Recklessness (England and Wales)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Recklessness (~ 'carelessness', 'recklessness') forms one of the three classic forms of mens rea in the criminal law of England and Wales, alongside intention (~ 'premeditation') and negligence (~ 'negligence') . The English jurisprudence oscillates between two different understandings of what defines recklessness . According to an older conception developed in R v Cunninham (1957), recklessness means acting when one is aware of the consequences of one's behavior. In 1982, however , the House of Lords developed a more stringent variant than the subjective Caldwell test. According to R v Caldwell (1982), recklessness already exists when the defendant acts and does not give any thought to an obvious risk. In the opinion of the House of Lords, obviousness is measured according to the objective standard of a reasonable and prudent average citizen. The scope of the harsh Caldwell test is currently controversial.

literature

  • Volker Helmert: The definition of a criminal offense in Europe . Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2011, B. The definition of criminal offenses in England, p. 104-106 .
  • Nicola Padfield: Criminal law . 7th edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2010, ISBN 978-0-19-958204-4 , 3. Criminal states of mind.
  • Christoph JM Safferling: intent and guilt: subjective elements of the perpetrator in German and English criminal law . Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2008, ISBN 978-3-16-149294-5 .