Grievous bodily harm (often abbreviated to GBH) is a term used in

English criminal law English criminal law concerns offences, their prevention and the consequences, in England and Wales. Criminal conduct is considered to be a wrong against the whole of a community, rather than just the private individuals affected. The state, i ...

to describe the severest forms of

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

. It refers to two offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. The distinction between these two sections is the requirement of

specific intent In criminal law, intent is a subjective state of mind () that must accompany the acts of certain crimes to constitute a violation. A more formal, generally synonymous legal term is : intent or knowledge of wrongdoing. Definitions Intent is def ...

for section 18; the offence under section 18 is variously referred to as "wounding with intent" or "causing grievous bodily harm with

intent Intentions are mental states in which the agent commits themselves to a course of action. Having the plan to visit the zoo tomorrow is an example of an intention. The action plan is the ''content'' of the intention while the commitment is the ''a ...

Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice ''Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice'' (usually called simply ''Archbold'') is the leading practitioners' text for criminal lawyers in England and Wales and several other common law jurisdictions around the world. It has been in p ...

, 1999, paragraph 19-201 at page 1614 whereas the offence under section 20 is variously referred to as "unlawful wounding", "malicious wounding" or "inflicting grievous bodily harm".

Statute

Section 18

This section now reads: The words omitted in the first to third places specifically included shooting or attempting to shoot, and included some words considered redundant; they were repealed by section 10(2) of, and Part III of Schedule 3 to, the

Criminal Law Act 1967 The Criminal Law Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made some major changes to English criminal law, as part of wider liberal reforms by the Labour government elected in 1966. Most of it is still in force. Territ ...

. The words omitted in the penultimate place ("at the discretion of the court") were repealed by the

Statute Law Revision (No. 2) Act 1893 The Statute Law Revision (No. 2) Act 1893 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 54) is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. This Act was repealed for the United Kingdom by Group 1 oPart IXof Schedule 1 to the Sta ...

. The words omitted at the end were repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1892 (words limiting penal servitude to at least three years, or imprisonment to at most two years, and removing mention of hard labour) and the

(words prescribing imprisonment as an alternative to penal servitude). This section replaces section 4 of the

Offences against the Person Act 1837 The Act 7 Will 4 & 1 Vict c 85, sometimes called the Offences against the Person Act 1837, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It amended the law relating to offences against the person. It was one o ...

, which in turn replaced section 12 of the

Offences against the Person Act 1828 The Offences Against the Person Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4 c. 31) (also known as Lord Lansdowne's Act) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It consolidated provisions in the law related to offences against t ...

, which in turn replaced section 1 of

Lord Ellenborough's Act 43 Geo 3 c 58, commonly called Lord Ellenborough's Act and sometimes referred to as the Malicious Shooting Act 1803 or the Malicious Shooting or Stabbing Act 1803,Smith and Hogan. Criminal Law. Eighth Edition. Butterworths. 1996. Page xxiiGoogle ...

(1803).

Section 20

In England and Wales, section 20 now reads: The words omitted were repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1892, as for section 18. In Northern Ireland, it reads: This was subject to the same omissions as in England; the Criminal Justice (No. 2) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 enacted the other amendments.

Interpretation

Felony

The distinction between felony and misdemeanor was abolished by the

. Accordingly, "guilty of felony" is to be read as "guilty of an offence". The

Criminal Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 The Criminal Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 (c 18) (NI) is an Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. It makes similar provision to the Criminal Law Act 1967 for Northern Ireland. Section 2 This section was repealed barticle 90(2)of, and Pa ...

provided the same for Northern Ireland, until the 1861 Act was amended in 2004 to update the formulation.

Penal servitude

Penal servitude was abolished by the

Criminal Justice Act 1948 The Criminal Justice Act 1948 () is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Overview It is "one of the most important measures relating to the reform of the criminal law and its administration". It abolished: * penal servitude, har ...

and the

Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1953 Criminal Justice Act (with its many variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Canada, Malaysia, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom relating to the criminal law (including both substantive and procedural aspects of that ...

. Accordingly, the phrase "penal servitude" is to be read as "imprisonment".

