Criminal law in English law
Part of the common law series
Classes of crimes
Summary  · Indictable
Hybrid offence  · Regulatory offences
Lesser included offence
Elements of crimes
Actus reus  · Causation
Mens rea  · Intention (general)
Intention in English law  · Recklessness
Criminal negligence  · Corporate liability
Vicarious liability  · Strict liability
Omission  · Concurrence
Ignorantia juris non excusat
Inchoate offences
Incitement  · Conspiracy
Accessory  · Attempt
Common purpose
Defences
Consent  · Diminished responsibility
Duress
M'Naghten Rules  · Necessity
Provocation
Self-defence
Crimes against the person
Common assault  · Battery
Actual bodily harm  · Grievous bodily harm
Offences Against The Person Act 1861
Murder  · Manslaughter
Corporate manslaughter  · Harassment
Public order and crimes against property
Criminal Damage Act 1971
Malicious Damage Act 1861
Public nuisance
Crimes of dishonesty
Theft Act 1968  · Theft  · Dishonesty
Robbery  · Burglary  · TWOC
Deception  · Deception offences
Blackmail  · Handling
Theft Act 1978  · Forgery
Computer crime
Sexual crimes
Rape  · Kidnapping
Crimes against justice
Bribery  · Perjury
Obstruction of justice
See also Criminal Procedure
Criminal Defences
Other areas of the common law
Contract law  · Tort law  · Property law
Wills and trusts  · Evidence
Portals: Law  · Criminal justice

The Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (OAP, 24 & 25 Victoria, Cap. 94) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which consolidated the previously complex mixture of common law and statute into a single Act designed to deal with all the offences which affected the physical health or well-being of people ("offences against the person"). Although it has been substantially amended, it continues to be the foundation for prosecuting all levels of physical assault in the courts of England and Wales. A different subset of its provisions remains in force in the Republic of Ireland. This is a list of Acts of the Scottish Parliament. ... This is a list of Acts passed by the Parliament of Northern Ireland. ... This is a list of Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly passed by that body during its existence between 2000 and 2002 when it was suspended. ... The is a list of Orders in Council for Northern Ireland which are primary legislation for the province when the it is being directly ruled from London and also for those powers not devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly. ... Statutory Instruments (SIs) are parts of United Kingdom law separate from Acts of Parliament which do not require full Parliamentary approval before becoming law. ... An Act of Parliament or Act is law enacted by the parliament (see legislation). ... The Houses of Parliament, as seen over Westminster Bridge The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. ... Motto Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right)1 Anthem God Save the King/Queen Territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Capital London Language(s) English2 Government Constitutional monarchy Monarch  - 1801–1820 George III  - 1820–1830 George IV  - 1830–1837 William IV  - 1837–1901... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... The Statute of Grand Duchy of Lithuania A statute is a formal, written law of a country or state, written and enacted by its legislative authority, perhaps to then be ratified by the highest executive in the government, and finally published. ... In criminal law, an offence against the person usually refers to a crime which is committed by direct physical harm or force being applied to another person. ...

Commentary

The OAP was a success in so far as it provided a single source for all the law on this area of human behaviour, but it failed to simplify the law. One of the claimed advantages to the process of codification is that it gives the legislature the opportunity to review an entire area of law and, with an overview, to impose a more logical structure on the whole and to provide better relationships between the different subtopics. One of the claimed disadvantages to writing a civil code such as the French Napoleonic code, is that the process of distilling complexity into simple propositions of law is that significant areas of uncertainty are introduced into the law, requiring the courts continuously to interpret whether new examples of behaviour are caught within the generality of the provisions. In law, codification is the process of collecting and restating the law of a jurisdiction in certain areas, usually by subject, forming the legal code. ... A legislature is a type of representative deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws. ... A civil code is a systematic compilation of laws designed to comprehensively deal with the core areas of private law. ... First page of the 1804 original edition The Napoleonic Code, or Code Napoléon (originally called the Code civil des Français) was the French civil code, established at the behest of Napoléon I. It was drafted rapidly by a commission of four eminent jurists and entered into force... A trial at the Old Bailey in London as drawn by Thomas Rowlandson and Augustus Pugin for Ackermanns Microcosm of London (1808-11). ...

