This assignment will take an overview of the criminal activities that take place in the arena of environmental law and assess the sanctions imposed. Our academic writing and marking services can help you! 1056; [1953] 2 All E.R. 701, D.C. On June 6, 1972, an information was preferred by the prosecutor, William Roger Breed, a chief inspector of weights and measures, against, 1 Food and Drugs Act 1955, s. 2: "(1) If a person sells to the prejudice of the purchaser any food which is not of the substance demanded by the purchaser, he shall, subject to the provisions of the next following section, be guilty of an offence. The river had in fact been polluted because a pipe connected to the defendants factory had been blocked, and the defendants had not been negligent. The court has the power to sentence an offender to a maximum of 6 months imprisonment (for one offence) and/or up to 5000 fine. The presumption of mens rea has been affirmed by the House of Lords to apply to all statutory offences.33 Accordingly, serious offences are more likely to need evidence of mens rea. smedleys v breed 1974 case summary. The defendants had instituted and maintained a system whereby the peas were subject to visual examination by properly trained and experienced employees who were not permitted to remain on the inspection line for long periods and who were paid a bonus if they detected and removed extraneous matter. In Smedleys Ltd v Breed [1974] AC 839 Smedleys were prosecuted for selling a tin of peas which contained a caterpillar. Chat; Life and style; Entertainment; Debate and current affairs; Study help; University help and courses; Universities and HE colleges; Careers and jobs; Explore all the forums on Forums home page [1974] AC 839if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'swarb_co_uk-medrectangle-4','ezslot_4',113,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-swarb_co_uk-medrectangle-4-0'); Cited A and Others v National Blood Authority and Another QBD 26-Mar-2001 Liability under the Act for a defective product was established where the defect was known, even though the current state of knowledge did not make it possible to identify which of the products was affected. 290, D.C.; Edwards v. Llaethdy Meirion Ltd. (1957) 107 L.J. There are several different types of actus reus, for example: In conduct crimes , the actus reus is simply prohibited conduct. 16J. 2023 vLex Justis Limited All rights reserved, VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. Smedleys V Breed 1974 This was an example of a regulatory offence which is based on food regulation; they were found guilty when a caterpillar was found in a tin of peas; the conviction was upheld even though precautions were taken. Free resources to assist you with your legal studies! of this is found in Smedleys v Breed (1974). To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below: UK law covers the laws and legislation of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Case Summary 2) P should consider whether prosecution serves a useful purpose before proceeding. Which case demonstrates this? Registered office: Creative Tower, Fujairah, PO Box 4422, UAE. The defendant met a girl under sixteen years of age in a street, and induced her to go with him to a place at some distance, where he seduced her, and detained her for some hours. The principal contention of the appellants before your Lordships was that, on the true construction of this subsection, and on the facts found by the Magistrates, the presence of the caterpillar amongst the peas was an unavoidable consequence of the process of collection or preparation. Advanced A.I. A D, a butcher asked a vet to examine a carcass to check it was fit for human consumption . 234, D.C. followed. R V Bosher 1973 Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more. However, the harm caused cannot be disproportionate in relation to the intended harm, if the criminal liability for this harm should be justified.10, It is clear from the previous, that the malice principle can be classified as being only permissive in nature. Held, dismissing the appeal, (1) that, while the offence created by section 2 (1) of the Food and Drugs Act 1955 might be described as an absolute offence in the sense of not requiring mens rea, it was always subject to the possibility of the defendant setting up a defence under section 3 (3) (post, p. 983E). Otherwise it is argued that he or she forms the necessary mens rea, when failing to fulfil the duty of averting the caused danger. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below: UK law covers the laws and legislation of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. 