change the version number and provide a summary of the changes. She had no mens rea. AN OFFENCE of selling a lottery ticket to a person who had not attained the age of 16 years contrary to s 13 of the National Lottery Act 1993 and reg 3 of the National Lottery Regulations 1994 was an offence of strict liability and it was therefore unnecessary for the prosecution to prove that a person charged with such an offence knew or was reckless as to the age of the customer. For this the courts will start with presuming that mens rea should apply. The question set out in paragraph 8 of the Case is this: "whether an offence contrary to Regulation 3 of the National Lottery Regulations 1994 and Section 13 of the National Lottery Act 1993 requires the prosecution to prove that the defendant or his agent was aware of the buyer's age, or was reckless as to his age.". This point was reinforced in Sweet, when Lord Reid stated: It is also firmly established that the fact that other sections of the Act expressly require mens rea, for example because they contain the word knowingly, is not of itself sufficient to justify a decision that a section which is silent as to mens rea creates an absolute offence. 71-3, May 2007, Journal of Criminal Law, The Nbr. This chapter considers those offences where mens rea is not required in respect of at least one aspect of the actus reus. The July 31 and August 31, 2018, financial statements contained the following information: Required: It states: ROBBERY, BURGLARY AND OTHER OFFENCES IN THE THEFT ACTS, Arbitration of International Business Disputes, Brownlies Principles of Public International Law, Health and Human Rights in a Changing World, he Handbook of Maritime Economics and Business, Information Doesn't Want to Be Free_ Laws for the Internet Age, International Contractual and Statutory Adjudication, International Maritime Conventions (Volume 3), International Sales Law A Guide to the CISG, Mandatory Reporting Laws and the Identification of Severe Child Abuse and Neglect, Research on Selected China's Legal Issues of E-Business, Serving the Rule of International Maritime Law, Stephen Cretney-Family Law in the Twentieth Century_ A History-Oxford University Press (2003), The Impact of Corruption on International Commercial Contracts, Theoretical and Empirical Insights into Child and Family Poverty, The Oxford History of the Laws of England, The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Law, Trade Policy between Law Diplomacy and Scholarship. -like an appendix. As in Larsonneur, the defendant had not acted voluntarily. 53 terms. ", In 1984 in the Privy Council case of Gammon Limited v. Attorney General of Hong Kong [1985] 1 AC 10, having reviewed the speeches in Sweet v. Parsley and. They were charged with s13 of the National Lottery Act 1993. Sheppard & Ors (1981) 72 Cr.App.R. For s 16(1) the prosecution had to prove that the defendant knew the constable was on duty, while for s 16(2) the prosecution did not have to prove knowledge, but it was open to the defendant to prove that he did not know. Day J held this only had the effect of shifting the burden of proof. Proof will NOT be required for one aspect of the mens rea but may be required for another. First, whereas in subsection (1) paragraphs (a) and (b) the liability of the promoter and the promoter's, directors, managers and the like is tempered by the provision of a statutory defence, in subsection (1)(c) the liability of 'any other person' who was a party to the contravention of the regulation is not expressed to be subject to a statutory defence. In the case the defendant served a a lottery ticket to a person that was under age. IN DETERMINING whether a defendant "did the act or made the omission charged" for the purposes of the Trial of Lunatics Act 1883, and assuming insanity, the prosecution was required to prove the ingredients constituting the actus reus of the crime alleged, but not the mens rea. In order to decide whether an offence is one of strict liability, the courts start by assuming that mens rea is required, but they are prepared to interpret the offence as one of strict liability if Parliament has expressly or by implication indicated this in the relevant statute. They allowed the appeal and remitted the case to the magistrates to continue the hearing. Cundy v Le Cocq (1884) 13 QBD 207 Divisional Court The appellant was convicted of unlawfully selling alcohol to an intoxicated person under s.13 Licensing Act 1872. This was upheld in Tesco Supermarkets Ltd. V Nattrass [1972]. 