The document provides an overview of key concepts in the criminal law topic of actus reus and omissions. It discusses the general rules for establishing criminal liability, which require both an actus reus (guilty act) and mens rea (guilty mind). It examines different types of acts that can satisfy the actus reus requirement, such as acts, omissions, consequences or results. It also explores the concept of omissions in criminal liability and how liability can arise from a failure to act in certain situations where there is a duty of care. The document uses cases like Donoghue v Stevenson and Airedale NHS Trust v Bland to illustrate these legal principles and provides examples, questions, and tasks

1. All of these we have come across at AS… can you work them out? And identify a case or even a definition?
What’s the legal word?

2. A2 Criminal Law 1:
Actus Reus & Omissions

3. Introduction:
What do we do at A2?
Criminal Law G153
60% of A2 Law
3 questions in two hours
One essay question
One problem question
One application question
Criminal Law G154
40% of A2 Law
Synoptic
Source Booklet
3 questions, no choice
One essay
One case analysis
Three short problems
1. Be here
2. Be equipped
3. Be in correct attire
4. Put your phone away
5. Meet deadlines
6. Try your best.
7. No homework by email.

4. So what are the general rules in establishing
criminal liability?
All crimes require two elements*
Applying it.
Which element of the crime do the following refer to?
I’m going to steal a car.
A punch in the face
I just shot a man and I’m glad.
Wilmington v DPP 1935
Ratio:
This case establishes that D is innocent until proven guilty
... and that it is for the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the elements
of any crime charged against D and to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt any
defence save insanity that D may raise at his trial.

5. Should be a positive, voluntary act
Actus Reus
Leicester v Pearson 1952
1. Why was this an involuntary action?
2. What effect does this have on Ds liability?
Got it? Let’s check...
All of you should be able to decide whether or
not there has been a voluntary actus reus
Most of you should be able to support this with
reference to supporting case or reasoned opinon
Some of you may be able to determine whether
D also has a ‘guilty mind’ or mens rea.
D is at the doctors, having his reflexes
tested. His leg kicks out, causing the
doctor to suffer a black eye
D is dancing around, and clips V with
her elbow, sending her over a small
balcony, causing a broken leg.
D is angry at V, and argues with him.
Losing his temper he punches him,
breaking his nose.
D1 spikes D2’s lemonade, hoping he will
stay and talk to her. D2 doesn’t realise
and drives his car home whilst
intoxicated.

6. Gibbons & Proctor
Theft Perjury
Murder Wounding
Winzar v CC of Kent R v Larsonneur
Consequence or Result
Omission
State of Affairs
Conduct
Last bit of general knowledge:
The many ways to commit a crime
(types of actus reus)

7. Stop and Check:
So which type are each of these?
Challenge yourself: Can you identify a legal issue with each one of these. In other words D is
arguing that they are not guilty… why?
Scenario Type of AR Why? Linked Case?
D was sitting on a chair when an
eight-year-old girl put her hand on
his penis outside his trousers for
about five minutes. The pressure of
the child's hand caused him to have
an erection.
Speck
D takes £1000 out of the company
safe, intending to replace it when he
is paid at the end of the month.
Velyuml
D puts metal bars across the exits
doors from a theatre. He then turns
the light off and shouts fire. People
are injured running into the bars.
Martin

8. Omissions:
Our first real area of the law! Student Task:
So here are five
sets of facts. In
only one of them is
there no crime.
All of you should be
able which defendant
is not liable for his
actions.
Most of you will be
able to explain why
the others should be
liable.
Some of you will be
able to explain the
justification for
imposing liability for
an omission in the
five ‘duty’ situations.
D invites his sister
to come and stay
with him. Whilst
she is there, she
refuses to eat any
food and dies of
malnutrition
D walks home from his job as a
lifeguard. As he walks past the local
river, he sees a child in there
struggling. He walks past.
D is searched by a
police officer who
asks him if he has
anything in his
pockets. D replies
no, but has a
needle which stabs
the officer.
D walks home from his job as a
lifeguard. As he walks, he sees a child
in the local river struggling. He jumps
in to save V, but in the resuscitation
accidently breaks one of her ribs,
resulting in V’s death.
DD’s daughter had diabetes. As a
result of their beliefs, they refused to
let doctors treat her with insulin and
she died.

