Murder, Manslaughter and Infanticide

The Criminal Justice Act 2003, amongst other reforms, bought in a new sentencing regime for murder. This work includes a paper that examines: the law and structure of offences; problems inherent in the system; the 'serious harm' rule; the offence of reckless manslaughter; 'two category' structure of general homicide; and the issue of complicity.

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The Criminal Justice Act 2003, amongst other reforms, bought in a new sentencing regime for murder. However it rests on shaky foundations because the existing definitions of murder and its partial defences remain misleading, out-of-date unfit for purpose. For that reason the Law Commission was given the remit to review the various elements of murder and partial defences to it, and the relationship between the law of murder and the law relating to homicide (in particular manslaughter). Among other concerns, the Paper examines: the existing law and current structure of offences; problems inherent in the current system; the 'serious harm' rule; the current offence of reckless manslaughter; the 'two category' structure of general homicide; offences; and the issue of complicity. Partial defences, such as Provocation and Diminished responsibility, are also discussed. The Law Commission concludes by recommending a new structure of related offences.