Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) Criminal Law and Practice (FLK2) Syllabus

Criminal Law and Practice (FLK2) syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Criminal Law and Practice (FLK2) in Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Substantive Criminal Law

   4 topics

   • General principles of liability
     • Actus reus and mens rea
     • Causation
     • Strict liability
   • Offences against the person
     • Assault and battery
     • Offences under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861
     • Homicide: murder and manslaughter
   • Property offences
     • Theft and robbery
     • Burglary
     • Fraud and criminal damage
   • Inchoate offences, parties and defences
     • Attempts and conspiracy
     • Accessorial liability
     • Defences: self-defence, intoxication, duress, insanity
2. 2

   Police Station Procedure and Investigation

   3 topics

   • Powers of investigation
     • Stop, search and arrest under PACE 1984
     • Detention time limits and reviews
     • Searches of premises and seizure
   • Rights of the suspect
     • Right to legal advice and the appropriate adult
     • Interviews and the PACE Codes of Practice
     • Identification procedures
   • Advising at the police station
     • The decision whether to answer questions
     • Adverse inferences from silence
3. 3

   Pre-Trial and Procedure in the Magistrates' and Crown Courts

   3 topics

   • Bail and remand
     • The right to bail and exceptions
     • Bail conditions and appeals
   • Classification of offences and allocation
     • Summary, either-way and indictable offences
     • Plea before venue and allocation procedure
     • Sending for trial to the Crown Court
   • Case management and disclosure
     • Prosecution and defence disclosure obligations
     • Plea and trial preparation hearings
4. 4

   Trial, Evidence and Sentencing

   3 topics

   • Rules of criminal evidence
     • Burden and standard of proof
     • Confessions and exclusion under ss 76 and 78 PACE
     • Hearsay, character and visual identification
   • Conduct of the trial
     • Trial in the magistrates' court
     • Trial on indictment and the role of the jury
   • Sentencing and appeals
     • Aims of sentencing and types of sentence
     • Aggravating and mitigating factors
     • Appeals from the magistrates' and Crown Courts

Criminal Law and Practice (FLK2) flashcards for Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE)

21 of 51 cards from the Criminal Law and Practice (FLK2) deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What two elements must the prosecution prove for criminal liability, and how do they relate?

   Actus reus (the guilty act/conduct, circumstances or consequences) and mens rea (the guilty mind). Both must generally coincide in time (contemporaneity), and the actus reus must be caused by the defendant. Liability also requires the absence of a valid defence.

2. Distinguish direct intent, oblique (indirect) intent, and the Woollin test.

   Direct intent: the defendant's aim or purpose is the result. Oblique intent: the result is a virtually certain consequence of the defendant's act and the defendant appreciated this. Under Woollin, the jury may FIND intention where death/GBH was a virtual certainty and the defendant realised that.

3. State the test for recklessness in criminal law (Cunningham/R v G).

   Subjective recklessness: the defendant (1) was aware of a risk that the prohibited result or circumstance existed/would occur, and (2) in the circumstances known to him it was unreasonable to take that risk. The risk need only be foreseen, not foreseen as probable.

4. What are the rules of factual and legal causation?

   Factual causation: the 'but for' test — but for the defendant's act the result would not have occurred. Legal causation: the act must be an operating and substantial (more than minimal) cause, and there must be no novus actus interveniens (free, voluntary, informed third-party act; victim's wholly unreasonable act; or extraordinary natural event) breaking the chain.

5. What is the 'thin skull' (eggshell skull) rule?

   The defendant must take the victim as he finds them. If the victim has a particular vulnerability (physical, e.g. haemophilia, or a religious belief such as refusing a blood transfusion) that makes the harm worse, the defendant is liable for the full extent of the harm and cannot argue it broke the chain of causation.

6. Define assault (common/technical assault) under s.39 Criminal Justice Act 1988.

   Actus reus: any act causing the victim to apprehend immediate unlawful personal force. Mens rea: intention or recklessness as to causing that apprehension. No touching is required; words or even silence can amount to assault. It is a summary offence (max 6 months).

7. Define battery and its actus reus and mens rea.

   Battery: the application of unlawful force to another person. Actus reus: infliction of unlawful force (even the slightest touch). Mens rea: intention or recklessness as to applying unlawful force. Summary offence under s.39 CJA 1988 (max 6 months).

8. State the elements of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (s.47 OAPA 1861).

   Actus reus: an assault or battery that occasions (causes) actual bodily harm — any hurt or injury interfering with health/comfort that is more than trivial (can include psychiatric harm). Mens rea: only the mens rea for the assault/battery — NO need to foresee the ABH. Triable either way, max 5 years.