29Monaghan, N, Criminal Law (Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, 2014) 25 et seq. Thereafter, the caterpillar achieved a sort of posthumous apotheosis. Held: Despite having shown that they had taken all reasonable care, the defendant was guilty of selling food not to the standard required. Actus reus. 9A. Lord Reid went on to point out that in any event it was impractical to impose absolute liability for an offence of this nature, as those who were responsible for letting properties could not possibly be expected to know everything that their tenants were doing. smedleys v breed 1974 case summaryjury duty summons date vs reporting date Get Business Credit and Financing To Grow Your Business!!! Mrs. Voss had bought a tin of garden peas with other articles from Tesco Stores Ltd., Dorchester, on February 25, 1972. I will be able to explain the meaning of strict liability, giving reasons for its use I will be able to state and explain examples of strict liability using decided cases and Acts of Parliament. Provides basic safety to public - Smedleys v Breed 1974 (catterpillar in peas; goes against statute) Easier convictions with no mens rea - speeding tickets created during industrial revolution to convict factory owners straightforward and clear regulations - Alphacell v Woodward 1972 (clearing floor after factory spillage) For example, once the buyer makes a total waiver, for instance, a statement that he will forgive the seller no matter what he does, he will lose the right to reject and terminate. Legal Nature of the Banker-Customer Relationship. Reference this 33See: B (a minor) v DPP [2000] 1 AC 248 and K [2002] 1 AC 462. Study Extra Cases flashcards from USER 1's Durham University class online, or in Brainscape's iPhone or Android app. 3027. Alcohol abuse: see (1884), consumer prCundy v Le Cocqotection: see Smedleys Ltd v Breed(1974), misuse of drugs: see Warner v Metropolitan Police Commissioner (1969), road safety, prevention of pollution: see Alphacell Ltd. v Woodward (1972), underage gambling: see London Borough of Harrow v Shah and Shah (1999). It is pertinent also to inquire whether putting the defendant under strict liability will assist in the enforcement of the regulations. Subscribers are able to see the revised versions of legislation with amendments. This bibliography was generated on Cite This For Me on Friday, March 17, 2017. Subscribers are able to see a visualisation of a case and its relationships to other cases. She was not, however, to know this, and with commendable civic zeal, she felt it her duty to report the matter to the local authority, and in consequence, grinding slow, but exceeding small, the machinery of the law was set in inexorable motion. She retained one room in the house for herself and visited occasionally to collect the rent and letters. The offence carries a small penalty. Though the defendant admitted that he knew he was using the equipment, he claimed that he believed he was making demonstration tapes and did not know he was transmitting. Strict liability offences are the manifestation of Parliament's intention to criminalize conduct without requiring proof that such conduct was accompanied by a culpable state of mind. The Divisional Court interpreted s13 as creating an offence of strict liability since it was itself silent as to mens rea, whereas other offences under the same Act expressly required proof of knowledge on the part of the defendant. It was held that it was not necessary to consider whether the defendant knew, or had means of knowing, or could with ordinary care have detected that the person served was drunk. The crime is regulatory as oppose to a true crime; or 2. Subscribers are able to see a visualisation of a case and its relationships to other cases. The defendant, who was a floor-layer by occupation, sold scent as a side-line. The focus on the paper is where the right to reject and terminate has arisen but lost at a later stage. 31Simester and Sullivan, Criminal Law: Theory and Doctrine (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2007) 169. 1) an unavoidable consequence of a process is something that is bound to result therefrom; something inevitable.2) P should consider whether prosecution serves a useful purpose before proceeding.- sentencing - absolute discharge.3) a tin of peas containing a caterpillar was not of the substance demanded.4) in a self-service shop, the food demanded by the purchaser is that represented by the seller whether by description under which it is displayed or on the packaging or by what it appears to be on visual inspection. 234, D.C. Southworth v. Whitewell Dairies Ltd. (1958) 122 J.P. 322, D.C. Brought to you by: EBradbury & Rocket Education 2012 - 2021EBradbury & Rocket Education 2012 - 2021 While she was absent the police searched the house and found cannabis. "(3) Where it appears to the authority concerned that an offence has been committed in respect of which proceedings might be taken under this Act against some person and the authority are reasonably satisfied that the offence of which complaint is made was due to the act or default of some other person and that the first-mentioned person could establish a defence under subsection (1) of this section, they may cause proceedings to be taken against that other person without first causing proceedings to be taken against the first mentioned person. Held: Despite having shown that they had taken all reasonable care, the defendant was guilty of selling