Lecture 8: Criminal Liability and Principles of Causation

Vocabulary flashcards covering principles of criminal liability, strict liability, vicarious liability, corporate liability, factual and legal causation, and novus actus interveniens based on Lecture 8.

Strict Liability

Statutory offences where one or more elements of the actus reus do not require mens rea to be proven for a criminal conviction.

Presumption of Mens Rea

The general principle that statutory offences require mens rea even when the legislation is silent, which stands unless displaced by clear Parliamentary intent.

Gammon (Hong Kong) Ltd. v Attorney General of Hong Kong [1985]

A case establishing that the presumption of mens rea stands unless strict liability would promote the objects of the statute by encouraging greater vigilance to prevent the prohibited act.

Sweet v Parsley [1970]

A case holding that mens rea is an essential ingredient in criminal law unless there is reason to conclude that Parliament intended to create an absolute offence.

Vicarious Liability

A form of criminal liability where an accused can be held liable without mens rea for the actions of another person acting on their behalf within the scope of employment or delegated authority.

Personae Fictae

The legal concept referring to corporations as artificial legal persons that can be held criminally responsible for statutory offences and certain common law crimes.

Controlling Mind Fiction

The principle attributing criminal liability to a corporation based on an identifiable human agent's responsibility for both the actus reus and mens rea.

Transco v HM Advocate (No 1) [2004]

A Scottish case affirming that corporate criminal liability for common law offences involving mens rea depends on the 'controlling mind' fiction.

Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007

Legislation creating the offence of corporate homicide in Scotland (corporate manslaughter in England and Wales) when senior management's activities grossly breach a duty of care and cause death.

Causation

The link between an accused's prior conduct, action, or state of affairs (the cause) and the resulting consequence (the effect) within the actus reus of result crimes.

Factual Causation

The material or physical chain of events connecting an accused's action to a prohibited result, predominantly assessed using the 'but for' test.

"But For" Test (Conditio Sine Qua Non)

A test of factual causation asking whether the criminal result would not have occurred but for the conduct of the accused.

Material or Significant Contribution

The threshold required to establish causation where multiple or concurrent causes exist, demanding that the accused's actions constitute more than a minimal cause.

Legal Causation

The legal rules and principles (such as proximity, foreseeability, and absence of an intervening act) determining whether a factual cause can be attributed to the accused in law.

McDonald v HM Advocate [2007]

A Scottish case establishing that causation can be legitimately inferred between an assault and a victim's fatal fall from a window during an escape attempt without proving the victim's exact mental processes.

Thin Skull Rule (Eggshell Skull Rule)

The principle that an accused must 'take your victims as they come or as you find them,' remaining criminally liable even if an underlying physical or psychological weakness contributed to the harm.

Bird v HM Advocate [1952]

A Scottish case illustrating the application of the thin skull rule to a victim's pre-existing physical condition.

R v Blaue [1975]

A case confirming that the thin skull rule extends to psychological characteristics, personal beliefs, and medical treatment refusals of the victim.

Novus Actus Interveniens

An intervening action or event that breaks the causal chain and eliminates criminal liability for the subsequent outcome.

Victim's Contribution (Intervening Act)

An action by the victim that breaks the causal chain only if it is wholly unreasonable or unforeseeable, noting victims have no legal duty to mitigate injuries.

Third-Party Intervening Act

An action by an independent third party that breaks the causal chain if it is voluntary (free, deliberate, and informed) and supersedes the accused's original conduct.

Malregimen

Negligent medical treatment that breaks the chain of causation only if it is grossly negligent, 'palpably wrong,' and becomes the operative cause of death.

R v Jordan [1956]

A case demonstrating that grossly negligent medical treatment that is 'palpably wrong' can replace the accused's original conduct as the operative cause of death.

Crown Office

The public prosecution service in Scotland responsible for prosecuting criminal cases.