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A boy aged 14 was charged with an offence of inciting a child under 14 to commit an act of gross indecency, contrary to section 1 (1) of the Indecency with Children Act 1960. The act of selling the ticket to someone who was actually under 16 was enough to make the defendants guilty, even though they had done their best to prevent this happening in their shop. D was told to leave the hospital but was later found slumped on a seat in a corridor. The other case is Winzar v Chief Constable of Kent, The Times, 28 March 1983; Co/1111/82 (Lexis), QBD. in Storkwain (1986) the offence carried a maximum sentence of two, years imprisonment. This is important as, if the defence of mistake is available, the defendant will be acquitted when he made an honest mistake. -punctuation helps create meaning - lack of it can be a problem. For nearly all strict liability offences it must be proved that the defendant did the relevant actus reus. He was convicted of a strict liability offence. Faraj v Secretary of State for the Home Department; CA (Peter Gibson, Thorpe, Potter LJJ) 31 Mar 1999. They also told their staff that if there was any doubt about a customers age, the staff should ask for proof of age, and if still in doubt should refer the matter to the defendants. Free resources to assist you with your legal studies! Harrow LBC v Shah and Shah (1999) The owner of a shop frequently reminded their staff to not sell lottery tickets to people under the age of 16, and put up signs in the shop. Net purchases for the month of August were $31,000. At page 149 Lord Reid said this: "It is firmly established by a host of authorities that mens rea is an essential ingredient of every offence unless some reason can be found for holding that it is not necessary. Conviction was quashed because of the difficulty in securing the controlling mind which was also the same problem in P&O European Ferries case. Both of these involve contraventions of the Licensing Act 1872. Most strict liability offences are regulatory in nature. David Perry (CPS) for the Attorney General; James Turner QC (Treasury Solicitor) as amicus curiae. The editor and publishers were convicted of blasphemy. One of the staff sold one to a 13 year old without asking for ID. Copyright 2003 - 2023 - LawTeacher is a trading name of Business Bliss Consultants FZE, a company registered in United Arab Emirates. Section 13 has two important features. The vet assured him that it was all right to eat, and so the butcher offered it for sale. The respondents were proprietors of Woods Newsagents at Uxbridge Road, Harrow. Mr Hobday was aware of the obligation not to sell lottery tickets to under age purchasers. This case involved s 58(2) of the Medicines Act 1968, which provides that no person shall supply specified medicinal products except in accordance with a prescription given by an appropriate medical practitioner. The company received a bill for $2,300\$2,300$2,300 of advertising but will not pay it until a later date. The presumption is particularly strong where the offence is truly criminal in character. HoL suggested that the common law presumption was that mens rea was required to be proved unless Parliament had indicated otherwise. 2. Pharmaceutical Society of GB v Storkwain Ltd (1986). A case we can look at is Harrow London BC v Shah [2000]. This is because the advertisement was not an offer for sale but was only an Invitation to Treat. The surprising fact is that about half of all statutory offences are strict liability. It involves status offences; that is, offences where the actus reus is a state of affairs. This was also upheld in the case of Partridge v Crittenden [1968]. This was upheld in Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. [1983] concerning unilateral contract. Looking for a flexible role? In Hibbert the defendant met a girl aged 14 on the street. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of LawTeacher.net. In Harrow LBC v Shah and Shah (1999) the defendants were charged under, s13 (1) (c) of the National Lottery Act 1993. The policeman had removed his armband. Mr Hobday was aware of the obligation not to sell lottery tickets to under age purchasers. So again, the court has to look at other sections of the Act to find out if it is an This appeal concerns the meaning of that provision and its application to the facts of this case. This amounts to over 5, 000 offences. The words and punctuation. R v St Edmundsbury Borough Council, ex p Watson; QBD, Crown Office List (Hooper J) 13 Apr 1999. The defendant (15) repeatedly asked a girl (13) on the bus to perform oral sex on him. Course Hero is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university. If they do, then plainly, in order to prove a contravention of regulation 3, all that is required of the prosecution is proof of the sale of a national lottery ticket to a particular person and proof that at the time of the sale that person was under 16. Although the courts start with the presumption that mens rea is required, they look at a variety of points to decide whether the presumption should stand or if it can be displaced and the offence made one of strict liability. The clothing shop may be liable under S.1 of this Act which states that it an offence to apply a false trade description to any goods or supplies or offers to supply any goods to which a false trade description is applied in the course of a trade or business. It is not known how Winzar came to be taken to the hospital on a stretcher, but commentators on this case point out that there may be an element of fault in Winzars conduct. Info: 1492 words (6 pages) Essay In Sherras the defendant was convicted by a magistrate of an offence under s 16(2) of the Licensing Act 1872. Subscribers are able to see a visualisation of a case and its relationships to other cases. In both these cases the charge against the defendant was that he had taken an unmarried girl under the age of 16 out of the possession of her father against his will, contrary to s 55 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. Michael Booth (Tickle Hall Cross) for the plaintiff; Angharad Start (Wilde Sapte) for the bank. The only situation in which the presumption can be displaced is where the statute is concerned with an issue of social concern; public safety is such an issue. There are various aspects to the exercise. A . 