There for, for example, it would have been possible to bring all the provisions on assault together and to structure a rational sequence of offences to range from the most trivial injuries to those causing death. In fact, common assault was defined in s44(s1) and the most serious grievous bodily harm was defined in s18. Further, whereas it would have been possible to write a single actus reus which criminalised the acts and omissions causing injury, the Act listed specific methods whereby the harm might be caused. In some cases, these reflected political issues of then great significance. For example, the Fenians were promoting their political case by leaving barrels of explosives in public places. Hence, ss28/30 and 64 specifically address the problem of the resulting injuries so that politicians can be seen to be acting. Similarly, children were throwing stones at passing railway trains (little changes for the better). In criminal law, a common assault is a crime when the defendant either puts another in fear of injury or actually commits a battery. ... Grievous bodily harm or GBH is a phrase used in English criminal law which was introduced in ss18 and 20 Offences Against The Person Act 1861. ... Actus reus is the action (or inaction, in the case of criminal negligence and similar crimes which are sometimes called acts of omission) which, in combination with the mens rea (guilty mind), produces criminal liability in common law based criminal law jurisdictions such as the United States, United Kingdom. ... In the criminal law, an omission or failure to act will constitute an actus reus (Latin for guilty act) and give rise to liability only when the law imposes a duty to act and the defendant is in breach of that duty. ... Fenian is a term used since the 1850s for Irish nationalists (who oppose British rule in Ireland). ...

The majority of the original provisions contained in the Act have now been replaced so that both the wording is more comprehensible to modern jurors and the substance is better adapted to meet the inventiveness of modern criminals. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Schedule of offences

The following schedule will explain the current position:

• Sections 1 to 3 dealt with the death penalty for murder and have been repealed.

• Section 4: Soliciting to commit murder. This section formerly used to include conspiracy to murder, but Conspiracy is now consolidated into the Criminal Law Act 1977.

• Section 5: Sets the maximum sentence for manslaughter as life imprisonment. See also the Criminal Justice Act 2003 for further provisions about sentencing for manslaughter and for offences under sections 16 to 47 of this Act.

• Sections 9 and 10: Murder or manslaughter abroad. At the height of the British Empire, when questions of sovereignty were routinely discussed, the issue of extraterritorial jurisdiction was of considerable significance. The civil jurisdiction for conflict of laws cases were under development to match the movement of people from one state to another, and the British criminal courts were claiming parallel jurisdiction if the alleged murderer was a British subject. There is now general criminal jurisdiction for any offence if the consequences of the crime are felt within the territorial boundaries, or a part of the actus reus of the offence is committed within the jurisdiction. This is an expansion of the section 10 provision, now termed initiatory or subjective jurisdiction where the offence is begun within the jurisdiction, and terminatory or objective jurisdiction for crimes completed within the jurisdiction:

"9. Where any murder or manslaughter shall be committed on land out of the United Kingdom, whether within the Queen's dominions or without, and whether the person killed were a subject of Her Majesty or not, every offence committed by any subject of Her Majesty in respect of any such case, whether the same shall amount to the offence of murder or of manslaughter, ... may be dealt with, inquired of, tried, determined, and punished ... in ... The United Kingdom Provided, that nothing herein contained shall prevent any person from being tried in any place out of ... Ireland for any murder or manslaughter committed out of the United Kingdom in the same manner as such person might have been tried before the passing of this Act."

"10. Where any person being [criminally] stricken, poisoned, or otherwise hurt upon the sea, or at any place out of England or Ireland, shall die of such stroke, poisoning, or hurt in England or Ireland, or, being [criminally] stricken, poisoned, or otherwise hurt in any place in England or Ireland, shall die of such stroke, poisoning, or hurt upon the sea, or at any place out of England or Ireland, every offence committed in respect of any such case, whether the same shall amount to the offence of murder or of manslaughter, may be tried... in England."

• Section 16: Threats to kill, whether premeditated or said in anger, remains an offence where the defendant intends the victim to fear it will be carried out. (Section 4 of the Public Order Act 1986 deals with other threats of violence). Although the normal maximum sentence is ten years, offenders deemed to present a "significant risk" of "serious harm" to the public can now receive a life sentence under the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

• Section 17: Impeding a person endeavouring to save himself or another from shipwreck. Shipping was the lifeblood of the Empire and so specific offences to protect seamen were common. It is still in force.

