Recent Judicial Decisions
| Author | David Wicks,Damian Carney |
| DOI | 10.1350/pojo.2009.82.4.499 |
| Published date | 01 December 2009 |
| Date | 01 December 2009 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Judicial Decisions |
DAVID WICKS
Legal Correspondent
Email: dcw@3pumpcourt.com
DAMIAN CARNEY
Legal Correspondent
Email: Damian.Carney@port.ac.uk
RECENT JUDICIAL DECISIONS
The Criminal Responsibility of Children
R v JTB [2009] UKHL 20
House of Lords
29 April 2009
The House of Lords (Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, Lord
Rodger of Earlsferry, Lord Carswell, Lord Brown of Eaton-
under-Heywood, Lord Mance) considered the Appellant’s
appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal (under the
name R v T), dismissing his appeal against conviction in the
Crown Court of a number of offences under the Sexual
Offences Act 2003.
Keywords: capacity; child; criminal responsibility; Crime
and Disorder Act 1998, s. 34; doli incapax
The facts
The Appellant was charged with a number of offences of causing
or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, contrary
to s. 13(1) of the Sexual Offences Act. At the time of the
offences, the Appellant was aged 12. He admitted the offences in
interview, but said that he had not thought what he was doing
was wrong. At the Crown Court, the Appellant’s counsel sought
to argue that the Appellant was doli incapax (i.e., incapable of
committing a criminal offence). The judge ruled that the defence
was not available to him because s. 34 of the Crime and Disorder
Act 1998 had abolished the presumption that a child over 10 is
incapable of committing an offence. The Appellant thereupon
pleaded guilty, but appealed to the Court of Appeal on the
ground that the judge’s ruling was wrong. The Court of Appeal
dismissed the appeal. The Appellant appealed.
The issues
Was the effect of s. 34 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to
abolish both the presumption and the defence of doli incapax?
The Police Journal, Volume 82 (2009) 349
DOI: 10.1358/pojo.2009.82.4.499
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