11 terms. seem, however, to be any sensible pattern for when Parliament decides to include a due diligence defence and when it does not. National Distributing Company uses a periodic inventory system to track its merchandise inventory and the gross profit method to estimate ending inventory and cost of goods sold for interim periods. liability offences. Crime. 963 , It follows that this is a case where the fourth and fifth of Lord Scarman's propositions are engaged. D1 was in a back room of the premises at the time; D2 was not on the premises. Advanced A.I. Facts. 2) The presumption can only be displaced if this is clearly the effect of the words of the statute. . They phoned the police who took the defendant to the road outside. schedules. Despite this the House of Lords held that the Divisional Court was right to direct the magistrates to convict D. The pharmacists had supplied the drugs without a genuine prescription, and this was enough to make them guilty of the offence. harrow LBC v Shah and Shah. In addition to mandatory public signs, concerning the sale of lottery tickets to under 16s, the respondents had other handwritten signs on the counter, on the till and the lottery terminal reminding staff not to sell to under 16s and they regularly reminded the staff orally of their obligation. Students working in shops and supermarkets are no doubt aware of the greater vigilance being shown in . 340 words (1 pages) Case Summary. Strict Liability Cases. Lord Russell said: Why then should the House, faced with a deliberate publication of that which a jury with every justification has held to be a blasphemous libel, consider that it should be for the prosecution to prove, presumably beyond reasonable doubt, that the accused recognised and intended it to be such The reason why the law considers that the publication of a blasphemous libel is an offence is that the law considers that such publications should not take place. On the other hand, in R v Kite and OLL Ltd [1994], where a leisure company and its managing director were found guilty of corporate manslaughter in the Lyme Bay kayaking tragedy after several students were killed by sending an untrained staff to rough seas in canoe. 3) The presumption is particularly strong where the offence is of truly criminal character. The first is Larsonneur (1933) 24 Cr App R 74. He claimed that she told him that she was 16 and had consented to the sexual activity. A mother was found guilty of failing to secure school attendance for her child. Facts: The company was charged with causing polluted matter to enter a river, contrary to s2 (1) (a) of the Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) Act 1951, when pumps. In Cundy the defendant was charged with selling intoxicating liquor to a drunken person, contrary to s 13 of the Act. 44 terms. The defendant knew that she was in the possession of her father, but believed (on reasonable grounds) that she was 18. The key part of the judgment was when Lord Reid said: there has for centuries been a presumption that Parliament did not intend to make criminals of persons who were in no way blameworthy in what they did. These factors are well established. Attorney General's Reference (No 3 of 1998); CA, Crim Div (Judge LJ, Sachs, Klevan JJ) 25 Mar 1999. Harrow LBC v Shah and Shah. It can be argued that such a defence should always be available for strict liability offences. As it is, where there are no express words indicating mens rea or strict liability, the courts have to decide which offences are ones of strict liability. There was no evidence the defendant had acted dishonestly, improperly or negligently. There are severe financial penalties for strict liability offences Harrow LBC v Shah (1999). Criminal contempt of court used to be a strict liability offence at common law. This means that the defendant will not be liable if he can adduce evidence that he did all that was within his power not to commit the offence. In Sherras, even though s 16(1) of the Licensing Act 1872 had express words requiring knowledge, it was held that mens rea was still required for s 16(2), which did not include the word knowingly. The judge, Parke B, ruled that he was guilty even if a nice chemical analysis was needed to discover that the tobacco was adulterated. In contrast it was held in Sherras v De Rutzen that s 16 of the Licensing Act 1872 did not impose strict liability. THE FOLLOWING notes of judgments were prepared by the reporters of the All England Law Reports. On appeal, it was held that it was not an offer for sale but was merely an Invitation