There are different categories of Involuntary manslaughter:
- Constructive Manslaughter
- Gross negligence manslaughter
- Reckless Manslaughter
- Corporate manslaughter
These all have different requirements with regards to proving liability.
Constructive manslaughter is a common law offence, meaning all of the principles are established using case law. It has 3 requirements:
Constructive manslaughter is a common law offence, meaning all of the principles are established using case law. It has 3 requirements:
- The act must have been unlawful
- It must have been dangerous
- The unlawful and dangerous act must have caused the death
Gross Negligence Manslaughter is based on negligence - a concept associated with civil law, and here in the UK, Tort. This offence occurs where D has been so negligent that criminal liability is appropriate. It has 4 requirements:
- Does D have a duty of care towards the victim?
- Is D in breach of that duty?
- Did the breach of duty cause death?
- Should that conduct be classed as criminal?
The other two types, I'm not as familiar with and will need to look up more! However, I did originally type a post which went into far more detail than the above, but my Google chrome decided then would be a good time to crash, so apologies! Here is the I post.
Constructive manslaughter is an interesting name for it.
ReplyDeleteOriginally I explained why it was called that before my chrome crashed - instead of being guilty of murder, the law 'constructs' liability on the basis of another offence - e.g. a battery or assault. As long as the actus reus/mens rea exists for a battery or assault, (and this act caused the death) you can be liable for constructive manslaughter.(Hope this makes sense, and thanks for reading! :) )
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