The offences

None of the words used in these sections are defined elsewhere in the Act, but they have been defined by case law.

Wound

For this purpose, a wound is an

injury An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, o ...

that breaks the continuity of the

skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other cuticle, animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have diffe ...

. There must be a division of the whole skin and not merely a division of the

cuticle A cuticle (), or cuticula, is any of a variety of tough but flexible, non-mineral outer coverings of an organism, or parts of an organism, that provide protection. Various types of "cuticle" are non- homologous, differing in their origin, structu ...

or upper layer. A single drop of blood is sufficient, but it must fall outside the body: see ''JJC (a minor) v. Eisenhower'' (1984) 78 Cr App R 48. In this case, a pellet gun was fired at the victim. The bullet ruptured blood vessels above his eye, causing his eye to fill with fluid. Lord Justice Robert Goff said the rupturing of blood vessels is an internal wound; only the breaking of whole skin would warrant a wounding charge. A bruise or internal rupturing of blood vessels is not a wound, and neither is a broken bone. Wounding does not imply the use of a weapon; a kick may be wounding. Grievous bodily harm means "really serious bodily harm": ''DPP v Smith''

961 Year 961 (Roman numerals, CMLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 6 – Siege of Chandax: Byzantine forces under Nikephoro ...

AC 290, HL; ''R v Cunningham''

982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Tar ...

AC 566, HL; ''R v Brown (A)''

994 Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish gener ...

1 AC 212, HL; ''R v Brown and Stratton''

998 Year 998 ( CMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescenti ...

Crim LR 485, CA. It encompasses a range of injuries: ''R v Woodland'' (2007) 48 MVR 360. However, ''R v Saunders''

985 Year 985 ( CMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Henry II (the Wrangler) is restored as duke of Bavaria by Empress Theoph ...

Crim LR 230,

LS Gaz R 1005, allows "serious injury" as a sufficient direction to the

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...

. It is for the judge to decide whether the word "really" needs to be used in their direction to the jury: ''R v Janjua and Choudhury''

999 999 or triple nine most often refers to: * 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries * 999 (number), an integer * AD 999, a year * 999 BC, a year Books * ''999'' (anthology) or ''999: T ...

1 Cr App R 91, The Times, 8 May 1998, CA (in this case, as a knife with a blade at least inches long had been used, it was not possible that something less than really serious harm was intended).

Inflict and cause

In ''R v Martin'', shortly before the conclusion of a performance at a theatre, the defendant put out the lights on a staircase which a large number of persons had to descend in order to leave the theatre, and he also obstructed the exit by placing an iron bar across a doorway which they had in leaving to pass, and upon the lights being thus extinguished, a large proportion of the audience were seized by panic and rushed in fright down the staircase forcing those in front against the iron bar; he "inflicted" injuries which resulted by reason of the pressure and struggling of the crowd thus created on the staircase. David Ormerod said that the effect of the decision in ''R v Gibbins and Proctor'' appears to be that the offence of causing grievous bodily harm under section 18 can be committed by an omission. In ''R v Mandair'', Lord Mackay of Clashfern LC said, with the agreement of the majority of the House of Lords, "In my opinion ... the word 'cause' is wider or at least not narrower than the word 'inflict. In ''R v Burstow,

R v Ireland Regina V. Burstow Regina V Ireland (1997) was the appeal of two presidential cases in English law with the question as to whether or not psychiatric injury was considered 'bodily harm' under Section 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1 ...

'', it was held that an offence of inflicting grievous bodily harm under section 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 can be committed where no physical violence is applied directly or indirectly to the body of the victim. Lord Hope of Craighead said "the word 'inflict' implies that the consequence of the act is something which the victim is likely to find unpleasant or harmful." He said that, in the context of a criminal act, the words "cause" and "inflict" may be taken to be interchangeable. Lord Steyn described the actions of Burstow as follows: "During an eight-month period in 1995 covered by the indictment he continued his campaign of harassment. He made some silent telephone calls to her. He also made abusive calls to her. He distributed offensive cards in the street where she lived. He was frequently, and unnecessarily, at her home and place of work. He surreptitiously took photographs of the victim and her family. He sent her a note which was intended to be menacing, and was so understood." Neither offence requires that a

common assault Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

be committed.