9. So, if those are the exceptions…
what’s the general rule?
Definition: An omission is a failure to do something. They come largely from the
common law which means that they are created by the courts
General Rule:
At A2, to prove our points, we need an illustration or precedent .
Here it is a case we have met at AS Airedale NHS v Bland

10. What do I mean by a ‘duty of care’?
This is a legal not moral decision, and the list of situations is not finite!
Donoghue v Stevenson 1932
"You must take reasonable care to
avoid acts or omissions which you
can reasonably foresee would be
likely to injure your neighbour. Who
then, in law is my neighbour? The
answer seems to be - persons who
are so closely and directly affected
by my act that I ought reasonably to
have them in contemplation as being
affected when I am directing my
mind to the acts or omissions which
are in question."
R v Winters 2010
Developing AO1:
Why do we impose a duty on some people and so
find them liable if they fail to carry out their duty
properly?
E Grade:
Clearly explain
why the duty
exists
C Grade:
Support your
explanation with
a well explained
case.
A Grade:
Consider the
limitations you
think should be
imposed on this
area.

11. Duty arising from specific relationships
s.1 Child and Young Person’s Act 1933
R v Gibbons & Proctor 1918
R v Harris & Harris 1993

12. Duty arising from contractual obligations
R v Pittwood 1902
R v Adomako 1993

13. Duty arising from public office
R v Dytham 1979
What other jobs might this include?

14. Voluntary Assumption of Duty
R v Stone & Dobinson 1977
R v Instan 1893
How do we know when s duty of care starts... Or finishes?

15. Duty Arising from Dangerous Prior Conduct
R v Miller 1983
R v Santana-Bermudez 2003

16. Duty Arising from Joint Enterprise
R v Wacker 2003
R v Willoughby 2004

17. A new situation?
R v Evans (Gemma) 2009
Remember that Khan and Khan
had made it clear that the
courts could develop more
duty situations...
They had already done this
with the case of Wacker, but
the most recent situation is
detailed in the edited law
report.

18. 1. What happened?
2. What is the main problem with omissions?
3. What was the outcome of the appeal?
4. Which duty could not be used to convict D
and why?
5. Name one case which was followed by the
CA in this decision
6. What was the duty, which was developed by
the CA here?
7. Do you agree that D was “under a plain and
obvious duty”? Why?
8. How can you link the development of this
duty to at least one other duty area?
R v Evans (Gemma) 2009

19. Plenary:
Answer one of the following questions
Evaluate whether the imposition of liability (finding D guilty) was
justified in Winzar v CC of Kent?
Describe one reason why we should impose liability on defendants
who failto do an act
Explain what is meant by the neighbour principle, and identify the case
it comes from.
Which type of actus reus is illustrated by the crime of murder, and
explain why.
Identify the two key elements for criminal liability
A
B
C
D
E

20. Starter:
Can you name the following cases?
1. Neigh neigh... choo choo.
2. My wicked stepmother didn't even give
me an apple!
3. I may be a policeman, but I don't care.
4. Ah don’t think that’s going to help him
breathe!
5. Isn't he just veging out? Can't we (not) do
something?
6. A cold explosion proves deadly?
All of you should be able to
give the name or the facts of
the case.
Most of you should be able to
identify the duty.
Some of you should be able to
name the missing key case, and
explain why it is missing.

