About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

9 Beijing L. Rev. 460 (2018)
Murder: A Critical Analysis of the Common Law Definition

handle is hein.journals/beijlar9 and id is 460 raw text is: Scientific Research Publishing Beijing Law Review, 2018, 9, 460-480 http://www.scirp.org/ournal/blr ISSN Online: 2159-4635 ISSN Print: 2159-4627 Murder: A Critical Analysis of the Common Law Definition Mohammad Belayet Hossain, Saida Talukder Rahi School of Law, Chittagong Independent University of Bangladesh (CIUB), Chittagong, Bangladesh Email: hasanl215@yahoo.com, galib@ciu.edu.bd How to cite this paper: Hossain, M. B., & Rahi, S. T. (2018). Murder: A Critical Analysis of the Common Law Definition. BefinglawReview, 9,460-480. https://doi.org/10.4236/blr.2018.93028 Received: April 24,2018 Accepted: September 18, 2018 Published: September 21, 2018 Copyright © 2018 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommonsoricenses/by/4.0/ Abstract English Criminal law provides a range of offences that recognizes the sanctity of life by prohibiting the unlawful killing of a human being. The generic term homicide covers offences such as murder, manslaughter and causing death by dangerous driving. What all homicides have in common is the unlawful killing of a human being; what distinguishes them is either the state of mind of the defendant who has caused death, or the defense available. This article shall critically analyze the common law definition of murder in various crim- inal homicide cases to find out if any concrete common law definition could be established. It will be seen throughout this article that though criminal law throws up many exceptions to this general proportion, there is no fixed common law definition of murder. This article shall prompt the question whether the legislature should rethink the forms of criminal homicide and the judiciary reconsiders some of the definitions of the mens rea words produced in recent years. Keywords Murder, Actus Reus, Mens Rea, Causation, Homicide 1. Introduction There is no offence of homicide as such. A person cannot be charged with or convicted of homicide. Homicide means the killing of a human being and may be lawful-where, for example, fatal force was necessary to defend oneself. The two most important offences of unlawful homicide are murder and manslaugh- ter (Allen et al. 2001). Although both are common law offences, elements of murder and manslaughter have been modified by Acts of Parliament of UK and the penalties for each are statutory. DOI: 10.4236/bir.2018.93028 Sep. 21, 2018 460 Beijing Law Review

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most