Criminal Law: The Coroners and Justice Act 2009
Criminal Law: The Coroners and Justice Act 2009
The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 introduced a new partial defence to murder of loss of control which replaced the common law defence of ‘provocation’.
(1) Where a person (“D”) kills or is a party to the killing of another (“V”), D is not to be convicted of murder if-
(a) D’s acts and omissions in doing or being a party to the killing resulted from D’s loss of self-control,
(b) the loss of self-control had a qualifying trigger, and
(c) a person of D’s sex and age, with a normal degree of tolerance and self-restraint and in the circumstances of D, might have reacted in the same or in a similar way to D.
Evaluate whether the change in the law is an improvement.
You should refer to at least two of the following academic opinions:
Amanda Clough ‘Loss of Self-Control as a defence: the key to replacing provocation’ 74(2) Journal of Criminal Law 118-126
Kate Fitz-Gibbon ‘Replacing Provocation in England and Wales: Examining the
Partial Defence of Loss of control’ 40(2) Journal of law and society 280-305
Simon Parsons ‘The loss of control Defence-Fit for purpose?’ (2015) 79(2) Journal of
Criminal Law 94-101
Tony Storey ‘Raising the Bar: Loss of Control and the Qualifying Triggers’ 77(1)
Journal of Criminal Law 17-21