21. Are they liable?
Jack & Sophie are having a picnic on a farm. Jack
lights a fire near a haystack. The haystack catches
fire, burning down the barn next to it. Jack and
Sophie run off and do nothing to prevent the spread
of the fire.
Mark starts to look after his elderly aunt. She is frail
and needs to be helped with her feeding. After 3
weeks, Mark gets a new girlfriend. He forgets to take
food to his aunt and she dies of starvation.
Mitch is a lifeguard at a swimming pool. While on
duty, a child drowns. Mitch didn’t realise what was
happening because he was chatting to one of his
friends.
Susie, a teacher, is taking a group of students on a
canoeing trip to enable them to bond. She makes
sure that the instructor is qualified, but doesn’t
make the students wear a life vest. One of the
students, Sam, falls out the canoe and drowns.
At A2 Law, half your marks come
from the ability to apply the law to a
situation and conclude on what that
means for a defendant.
What to do:
Read the following situations and complete the
table to shown if there is a duty to act in each
situation. Explain your answers using relevant
cases, and then conclude on what that means for
D’s liability.

22. Statutory Duties
In addition to those common law areas, there are some specific situations where
Parliament has decided that an omission attracts criminal liability.
s.5 Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims
Act 2004
What is the offence created under this act?
Why was the mother convicted? What was
her ‘omission’?
What is the purpose of the legislation
Do you agree with the new law?
s.170 Road
Traffic Act 1988
S.1 Child and Young
Persons Act 1933
S.6 Road Traffic Act
1988
S.19 Terrorist Act
2000

23. Plenary
1. D, a teacher, decides to read her book
whilst on a school trip. V, a pupil, slips and
falls into a pond drowning.
2. D, a paramedic on duty, cycles past a
woman lying on the pavement bleeding.
She dies.
3. D tells V that his car is safe to borrow, even
though it is made of two separate cars
welded together. V is driving down the
motorway when the car splits in two and V
crashes, dying.
4. D takes care of her elderly mother, bringing
her food each day. D then wins the lottery
and books herself on a cruise, but doesn’t
arrange care for her mum, and she dies of
malnutrition.
Applying your understanding of the topic of omissions, and the skills required to apply the law
successfully, write a paragraph explaining the liability of each of the following defendants

24. Starter:
Dominoes are back!
Using your understanding
of the topic, can you
successfully complete the
chain?
All of you should be able to
do this using your handouts
or the notes for those of you
who were absent
Most of you should be able
to match them using your
brilliant brains and earn a
lovely lollipop
Some of you should be able
to identify which duty is
missing and link it to one of
the present ones.

25. Omissions
General
rule?
Requires a
‘duty of care’
Common
law duties…Statutory
Duties
Reform

26. So the law is perfect right?
If only! We need to look and evaluate at how effective it actually is.
How do you ‘give up’ or ‘end’ a duty (can you?)
When is a duty imposed upon you?
Should we impose higher standards of good
practice on certain people? Are they justified?
Is it easy to distinguish between an act and an
omission?
Not all offences can be committed by
omission.
How true are these?
All of you must be
able to answer the
question
Most of you should
be able to support
this with reference
to a case or statute
Some of you could
be able to develop a
counterargument to
develop your
argument.

27. Evaluating Omissions:
Does the Law Work?
We will go
over this
example as a
class, as a
model
Each of you will
then be given a
further quote to
evaluate and
develop in the
same way.
In essays you are
expected to use
at least 8 well
discussed and
critically explored
cases/statutes.
Each of these
points is aimed at
you developing
one of these…
Let’s see how well
you get on!
Reason: • It is unfair as it means that those who attempt to kill by ‘failing’ to feed
someone are not liable for attempted murder, even though they have a
mens rea and intend to kill.
Supporting case
or statute:
• Criminal Attempts Act 1981
• Instan – stopped taking aunt food.
Relevant ratio
or obiter:
• CAA – attempt can only be an ‘act’
• Instan – was liable even though she didn’t realise there was a legal duty, and
seems unfair that she is liable, but a deliberate attempt to kill someone who
is saved by accident is not liable.
However: • The Law Commission has suggested that this should change and there are
other statutory duties to cover the gap.
Supporting case
or statute:
• Report on Attempts 2009
• Domestic Violence, Crime and Violence Act 2004 s.5 – familial homicide
Mujuru
Relevant ratio
or obiter:
• D can now be prosecuted for allowing the death or serious harm to come to
a child or vulnerable person, which may address some of the issues.
“Not all offences can be committed by omission”

