Category: Criminal Liability

Rights of Appeal A person who is convicted of an offence enjoys a right of appeal to a higher court.  District Court convictions may be appealed to the Circuit Court. Circuit Criminal Court Special  Criminal Court and Central Criminal Court convictions may be appealed to the Court of Appeal (formerly the Court of Criminal Appeal). […]

Appeal to Supreme Court Formerly the courts held there was a direct right of appeal from the Central Criminal Court to the Supreme Court as well as to the Court of Appeal.  This anomaly was abolished in 1993.  It arose because the Central Criminal Court is technically the High Court so that the constitutional right […]

District Court Appeals A person who is convicted of an offence enjoys a right of appeal to a higher court.  District Court convictions may be appealed to the Circuit Court.  Circuit Criminal Court Special  Criminal Court and Central Criminal Court convictions may be appealed to the Court of Appeal (formerly the Court of Criminal Appeal).  […]

Mental Health Criminal Law Review Board The legislation establishes the Mental Health Criminal Law Review Board. It is independent in the exercise of its functions and shall have regard to the welfare and safety of persons whose detention or conditions of discharge it reviews and for the public interest. The Review Board holds sittings for […]

Fault The fact that the prosecution establishes that the defendant caused the particular prohibited conduct, is not usually enough to establish criminal responsibility.  Offences usually require a mental element. More serious crimes require a mental element such as intention or recklessness.  Other,  particularly regulatory offences may require only proof of the act and causation where […]

Crimes In its broader sense, criminal law covers what are traditionally called crimes as well as many thousands of regulatory offences that are designed to uphold and enforce certain administrative and regulatory objectives.  Throughout this guide are numerous references to such offences. The traditional and well-known crimes typically involve a mental element of deliberate or […]

Duress   If the accused’s action were caused by threats, the defence of duress may be available.  Duress may make the offence involuntary.   The threats must generally be of serious violence, serious injury or death. It  may be one of  immediate death or personal violence which is so great as to overbear the ordinary […]

Not Generally a Defence Intoxication is not generally a defence in criminal proceedings.  In principle, intoxication may be relevant to whether a person has the requisite guilty mind, which is an element of any of the more serious crimes which usually require intention or recklessness.  The courts lean heavily against the argument that intoxication may […]

General The more serious crimes have both an act and a mental element.  The “act” is the act and entire consequences, which constitutes the prohibited behaviour.  The mental element is the requisite degree of intention, recklessness, or carelessness, which must accompany the act in order to constitute the crime. In the case of the more […]

Fit for Trial The law relating to criminal insanity was reformed in 2006. The Central Mental Hospital was designated as a centre for the reception, detention, care and maintenance of persons admitted or transferred there under the legislation. A psychiatric centre may also be a Designated Centre for the purposes of the legislation. The legislation […]

Procurement Procurement involves taking steps to bring the desired result into effect. A person who hires another to undertake a crime may be guilty of procurement. There need not be a formal agreement. It does not require conspiracy or agreement between the principal offender and the person who procured the crime. Procurement or counselling a […]

  The following are so-called incomplete offences. The term is misleading as the “incomplete” offences are themselves offences. The three types of offence are attempting, conspiring, or inciting to undertake the principal offence. For example, attempted murder, incitement to theft, and conspiracy to cause malicious damage are each offences of themselves. Attempts Intention by itself […]