Secondary Liability In The Criminal Law
Mondaq Business Briefing › United Kingdom Law Articles in English (2011)
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Secondary Liability In The Criminal Law
1.The issue of criminal liability for encouraging or assisting another person to commit an offence is a complex and difficult area. The issue is important because it is commonly the case that criminal offences involve two or more participants, only some of whom are the actual perpetrators of the offence. The principal is the person or persons who commit the actus reus of the offence. There may be joint principals, for example, where P1 and P2 attack V. Secondary parties provide assistance or encouragement to the principal or principals.
2.The starting point is section 8 of the Accessories and Abettors Act 1861. This provides that whoever shall aid, abet, counsel or procure the commission of any indictable offence shall be liable to be tried, indicted and punished as a principal offender. Historically the position at common law was that aiders and abettors were said to be principals in the second degree and were actually or constructively present at the time the offence was committed by the principal. By contrast, counsellors and procurers were accessories before the fact whose presence at the time of the offence was not necessary. The current position is that the four varieties of conduct overlap and they cover any form of assistance or encouragement. (The position...See the full content of this document
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