9. Contrast s.20 and s.18 OAPA 1861 (wounding/GBH), especially the mens rea.

   s.20 (malicious wounding/inflicting GBH): mens rea = intention OR recklessness as to causing SOME harm. Max 5 years, triable either way. s.18 (wounding/causing GBH with intent): mens rea = intention to cause GBH (or intent to resist/prevent arrest with recklessness as to some harm). Max life, indictable only. A 'wound' requires a break in both layers of skin.

10. State the elements of theft under s.1 Theft Act 1968.

    Dishonest (s.2) appropriation (s.3) of property (s.4) belonging to another (s.5) with the intention to permanently deprive (s.6). Actus reus: appropriation of property belonging to another. Mens rea: dishonesty and intention to permanently deprive. Max 7 years, triable either way.

11. What is the test for dishonesty (Ivey v Genting; Barton v Wright Hassall)?

    (1) Ascertain the defendant's actual (subjective) knowledge or belief as to the facts; (2) then decide whether the conduct was dishonest by the (objective) standards of ordinary decent people. The defendant need not appreciate that what he did was dishonest by those standards. The old Ghosh second limb is no longer used.

12. List the three situations under s.2(1) Theft Act 1968 where a defendant is NOT dishonest.

    A defendant is not dishonest if he appropriates property in the belief that: (a) he has a legal right to deprive the other of it; (b) he would have the other's consent if the other knew of the appropriation and circumstances; or (c) the person to whom the property belongs cannot be discovered by taking reasonable steps. Note: willingness to pay does NOT prevent dishonesty (s.2(2)).

13. State the elements of robbery under s.8 Theft Act 1968.

    A person is guilty of robbery if he steals (all elements of theft must be present) AND immediately before or at the time of doing so, and in order to do so, he uses force on any person, or puts or seeks to put any person in fear of being then and there subjected to force. Indictable only, max life.

14. Distinguish burglary under s.9(1)(a) and s.9(1)(b) Theft Act 1968.

    s.9(1)(a): entering a building (or part) as a trespasser WITH INTENT to steal, inflict GBH, or do unlawful damage — the intent exists at entry. s.9(1)(b): having entered as a trespasser, the defendant steals/attempts to steal or inflicts/attempts to inflict GBH — committed once inside. Both require entry as a trespasser; max 14 years (dwelling) or 10 years.

15. State the elements of fraud by false representation (s.2 Fraud Act 2006).

    The defendant (1) dishonestly (2) makes a false representation (express or implied, as to fact or law, including state of mind), (3) knowing it is or might be untrue or misleading, (4) with intent to make a gain for himself/another or cause loss/risk of loss to another. It is a conduct offence — no gain or loss need actually result. Max 10 years.

16. State the basic offence of criminal damage (s.1(1) Criminal Damage Act 1971).

    Actus reus: destroying or damaging property belonging to another without lawful excuse. Mens rea: intention or recklessness as to the destruction/damage of property belonging to another. Lawful excuses include belief in consent or protecting other property (s.5). Max 10 years (or summary if value low).

17. What is the maximum sentence for aggravated criminal damage (s.1(2) CDA 1971) and what extra element is required?

    Max life imprisonment. It requires the basic offence plus that the defendant intended OR was reckless as to endangering the life of another by the destruction/damage. The property damaged can belong to the defendant himself, and life need not actually be endangered.

18. State the actus reus and mens rea of an attempt under s.1 Criminal Attempts Act 1981.

    Actus reus: doing an act that is 'more than merely preparatory' to the commission of the offence. Mens rea: intention to commit the full offence (intention to bring about the consequences; for attempted murder, intention to kill — intention to cause GBH is not enough). Attempting the impossible is still an offence.

19. Compare conspiracy, the two main forms of secondary participation, and accessorial liability under s.8 Accessories and Abettors Act 1861.

    Statutory conspiracy (s.1 Criminal Law Act 1977): an agreement between two or more to pursue a course of conduct that will necessarily amount to an offence. A secondary party 'aids, abets, counsels or procures' the principal's offence (s.8 AAA 1861) — needs an act of assistance/encouragement plus intention to assist/encourage and knowledge of the essential matters. The accessory is tried and punished as a principal.

20. State the test for self-defence / defence of another (and s.76 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008).

    Two questions: (1) Was the use of force NECESSARY? Judged on the facts as the defendant honestly believed them to be (even if mistaken, unless mistake due to voluntary intoxication). (2) Was the force REASONABLE/PROPORTIONATE in those circumstances? Judged objectively. In householder cases, force is unreasonable only if grossly disproportionate.

21. State the elements of the defence of loss of control (ss.54-55 Coroners and Justice Act 2009).

    A partial defence to murder reducing it to manslaughter where: (1) the killing resulted from a loss of self-control; (2) caused by a qualifying trigger (fear of serious violence and/or things said/done amounting to circumstances of an extremely grave character giving a justifiable sense of being seriously wronged — sexual infidelity is excluded); and (3) a person of the defendant's sex and age with normal tolerance/self-restraint might have reacted similarly. The loss need not be sudden.

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