Module Information

Criminal Law is a foundation subject, which must be studied and passed for the purpose of obtaining exemption from the first stage of professional law examinations. Criminal law is just one of the many branches of the law that may be studied by students, but it is arguably the largest and the most pervasive. In other words, the criminal law impinges on almost every other sphere of English and Welsh law: it intrudes into commercial law, revenue law, family law, environmental law and many others. You will even encounter criminal law when studying public international law. It follows that the study of the general principles underlying the criminal law forms an important part of any proper legal education. We must emphasise that the course will not attempt to deal with all or even most of the specific offences known to English and Welsh law. There are too many such offences. The emphasis is on the underlying principles. Can criminal liability be incurred without proof of fault or of criminal intent? Will a person be deemed to "intend" a consequence where he knew it to be an inevitable side effect of his intended behaviour? Can ignorance of the law ever amount to a defence? What if a person sets out to commit a certain crime, but abandons the idea before completing it? Although the emphasis is on general principles, these cannot be taught or understood without reference to specific offences, and a significant number of these offences will be studied in depth. Homicide, for example, can be used to illustrate and explain a wide range of principles. Killings may be lawful or unlawful; deliberate or accidental; pre-meditated or the result of sudden provocation. The killer may be drunk or sober or insane; the victim may die at once, or may die later as the result of medical negligence. There is another reason for studying a fairly wide range of offences. A criminal lawyer needs to be aware of the fact that, where one offence cannot be made out on the evidence available, it is possible that another, slightly different offence can be made out. A charge of aggravated burglary might succeed where one of robbery would fail. Criminal law is often the subject that new law students most want to study and we trust that they will not be disappointed with it. It is vivid and shocking in places, and strong in human interest. It is not, however, an easy subject. It exposes students to complex problems of statutory interpretation, and requires the study of a great deal of case law, much of it contradictory and unsound. Students must be prepared to question and criticise the law, whilst at the same time attempting to understand it.

The aim of this module is to provide students with a proper understanding of the basic principles and objectives of the criminal law of England and Wales, together with a working knowledge of a reasonably wide range of specific offences and defences. The module also aims to develop skills as outlined above, especially in relation to the use of legal texts and the interpretation and understanding of legal rules.