• Section 18: Wounding or causing "grievous bodily harm," with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, or to resist arrest. ("Grievous bodily harm" can in fact include psychological harm.) It is punishable with life imprisonment.

"18. Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously by any means whatsoever wound or cause any grievous bodily harm to any person ... with intent ... to do some ... grievous bodily harm to any person, or with intent to resist or prevent the lawful apprehension or detainer of any person, shall be guilty of felony, and being convicted thereof shall be liable ... to be kept in penal servitude for life ..."

• Section 20: Inflicting bodily injury, with or without weapon. This is much less serious than an offence contrary to section 18, carrying a maximum prison sentence of 5 years.

20. Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously wound or inflict any grievous bodily harm upon any other person, either with or without any weapon or instrument, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, being convicted thereof shall be liable ... to be kept in penal servitude ....

• Sections 21 and 22: Attempting to choke, &c., in order to commit or assist in the committing of any indictable offence. Certain forms of attack have always been viewed with particular horror and the use of strangulation or drugs to render someone unconscious with a view to committing a crime require special treatment. Contemporary crime including date rape following the use of hypnotic drugs such as Flunitrazepam show that little has changed save that where the intended offence is of a sexual nature, separate legislation applies (see Sexual Offences Act 2003).

• Sections 23 and 24 cover the insidious forms of attack based on administering poisons or other dangerous chemicals and substances intending to injure another. Although rarely used today, the offences remain available should the specific circumstances arise, e.g. sending a package containing a dangerous substance to an embassy.

• Section 26 deals with the problem of neglect by an employer who failed to provide adequate food, clothing and accommodation for staff and servants. Still in force, it is punishable with five years' imprisonment.

• Section 27 creates an offence for those who abandon babies. Although still in force it is in practice obsolete, as it has been superseded by the offence of child cruelty under section 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.

• Sections 28, 29, 30, 64 and 65 created a range of criminal offences supplementing the Explosive Substances Act 1883 and the Explosives Act 1875. These remain in force, although the Criminal Damage Act 1971 covers all aspects of the resulting damage to property and the Terrorism Act 2000 deals with possession for terrorist purposes.

• Section 31 addresses the problem of those who wish to protect their property with hidden traps.

• Sections 32 to 34 protect the railways from those who place obstructions on the line, throw stones at the passing trains, and generally endanger the passengers.

• Section 35: The offence of "wanton and furious driving." In practice this has largely been superseded by the offence of dangerous driving under the Road Traffic Act 1988.

• Section 36: Specific protection for clergymen carrying out their public duties.

• Section 37: Assault on any person authorized to preserve any shipwrecked vessel or goods. Penalty is seven years.

• Section 38: Assault with intent to resist arrest. (There is also a lesser offence of assault on a constable in the execution of his/her duty under section 89(1) of the Police Act 1996.)

• Section 39 (repealed): The trade in grain and other staples no longer requires specific protection.

• Section 40 (repealed): It is no longer considered necessary to have a specific offence to protect seamen while carrying out their duties.

• Section 42 (repealed): Common assault is now in section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.

• Section 43 (repealed): Was the aggravated form of assault on children and women.

• Section 47: Assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Still in force:

"47. Whosoever shall be convicted upon an indictment of any assault occasioning actual bodily harm shall be liable ... to be kept in penal servitude ...; and whosoever shall be convicted upon an indictment for a common assault shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding one year..."

• Section 48 (repealed): Rape: now in section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
• Section 52 (repealed): Indecent assault upon a female: now various offences under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
• Section 53 (repealed): Forcible abduction of any woman with intent to marry or carnally know her. This would be charged as the common law offences of kidnapping and false imprisonment, or rape, and/or human trafficking under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

• Section 55 (repealed): Abduction of a girl under sixteen years of age (see now Sexual Offences Act 1956).
• Section 56 (repealed): Child abduction.

• Section 57: Bigamy

"Whosoever, being married, shall marry any other person during the life of the former husband or wife, whether the second marriage shall have taken place in England or Ireland or elsewhere, shall be guilty of felony, and being convicted thereof shall be liable to be kept in penal servitude for any term not exceeding seven years; Provided, that nothing in this section contained shall extend to any second marriage contracted elsewhere than in England and Ireland by any other than a subject of Her Majesty, or to any person marrying a second time whose husband or wife shall have been continually absent from such person for the space of seven years then last past, and shall not have been known by such person to be living within that time, or shall extend to any person who, at the time of such second marriage, shall have been divorced from the bond of the first marriage, or to any person whose former marriage shall have been declared void by the sentence of any court of competent jurisdiction.