to Treat. This is distinguished from an offer which can be defined as a persons willingness to enter into a contract and be bounded by its term and conditions. He had met the girl (14) on the street and taken her to another place where they had sex. D is liable if he voluntarily did the actus reus . No due diligence defence will be available. The Law Lords quoted with approval what Lord Reid had said in Sweet v Parsley (see section 4.4.8 for full details of B v DPP). Despite this she was found guilty under the Aliens Order 1920 of being an alien to whom leave to land in the United Kingdom has been refused who was found in the United Kingdom. The vet assured him it was and so the butcher offered it for sale. Sweet v. Parsley [1970] AC 132 . Prices were not changed in accordance to the sale prices and hence, it was a false description which is a strict liability offence. Oliver can complain to the Trading Standards Officer regarding his problem of finding a single item at sale prices so that necessary actions can be taken against the shop. Frances Webber (Gill & Co) for the appellant; Stuart Catchpole (Treasury Solicitor) for the Home Secretary. S13 (1) (a) clearly allows a defence of due, diligence so this meant that the Act was one where the offences were strict, In Gammon (1984) the Privy Council stated that the presumption that mens rea is. Even though the age aspect of the offence was one of strict liability, mens rea was required for the removal aspect, and in this case, the necessary intention was not proved. The company had caused the river water to be polluted and hence, conviction was upheld. Second, although the maximum sentence for conviction on indictment is two years, a fine, or both, those penalties apply to all persons who are guilty of any offence under the section including the promoter. THE FOLLOWING notes of judgments were prepared by the reporters of the All England Law Reports. Facts: D was a DJ who was convicted of using a station fore wireless telegraphy, without a license contrary to s1 (1) Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949. In general, the Courts will give a ruling after considering all the actions of the employees in a corporation. An Invitation to Treat is simply an invitation to people to make an offer. It states: In this Act the strict liability rule means the rule of law whereby conduct may be treated as a contempt of court as tending to interfere with the course of justice in particular legal proceedings regardless of intent to do so.. Robert Denman (Joseph Aaron & Co, Ilford) for the plaintiff; Timothy Fancourt (Collyer-Bristow) for the first defendant; Justin Althaus (Armstrong & Co) for Mr & Mrs Uddin. Suppose a person was found drunk in a restaurant and was asked to leave. The defendant supplied drugs to somebody who was using a forged prescription, they were charged under s58(2) of the Medicines Act 1968 for supplying drugs without a doctors prescription. Re Baron Holding Investments Ltd; Ch D (Pumfrey J) 16 Apr 1999. The appellant appealed on the grounds that he unaware of the customer's drunkenness. *You can also browse our support articles here >. The Divisional Court upheld his conviction. It was in fact unfit and the butcher was convicted of the offence of exposing unfit meat for sale. MR M BATCHELOR (instructed by Messrs Shah and Burke, London, NW10) appeared on behalf of the Appellant. ", At page 163 Lord Diplock explained the rationale of the presumption. The defendant and his employees made the honest mistaken by not realising that he was drunk. The company received $20,000\$20,000$20,000 in cash from customers who had been billed for services c(in transaction 1). Non-Fatal Offences: Cases. In fact it was unfit and the butcher was convicted of the offence of exposing unsound meat for sale. Give the cases and the area of law for no fault liability. IF A local planning authority wished to delegate to a planning officer the authority to make a decision under reg 9 of the Town and Country Planning (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1988 to the effect that an applicant for planning permission which fell within Sch 2 of the regulations need not submit an environmental statement, such a delegation had to be formally made under s 101 of the Local Government Act 1992. It is more possible to reconcile the two cases on this basis as in most cases the fact of a person being drunk would be an observable fact, so the publican should be put on alert and could avoid committing the offence. A report is due out but had not been published at the time of writing the text. In Harrow London Borough Council v Shah [1999], it is a strict liability offence to sell National Lottery tickets to a person under the age of 16 as it is an issue of social concern stated by the Divisional Court. 