1983 to 1997

In ''R v Wilson, R v Jenkins'', Lord Roskill said:

Before 1983

In ''R v Clarence'', it appeared that at a time when the prisoner knew, but his wife did not know, that he was suffering from

gonorrhoea Gonorrhea, colloquially known as the clap, is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the bacterium ''Neisseria gonorrhoeae''. Infection may involve the genitals, mouth, or rectum. Infected men may experience pain or burning with ur ...

, he had "connection" with her; that the result was that the disease was communicated to her, and that had she been aware of the prisoner's condition she would not have submitted to the intercourse. Clarence's conviction under section 20 was quashed by the

Court for Crown Cases Reserved The Court for Crown Cases Reserved was an England and Wales, English appellate court for criminal law, criminal cases established in 1848 to hear references from the trial judge. It did not allow a retrial, only judgment on a point of law. Neith ...

by a majority of 9 to 4.

Wills Wills may refer to: * Will (law) A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the pr ...

A. L. Smith Sir Archibald Levin Smith (26 August 1836 – 20 October 1901) was a British judge and a rowing (sport), rower who competed at Henley and in the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. Biography Smith was the son of Francis Smith, J.P. of Salt ...

, and

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

JJ specifically said that they thought the disease had not been inflicted within the meaning of the word "inflict" in section 20. Mathew J said that he agreed with Stephen. Stephen said that he had been informed that Grantham J agreed with him. Huddleston B said that he thoroughly agreed with Stephen.

Lord Coleridge CJ John Duke Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge, PC (3 December 1820 – 14 June 1894) was an English lawyer, judge and Liberal politician. He held the posts, in turn, of Solicitor General for England and Wales, Attorney General for England and Wales ...

said that he agreed with all or almost all of what Wills and Stephen said. Hawkins J specifically said that he thought it had been inflicted within the meaning of the word "inflict" in section 20. Wills J said (footnotes have been included in the body of the text, indicated by "(1)"): Stephen J said: A. L. Smith J said "it appears to me that this offence cannot be committed unless an assault has in fact been committed, and indeed this has been so held". Hawkins J said that he thought that the contention that bodily harm cannot be legally said to be "inflicted" unless it has been brought about by some act amounting to an assault was untenable.

Maliciously

I
''R v Mowatt''

Lord Diplock William John Kenneth Diplock, Baron Diplock, (8 December 1907 – 14 October 1985) was a British barrister and judge who served as a lord of appeal in ordinary between 1968 and until his death in 1985. Appointed to the English High Court in ...

said: Therefore, the defendant must at least be reckless as to whether some harm, albeit not necessarily serious harm, is likely to be caused (se
''R v Savage, DPP v Parmenter''
, but a mere intention to frighten is not enough (see ''R v Sullivan''). In ''R v Sullivan''

981 Year 981 ( CMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events Births * Abu'l-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Maghribi, Arab statesman (d. 1027) * Giovanni Orseolo, Venetian ...

Crim LR 46, CA, the appellant was tried on charges of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and inflicting grievous bodily harm. The victim said that the appellant and a companion were drunk. He said that while he was in a street that was eight feet wide and had a narrow pavement, the appellant drove a car through that street at twenty-five to thirty miles an hour, mounted the pavement and injured him. The appellant denied that he was the driver of the car in a written statement to the police and said he could add nothing to that statement in an unsworn statement from the dock. However, during his closing speech,

counsel for the defence A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of '' lawyer''. The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given ...

suggested that all the appellant intended to do was frighten the victim and no more. The jury were directed that if there was an intention to frighten, and injury took place as a result, the appellant was guilty of an offence under section 20. The appellant was acquitted of the offence under section 18, but convicted of offences under section 20. The Court of Appeal held that an intention to frighten was not enough to constitute the necessary ''mens rea'' for section 20, and that the direction to the contrary effect was a misdirection. However, they dismissed the appellant's appeal. They said that a properly directed jury could not in the circumstances have come to any other conclusion than that the appellant must have been aware that what he was doing was likely to cause physical injury to the victim. In practice, malice in the case of these offences means no more than foresight of the risk of bodily harm: ''R v Barnes'' 0051 Cr App R 30.