28. So have you got the essentials?
Complete the last few bits, using what you have learnt this lesson!
Omissions
General
rule?
Requires a
‘duty of care’
Common
law duties…Statutory
Duties
Reform

29. End of Unit Assessment:
Composing an A2 Essay
You are going to write your first A2 essay for
homework this week.
It will be on the topic of omissions.
The critical work we have just completed can be
used to help with it.
A few essentials:
 These are worth 50 marks
 It is split into 25 AO1, 20 AO2 & 5 AO3
 You should include at least eight well
explained and evaluated cases
You should use the words of the question
to frame your debate
You should look at both sides of the
argument.

30. Stage One:
The Question

31. Stage Two:
The Introduction
Introduction:
The purpose of the introduction is to
outline your arguement, using the words
of the quote, and clearly define the
terms you are using.
Essentially, you are showing the
examiner you know what you are doing!

32. Stage Three:
Discussing the Law
Area: AO1 (25 marks) AO2 (20 marks)
Means
Define the area clearly.
Supporting evidence
Cases, statutes etc which you will
explain to illustrate your area
Critical Response
Use the statement to comment
on the application of that area
in the case
Counterargument
Consider the other side of the
argument
A-B link to a further case to
expand your argument.
Origins/Latest
law
Always start at the
beginning!
 Omission
removes liability
 Unless duty of
care and breach
 Defined and
developed by
courts
Donoghue v
Stevenson
Airedale NHS v Bland
Winters
 Exception to general presumption
 Not finite list (Khan & Khan) – leading
to uncertainty
 From civil concepts – but goes further
so unfair - Wacker
 Case by case development


33. Over to You!
Complete the AO1 boxes for the
areas of the law, using your
notes and understanding.
ASK if you need to check
anything!

34. Stage Four:
The Conclusion
Conclusion:
The purpose of the conclusion is to draw
your argument to a close and conclude
on the accuracy of the statement, using a
case support your conclusions.

35. Writing a good, well developed response
You are going to use the information on your critical point to produce a well explained and
evaluated paragraph, combining AO1 and AO2
The case of Stone and Dobinson, where DD attempted to care for the victim, who
refused their help, and they couldn’t get help because they didn’t know how to
use a telephone, shows how harsh the duties can be on D. People are liable who
should not be – the public policy seems to be more important than the legal
principle. DD did try to help Stone’s sister and did their best considering their
low level of intellect. It is morally unjust that they were convicted and sent to
prison especially as V was a grown woman, who can ordinarily refuse all
treatment.
However, in the case of Instan, the imposition of a duty was justified as she was
the only carer for the victim, and although D may not realise they are under a
legal duty as well as a moral one, by imposing this duty, the courts are helping
to protect vulnerable victims. Here the victim was particularly vulnerable because
of their age and therefore holding D liable is essential to protect such victims,
which is similar to the approach of the law in the approach of the courts in
address the vulnerabilities of children.
My Critical Point:
“The decision of the court in Stone and Dobinson is unfair”

36. Plenary:
Answer one of the following questions
Discuss whether the law on omissions should have a
moral basis, using a case to illustrate your argument
Explain why omissions are an exception to the general
rule on criminal liability.
Describe what is meant by a ‘duty of care’
What is meant by a ‘consequence crime’ and give an
example of one.
Identify the two key elements in criminal responsibility.
A
B
C
D
E