1 b). The draft Criminal Code of 1989 included provision for a general defence of due diligence, but the Code has never been enacted. This appeal concerns the meaning of that provision and its application to the facts of this case. He was found guilty of rape. The starting point in each case is always the samenamely, there is a presumption that included in the ingredients of the offence under consideration is the element of, This was emphasised as long ago as 1970 in the case of, "It is firmly established by a host of authorities that, It is also firmly established that the fact that other sections of the Act expressly require. D1 and D2 were charged with selling a lottery ticket to a person under 16, contrary to s 13(1)(c) of the National Lottery etc. Subscribers are able to see a list of all the documents that have cited the case. Section 13(1) (c) provides that Any other person who was a party to the contravention shall be guilty of an offence. Only three common law offences have been held to be ones of strict liability. The judges often have difficulty in deciding whether an offence is one of strict liability. of strict liability. Case law 5.2. They held that the offence was not one of strict liability, and accordingly a genuine mistake provided the defendant with a defence. High Court. . The court looked at other sections in the Act and decided that, as there were express provisions for mens rea in other sections, Parliament had intended s 58(2) to be one of strict liability. The defendant, who was an alien, had been ordered to leave the United Kingdom. Determining whether Parliament has created an offence of strict liability involves rather more than applying a particular test, or working through a list of clearly and closely defined criteria. She refused. In addition, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 made it unlawful for shops to display the price of an item contrary to the price showed at the point of sale. 4) The presumption can only be displaced if the statute is concerned with an issue of social concern, such as public safety. She did not want to return to the United Kingdom. He took her to another place where they had sexual intercourse. They include offences such as breaches of regulations e.g. Also, the Act gives emphasis to gross breaches of relevant duties and the judgment and actions of high-level employees. Case law is inconsistent, for example, compare Cundy with Sherras v De Rutzen (1895). Subscribers are able to see any amendments made to the case. This happened in the case of Harrow LBC v. Shah and Shah (1999) where the defendants had done their best to prevent sales of lottery tickets to anyone under the age of 16. Examples of offences of social concern include driving offences eg R v Williams [2011] 1 WLR 588 (case summary) and health and safety regulations. In Harrow LBC v Shah and Shah the defendants were charged under s 13(1)(c) of the National Lottery etc. Recent cases, including the Court of Appeal's judgment in Bou-Simon v BGC Brokers LP and the (as yet unreported) case of Harrow LBC v Engie Regeneration (Apollo) Ltd (2018) (TCC), provide a useful reminder of the strict constraints on implying terms into a commercial contract. The defendant assumed that he was not on duty. Take a look at some weird laws from around the world! Held: Appeal dismissed and conviction was upheld. However, the magistrate held that the offence was complete on proof that a sale had taken place and that the person served was drunk and convicted the defendant. (See section 1.2.3.). Landlord and tenant; whether poor soundproofing amounted to breach of covenant for quiet enjoyment. Registered office: Creative Tower, Fujairah, PO Box 4422, UAE. There is no need to prove mens rea for at least part of the actus reus. 61 terms. THE COURT had jurisdiction under Ord 23, r 1(1)(a) of the Rules of the Supreme Court "if, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, it thought it just to do so" to order a plaintiff company which was resident and incorporated in the Isle of Man to give security for costs, and was not bound to refuse to do so unless the requirements of s 726 of the Companies Act 1985 were satisfied. If the particular section is silent on the point, then the courts will look at other sections in the Act. Those facts are simple. Some ten years later in the case of. Hence, the company may be liable and be subjected to compensate Oliver. This idea of not requiring mens rea for part of the offence is illustrated by two cases, Prince (1875) LR 2 CCR 154 and Hibbert (1869) LR 1 CCR 184. Figure 4.1 Contrasting the cases of Prince and Hibbert. It was apparent that the director has a greater influence on the conduct of companys manager and the courts were able to identify the guilty act and the managing director as the controlling mind. Subscribers are able to see the revised versions of legislation with amendments. He was served by the defendants daughter in the presence of the defendant. Issues of social concern cover any, activity which is a potential danger to public health, safety or morals. Mark Batchelor (Asst Director of Trading Standards, London Borough of Harrow) for the appellant; Milan Dulovic (Shah & Burke) for the respondents. Determining whether Parliament has created an offence of strict liability involves rather more than applying a particular test, or working through a list of clearly and closely defined criteria. Corporations have been found guilty for various offences committed by their employees in some up-to-date cases.