Strict Liability

Question 1

What is strict liability?

Answer 1

An offence where mens rea is not needed in at least one aspect of the actus reus

Question 2

What was held in Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Stockwain Ltd?

Answer 2

The defendant supplied the drugs without a valid prescription, and whether they knew it was forged or not was irrelevant due to the offence not requiring mens rea

Question 3

What is absolute liability?

Answer 3

No mens rea is required and the actus reus doesn’t need to be voluntary. Absolute liability is for state of affairs offences

Question 4

What was held in Winzar v Chief Constable of Kent?

Answer 4

The divisional court upheld his conviction as he was found drunk in a public place, it did not matter whether it was voluntary

Question 5

Give another case example of absolute liability.

Answer 5

R v Larsonneur

Question 6

What was held in R v Prince?

Answer 6

Mens rea was required for removing the girl from her father, and the defendant did have intent. Though knowledge of her age is of strict liability. The defendant was convicted

Question 7

What was held in R v Hibbert?

Answer 7

The knowledge of age was of strict liability, so was irrelevant, but the defendant didn’t have intent to remove the girl from her father, so he was acquitted

Question 8

What is important to note about both R v Prince and R v Hibbert?

Answer 8

They are from the Victorian era where women were regarded to be property of men, and so the property of their fathers. This is obviously not the case in the present day

Question 9

What was held in Callow v Tillstone?

Answer 9

The butcher was convicted even though he had taken reasonable care not to commit the offence and wasn’t at fault

Question 10

What is due diligence?

Answer 10

The defendant has done everything in their power to avoid committing an offence. This defence is available when statutes express

Question 11

What was held in Cundy v Le Cocq?

Answer 11

Even though selling liquor to an intoxicated man was a genuine mistake, the defendant is still guilty

Question 12

What common law offences are strict liability?

Answer 12

• Public Nuisance
• Criminal Libel
• Outraging public decency

Question 13

What is an example of a case of outraging decency?

Answer 13

R v Gibson and Sylverie where using human foetuses for earrings at an art display was held to be criminally liable

Question 14

How many strict liability offences are statutory?

Answer 14

3,500

Question 15

How do courts interpret strict liability?

Answer 15

The judge presumes mens rea is required and will interpret as strict liability if parliament have indicated it

Question 16

What was Lord Reid’s view in Sweet v Parsley?

Answer 16

“Where a section is silent as to mens rea, there is a presumption to require it”

Question 17

What is the ‘gammon test’ in Gammon Ltd v Attorney General for Hong Kong?

Answer 17

Presumption of mens rea is rebutted when:
- The crime is regulatory as oppose to a true crime; or
- The crime is one of social concern; or
- The wording of the Act indicates strict liability; or
- The offence carries a heavy penalty.

Question 18

What are quasi-criminal offences?

Answer 18

Offences that are not ‘truly criminal’ and most commonly are strict liability

Question 19

What was held in B v DPP?

Answer 19

Lord Nicholls said that the more serious an offence, and its sentence, the greater presumption of mens rea there is

Question 20

What was held in R v Blake?

Answer 20

The defendant was guilty and the offence was one of strict liability due to a social concern

Question 21

What was Roscoe Pound’s view of strict liability statutes?

Answer 21

“no punishment to the vicious but to put pressure on the thoughtless and inefficient”

Question 22

How may strict liability be counter-productive?

Answer 22

Precautions taken don’t negate liability so people may not bother taking precautions

Question 23

What are the justifications of strict liability?

Answer 23

• Easier to enforce due to no mens rea
• Court is saved time due to more guilty pleas

Question 24

What are the 3 reasons against strict liability?

Answer 24

• Defendants are guilty when they are not blameworthy
• There may be guilt when they are unaware
• Contradiction of human rights

Question 25

What was held in Environment Agency v Brock Plc?

Answer 25

A leakage was hidden and caused pollution. The company was liable even though they were unaware

Question 26

What was held in R v G?

Answer 26

The defendant was advised to plead guilty due to the offence being of strict liability.The House of Lords dismissed any breach of Article 6(1) and Article 6(2) of the European Convention on Human Rights

Question 27

What did Clause 20 of the Draft Criminal Code propose?

Answer 27

Every offence should have a mens rea of recklessness unless stated otherwise

Question 28

What was held in Sherras v De Rutzen?

Answer 28

The defendant’s conviction of selling alcohol to a constable on duty was quashed as it was a genuine mistake, and the offence wasn’t one of strict liability