The Most Famous Cases

In the development of the criminal law in this country the courts, in relation to various aspects of the topic, have reached many significant decisions. By way of illustration, in relation to the ‘actus reus’ of offences the court recognised the difference between acts and omissions in Airedale NHS Trust v. Bland [1993] 1 All ER 821 that must be supported by sufficient ‘mens rea’ in Sweet v. Parsley [1970] AC 132, reflected in offences against the person illustrated by R v. Woollin [1999] 1 Cr App R 8 (HOL). With regards to the defence of necessity this was rejected in R v. Dudley & Stephens (1884) 14 QBD 273 where a group of ship-wrecked mariners resolved to turn to cannibalism by eating a boy to survive long enough to be rescued. Moreover, it was also recognised in R v. Cotter & Others [2000] TLR that there is a need to look to guaranteed the recognition of public interests.

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