Nothing herein contained to extend to second marriages in the cases herein mentioned."

• Section 58: Abortion by unlawfully administering any poison or noxious thing is an offence (see also the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929), but section 1(1) of the Abortion Act 1967 permits a medical termination of a pregnancy:

"when a pregnancy is terminated by a registered medical practitioner if two registered practitioners are of the opinion, formed in good faith..." that one of four sets of circumstances apply, notably s.1(1)(d): "...that there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped."

• Section 60: Concealing the birth of a child.

"60. If any woman shall be delivered of a child, every person who shall, by any secret disposition of the dead body of the said child, whether such child died before, at, or after its birth, endeavour to conceal the birth thereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years..."

• Sections 61 and 62 (repealed) dealt with buggery and bestiality. The Act abolished the death penalty for buggery. Buggery between heterosexuals ceased to be an offence in 1994. The age of consent to homosexual buggery and to certain other homosexual acts was reduced by the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 from 18 to 16 years in England and Wales. Almost all sexual offences are today contained in the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

• Section 63 (repealed): The definition of "carnal knowledge" is no longer required.

Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ... In English criminal law, incitement is an anticipatory common law offence and is the act of persuading, encouraging, instigating, pressuring, or threatening so as to cause another to commit a crime. ... In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between natural persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement. ... Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime, nominally for the entire remaining life of the prisoner, but in fact for a period which varies between jurisdictions: many countries have a maximum possible period of time (usually seven years) a prisoner may be incarcerated, or require the... The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (2003, c. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme political (e. ... In the common law, civil law refers to the area of law governing relations between private individuals. ... Conflict of laws, or private international law, or international private law is that branch of international law and interstate law that regulates all lawsuits involving a foreign law element, where a difference in result will occur depending on which laws are applied as the lex causae. ... For the purposes of Public International Law and Private International Law, a state is a defined group of people, living within defined territorial boundaries and subject, more or less, to an autonomous legal system exercising jurisdiction through properly constituted courts. ... Actus reus is the action (or inaction, in the case of criminal negligence and similar crimes which are sometimes called acts of omission) which, in combination with the mens rea (guilty mind), produces criminal liability in common law based criminal law jurisdictions such as the United States, United Kingdom. ... The Public Order Act 1986 creates offences commonly used by United Kingdom police to deal with public disorder and violence: Section 1: Riot Section 2: Violent Disorder Section 3: Affray Section 4: Fear or Provocation of Violence Section 4a: Intentional Harassment, Alarm or Distress Section 5: Harassment, Alarm or Distress... The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (2003, c. ... Grievous bodily harm or GBH is a phrase used in English criminal law which was introduced in ss18 and 20 Offences Against The Person Act 1861. ... The title Date Rape is a very general term which has come to represent some very different situations. ... Flunitrazepam (formerly marketed under the trade name Rohypnol in North America, IPA: ) is a powerful hypnotic drug that is a benzodiazepine derivative. ... The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, passed in 2003. ... The Explosive Substances Act 1883 is a law passed by the United Kingdom Parliament. ... Under English law, the Criminal Damage Act 1971 is the main statute covering damage to property. ... The Terrorism Act 2000 is a current United Kingdom Act of Parliament - An Act to make provision about terrorism; and to make temporary provision for Northern Ireland about the prosecution and punishment of certain offences, the preservation of peace and the maintenance of order. ... The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, passed in 2003. ... Polygamy, literally many marriages in ancient Greek, is a marital practice in which a person has more than one spouse simultaneously (as opposed to monogamy where each person has a maximum of one spouse at any one time). ... This page is a candidate to be copied to Wikisource. ... Anal sex or anal intercourse is a form of human sexual behavior. ... Look up Bestiality in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ... The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, passed in 2003. ...

External links

• David Swarbrick: Offences against the Person Act 1861 partial text of the original act
• Circumcision Reference Library: Offences against the Person Act 1861 amended text as at 18 April 2006; with notes as to which Acts repealed the sections no longer in force