Specific intent

Section 18 has two separate ''

mens rea In criminal law, (; Law Latin for "guilty mind") is the mental element of a person's intention to commit a crime; or knowledge that one's action (or lack of action) would cause a crime to be committed. It is considered a necessary element ...

'' requirements and is therefore an offence of specific rather than basic intent. ''R v Belfon''

976 Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after re ...

1 WLR 741, CA, confirmed that references to mere foresight or recklessness that harm was likely to result are sufficient for the element "unlawfully and maliciously inflict/cause" for the basic intent in both sections 18 and 20 but insufficient for the specific element. The intention either to cause or to resist arrest must be proved subjectively, say, in the charge "malicious wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm". The Crown Prosecution Service said that the following factors may indicate the specific intent: "a repeated or planned attack; deliberate selection of a weapon or adaptation of an article to cause injury, such as breaking a glass before an attack; making prior threats; and using an offensive weapon against, or kicking the victim's head".

Alternative verdicts

Sections 20 and 47 are offences of basic intent and can be an alternative charge to section 18, and/or section 47 is a lesser included offence.

Consent

Consent Consent occurs when one person voluntarily agrees to the proposal or desires of another. It is a term of common speech, with specific definitions as used in such fields as the law, medicine, research, and sexual relationships. Consent as und ...

is only an allowed defence to either section if there is considered to be a good reason. This may include medical operations, sport,

body modification Body modification (or body alteration) is the deliberate altering of the human anatomy or human physical appearance. In its broadest definition it includes skin tattooing, socially acceptable decoration (''e.g.'', common ear piercing in many s ...

s (even if carried out by someone who is not trained), and, occasionally, "

horseplay Horseplay may refer to: * ''Horseplay'' (2003 film), an Australian film * ''Horseplay'' (2014 film), a Hong Kong action comedy film * Horseplay humor Low comedy, also known as lowbrow humor, in association to comedy, is a dramatic or literar ...

". ''

R v Brown is a House of Lords judgment which re-affirmed the conviction of five men for their involvement in consensual unusually severe sadomasochistic sexual acts over a 10-year period. They were convicted of a count of unlawful and malicious woundin ...

(Anthony)'' however ruled that

sadomasochistic Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...

sexual acts are not a good reason to allow a defence of consent.

Mode of trial

In England and Wales, the offence under section 18 is an

indictable-only offence In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing ...

, while the offence under section 20 is

triable either way A hybrid offence, dual offence, Crown option offence, dual procedure offence, offence triable either way, or wobbler is one of the special class offences in the common law jurisdictions where the case may be prosecuted either summarily or as i ...

Sentence

Section 18

In England and Wales, an offence under section 18 is punishable with

imprisonment for life Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...

or for any shorter term. See the Crown Prosecution Service Sentencing Manual for case law on sentencing of section 1

. Relevant cases are: *''AG's Ref No 14 of 2008 (Cook)''

009 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight 9 * ...

1 Cr App R (S) 62 *''AG's Ref No 44 of 2008 (Patterson)''

1 Cr App R (S) 111 *''AG's Ref No 49 of 2008 (Blake)''

1 Cr App R (S) 109 *''Stanley''

008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * The Streetwear Brand @008us , inspired by Ian Fleming & Virgil Abloh *"030", the fictional 030 Agent of MI6 * '' 038: Operation Exterminate'', a 1965 Italian action film * '' Explosivo 030'' a 1940 Argentine c ...

2 Cr App R (S) 107 *''AG's Ref 6 of 2009 (DR)''

2 Cr App R (S) 108 *''AG's Ref 14 of 2009 (Morgan)'' 0101 Cr App R (S) 17 *''AG's Ref (No 95 of 2009) (Blight)'' 010EWCA Crim 353 *''Cross''

1 Cr App R (S) 34 *''Smith''

1 Cr App R (S) 37 *''Bowley''

1 Cr App R (S) 79 *''R v Chatburn'' 010EWCA Crim 115 *''Haystead'' 0101 Cr App R (S) 107 In Northern Ireland, an offence under section 18 is punishable with imprisonment for life or for any shorter term.