food not to the standard required. The defendants were convicted under the Food and Drugs act 1955, after a caterpillar was found in a tin of peas. ACTUS non facit reum nisi mens sit rea is viewed as one of the key principles in common law principles of criminal liability.1 This principle is, however, highly abstract. In Gammon (Hong Kong) Ltd v Attorney General of Hong Kong 198524, guidelines were laid down to determine when an offence is of strict liability. The Court applied Lord Scarmans principles in Gammon and found that, though the presumption in favour of mens rea was strong because the offence carried a sentence of imprisonment and was, therefore, truly criminal, yet the offence dealt with issues of serious social concern in the interests of public safety (namely, frequent unlicensed broadcasts on frequencies used by emergency services) and the imposition of strict liability encouraged greater vigilance in setting up careful checks to avoid committing the offence. You are not currently signed in - enter your email address and password into the boxes below, or create a new account. ", S. 3: "(3) In proceedings under section 2 in respect of any food containing some extraneous matter, it shall be a defence for the defendant to prove that the presence of that matter was an unavoidable consequence of the process of collection or preparation.". The defendant company was convicted of "selling food not of the substance demanded by the purchaser" contrary to s2 (1) of the Food and Drugs Act 1955 (now replaced). 977; [1973] 3 W.L.R. 18Cartwright, P., Consumer protection and the criminal law: law, theory, and policy in the UK (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001) 223 et seq. Whether we were right, on the facts found by us, to convict the appellant in this case.". ACCEPT, (3) is of no practical effect (post, pp. Manage Settings You also get a useful overview of how the case was received. Lord Evershed stated: But it is not enough in their Lordships opinion merely to label the statute as one dealing with a grave social evil and from that to infer that strict liability was intended. The Criminal Courts and Lay People - Key Cases. This innocent insect, thus deprived of its natural destiny, was in fact entirely harmless, since, prior to its entry into the tin, it had been subjected to a cooking process of twenty minutes duration at 250 Fahrenheit, and, had she cared to do so, Mrs. Voss could have consumed the caterpillar without injury to herself, and even, perhaps, with benefit. the defendants, Smedleys Ltd., that on February 25, 1972, Tesco Stores Ltd., Tesco House, Delamere Road, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, sold to the prejudice of Winifred Maud Voss ("Mrs. Voss") the purchaser thereof, certain food called garden peas which was not of the substance demanded by the purchaser in that the food contained a caterpillar, the larva of one of the hawk moths, contrary to section 2 of the Food and Drugs Act 1955, and the Dorset County Council, the food and drugs authority concerned, by the prosecutor, were reasonably satisfied that the offence was due to the act or default of the defendants and that Tesco Stores Ltd. could establish a defence under section 113 (1) of the Act of 1955. According to this, a defendants intention regarding one crime can be transferred to his or her performance of the actus reus in relation to another crime. In answering the question of whether and to what extent it is justifiable to hold responsible for criminal offences, those who possess no mens rea, it has been discussed that usually mens rea is a crucial element of criminal liability in criminal law. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. The appellant was unaware of the pollution and it was not alleged that they had been negligent. 15J. It would have been possible but impracticable for the peas to have been collected in such a way as to avoid the possibility of a caterpillar being present in the can of peas. IMPORTANT:This site reports and summarizes cases. R. v Haystead (2000) 3 All ER 890 (DC) This case concerns indirect contact. The defendants had instituted and maintained a satisfactory system for the random sampling of tins of peas at the end of the canning process so that they could be checked for quality control. 1. swarb.co.uk is published by David Swarbrick of 10 Halifax Road, Brighouse, West Yorkshire, HD6 2AG. The vet said it was fine and so he sold it. 217 at 226. 2Horder, J., Two histories and four hidden principles of mens rea, L.Q.R. Investigation officers heard an unlicensed radio station broadcast and traced it to a flat where the defendant was discovered alone standing in front of the record decks, still playing music and wearing a set of headphones. mens rea. foolproof; that the defence provided by section 3 (3) imported a standard of reasonable care, and the evidence showed that the defendants had in fact taken reasonable care; and that it was possible to distinguishLindley v. George W. Horner & Co. Ltd. [1950] 1 All E.R.
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