences
Evaluation in Criminal Law
Parliamentary Law Making
Delegated Legislation
Statutory Interpretation
Judicial Precedent
European Union Law
Rules and Theory of Tort
Liability in Negligence
Occupiers’ Liability
Torts Connected to Land
Vicarious Liability
Defences
Remedies in Tort
Evaluation in Tort
Introduction to the Nature of Law
Law and Society
Rules and Theory of Human RightsHuman rights
Protection of the Individual’s Human Rights and Freedoms in the UKHuman rights
Key Provisions of the European Convention on Human RightsHuman rights
Human Rights and English LawHuman rights
Enforcement of Human Rights LawHuman rights
Evaluation in Human RightsHuman rights
Rules and Theory of ContractContract
FormationContract
Vitiating FactorsContract
Remedies in ContractContract
Evaluation in ContractContract
General Elements of Criminal Liability
- 3 subtopics
- 10 things to know
- Component 1
What General Elements of Criminal Liability covers
The two elements every offence requires, and the rules linking the defendant's conduct to the result.
Where it is assessed
Component 1
Criminal law, Section B of the first paper.
Check the OCR specification ↗The 3 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Actus reus: acts, omissions and states of affairsRecall questions on voluntary acts, state of affairs offences and R v Larsonneur, and on when an omission creates liability through contractual, statutory, relationship, assumed and created duties, as in R v Pittwood, R v Stone and Dobinson, R v Gibbins and Proctor and R v Miller.Open →
- Causation in criminal lawRecall questions on factual causation and the but for test in R v White, legal causation and multiple causes in R v Pagett, the thin skull rule in R v Blaue, and whether medical treatment, the victim or a third party breaks the chain, as in R v Smith, R v Cheshire and R v Roberts.Open →
- Conduct and consequence crimes, strict liability and transferred maliceRecall questions on the distinction between conduct and consequence crimes and the role of luck, the arguments for and against strict liability and the presumption of mens rea, and whether transferred malice produces just outcomes.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
How would you apply the 'but for' test to determine factual causation?
Process
Why was the defendant in R v White not guilty of murder?
Key term
Give an example of factual impossibility in an attempt, and explain its effect on liability.
Key term
What were the facts of R v Pittwood and why was the defendant liable?
Key term
Why was the father in R v Gibbins and Proctor convicted of murder by omission?
Key term
Why must the defendant's conduct be voluntary for criminal liability to arise?
Key term
Name the five recognised sources of a legal duty to act.
Evaluation
Why might the presumption of mens rea be considered inadequate protection for defendants in strict liability cases?
Evaluation
What is the argument that transferred malice produces just outcomes?
Take General Elements of Criminal Liability further
The same content, four other ways.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is meant by the term 'actus reus' in criminal law?
Model answer
The actus reus is the physical or external element of a crime, comprising the guilty act, omission, or state of affairs required by the offence definition.
- 2
Why must the defendant's conduct be voluntary for criminal liability to arise?
Model answer
Criminal liability requires voluntary conduct because the law only holds individuals responsible for actions within their conscious control; involuntary movements or reflexes cannot form the basis of a guilty act.
- 3
How can a positive act constitute the actus reus of an offence?
Model answer
A positive act constitutes actus reus when the defendant performs a physical action that satisfies the conduct element of the offence, such as striking someone in assault.
- 4
What is the general rule regarding omissions and criminal liability?
Model answer
An omission can only form the actus reus where the defendant was under a legal duty to act; there is no general duty to act in English law.
- 5
Name the five recognised sources of a legal duty to act.
Model answer
Statutory duty, contractual duty, voluntary assumption of responsibility, creation of a dangerous situation, and a special relationship.
- 6
Explain how a contractual duty can create liability for failing to act.
Model answer
If a person's contract requires them to perform certain acts for the safety of others, breach of that duty by omission can form the actus reus of a crime.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
General Elements of Criminal Liability revision questions
- What does General Elements of Criminal Liability cover in OCR A-Level Law?
- 3 subtopics: actus reus: acts, omissions and states of affairs, causation in criminal law and conduct and consequence crimes, strict liability and transferred malice. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is General Elements of Criminal Liability organised?
- By the OCR H418 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in General Elements of Criminal Liability, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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