Homicide: murder & manslaughter
Unlawful homicide is murder or manslaughter, sharing the actus reus of unlawfully causing death but differing in fault and available partial defences. The partial defences to murder reduce it to voluntary manslaughter.
What "Homicide: murder & manslaughter" covers
- Murder: unlawfully causing death with malice aforethought, i.e. intention to kill or to cause GBH (Vickers; Cunningham).
- Loss of control (ss.54-55 Coroners and Justice Act 2009): loss of self-control from a qualifying trigger (fear of serious violence and/or things done/said of an extremely grave character giving a justifiable sense of being seriously wronged); sexual infidelity is excluded as a trigger.
- Diminished responsibility (s.2 Homicide Act 1957 as amended): abnormality of mental functioning from a recognised medical condition, substantially impairing ability to understand conduct, form rational judgment or exercise self-control, and providing an explanation for the killing.
- Unlawful act (constructive) manslaughter: an intentional, objectively dangerous criminal act causing death; the base crime's mens rea is required, not foresight of death (Church; Newbury).
- Gross negligence manslaughter: duty of care, breach, risk of death, causation, and negligence so gross as to be criminal (Adomako; Broughton on causation).
- The unlawful act must be a crime, not merely a civil wrong or an omission (Lowe); a lawful act done negligently cannot found constructive manslaughter.
- For loss of control and diminished responsibility the burden of proof differs: prosecution must disprove loss of control once raised; defendant bears the (balance of probabilities) burden for diminished responsibility.
Key cases & statutes
The authorities and provisions most likely to matter for this subtopic:
How it's tested in SQE1
SQE1 uses single best answer questions: a short factual scenario, one precise question, and five options of which only one is the best answer on the law applied to the facts. For homicide: murder & manslaughter, expect to be asked what the correct legal position is, what a party may or must do, or which outcome follows — with more than one option looking arguable. Reading the facts carefully and eliminating the near-misses is the skill that earns the mark.
Where candidates lose marks
- Stating murder needs intent to kill — intent to cause GBH suffices.
- Confusing the two partial defences — loss of control and diminished responsibility have different elements and different burdens of proof.
- Using an omission for unlawful act manslaughter — it requires a positive unlawful criminal act; omissions go to gross negligence manslaughter.
Learn this subtopic in the course
A video lesson, notes and exam-style practice on homicide: murder & manslaughter.
FAQ
Is homicide: murder & manslaughter tested on SQE1?
Yes — homicide: murder & manslaughter is part of the SQE1 Criminal Liability syllabus (FLK2) and can appear in single best answer questions.
How is homicide: murder & manslaughter examined in SQE1?
SQE1 tests it by application: you're given a realistic scenario and choose the single best answer from five options. The focus is on using the law correctly, not reciting it — knowing the leading authorities (s.54-55 Coroners and Justice Act 2009, s.2 Homicide Act 1957) helps.