Crime CIV – s.47 of the Offences Against Person Act (1861) I
s.47
of the Offences Against Persons Act (1861) reads as follows:-
“
Whosoever shall be convicted upon an indictment of any assault occasioning
actual bodily harm shall be liable . . . (to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding 7 years) . . . ; and whosoever shall be convicted
upon an indictment for a common assault shall be liable, at the discretion of the
court, to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding (two years).”
Actual
bodily harm per se is defined as minor injuries including cuts, bruises,
lacerations, or any other harmful act that causes the victim to suffer from
some form of injury and it does not only include physical injury but also
includes psychiatric injury see R v Burstow (1997) and R v Ireland (1998)
Assault
is a prerequisite to obtaining a s.47 conviction. Assault is defined as
the act of intentionally or recklessly causing the victim to apprehend
immediate and unlawful violence i.e. it is an offence that can be committed
intentionally or an offence that can be committed without giving due thought to
the impact that it would have on the victim.
In
order to convict for assault the prosecution does not have to proof or
establish physical injury and therefore it stands to reason that in order to
obtain a conviction under s.47 of the Offences Against the Person Act (1861)
the prosecution does not need to proof or establish physical injury either and
it gives the prosecution some scope to convict defendants for causing or
precipitating psychiatric illnesses.
A
conviction under s.47 of the Offences Against Person Act (1861) is more serious
that a conviction for assault (assault is a summary offence). The maximum
sentence for a s.47 conviction is 7 years whereas the maximum sentence for an
assault is only 6 months.
However
a s.47 offence is considered a less serious offence when compared to a s18 or a
s20 offence of the Offences Against Person Act (1861). Whether an act will
amount to an assault or otherwise depends on the facts see R v Wilson (1955).
It
is also possible to substitute a s.20 conviction of the Offences Against Person
Act 1861 with a s.47 conviction see R v Bollom (2004).
Copyright
© 2019 by Dyarne Ward
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