Section 20

In England and Wales, a person guilty of an offence under section 20 is liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding the

prescribed sum The prescribed sum is the maximum fine that may be imposed on summary conviction of certain offences in the United Kingdom. In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, it is now equivalent to level 5 on the standard scale, which it predates. In Scot ...

, or to both. Where a person is convicted on indictment of an offence under section 20, other than an offence for which the sentence falls to be imposed under section 227 or 228 of the

Criminal Justice Act 2003 The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a wide-ranging measure introduced to modernise many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland an ...

, the court, if not precluded from sentencing an offender by its exercise of some other power, may impose a fine instead of or in addition to dealing with him in any other way in which the court has power to deal with him, subject however to any enactment requiring the offender to be dealt with in a particular way. An offence under section 20 is a specified offence for the purposes of chapter 5 of the

because it is a specified violent offence. It is not a serious offence for the purposes of that Chapter because it is not, apart from section 225, punishable in the case of a person aged 18 or over by imprisonment for life, or by imprisonment for a determinate period of ten years or more. This means that sections 227 and 228 of the

(which relate to extended sentences) apply where a person is convicted of an offence under section 20, committed after the commencement of section 227 or 228 (as the case may be) and the court considers that there is a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm occasioned by the commission by the offender of further specified offences. See the Crown Prosecution Service Sentencing Manual for case law on sentencing of section 2

The following cases are relevant to section 20:
''R v Robertson''

997 Year 997 (Roman numerals, CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first ...

EWCA Crim 918 (16 April 1997), 1 Cr App R (S) 21
''R v Byrne''

EWCA Crim 1174 (13 May 1997), 1 Cr App R (S) 105 *''R v McNellis''

000 Triple zero, Triple Zero, Zero Zero Zero, Triple 0, Triple-0, 000, or 0-0-0 may refer to: * 000 (emergency telephone number), the Australian emergency telephone number * "Triple Zero", a song by AFI (band), AFI from ''Shut Your Mouth and Open Your ...

1 Cr App R (S) 481 *''R v Clare''

002 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to: Fiction *002, fictional British 00 Agent *''002 Operazione Luna'', *1965 Italian film *Zero Two, a ''Darling in the Franxx'' character Airports *0O2, Baker Airport *O02, Nervino Airport Astronomy *1996 ...

2 Cr App R (S) 97 *''R v Foote'' 0052 Cr App R (S) 5 *''Hall''

EWCA 1208 *''Olawo''

2 Cr App R (S) 113 *''Owen''

1 Cr App R (S) 64 *''Shannon''

1 Cr App R (S) 95 *''Hurley''

1 Cr App R (S) 100 *''R v Burns''

EWCA Crim 2150 *''Williamson'' 0101 Cr App R (S) 16 *''Abdile'' 0101 Cr App R (S) 18 *''Kee'' 0101 Cr App R (S) 64 In

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, a person guilty of an offence under section 20 is liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years, or on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months, or to a fine not exceeding the prescribed sum, or to both.The

Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cour ...

(No 1675 (NI 26)), article 46(4)

Racially or religiously aggravated offence

In England and Wales, section 29(1)(a) of the

Crime and Disorder Act 1998 The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (c.37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was published on 2 December 1997 and received Royal Assent in July 1998. Its key areas were the introduction of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, Sex ...

(c 37) creates the distinct offence of racially or religiously aggravated wounding or infliction of bodily harm. This is an aggravated version of the offence under section 20.

References

External links

Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...

*Section 1

*Section 2
Offences against the Person Act 1861Sentencing Council: Assault - Definitive Guideline
{{English criminal law navbox English criminal law English legal terminology Offences against the person

Statute

Section 18

Section 20

Interpretation

Felony

Penal servitude

The offences

Wound

Inflict and cause

1983 to 1997

Before 1983

Maliciously

Specific intent

Alternative verdicts

Consent

Mode of trial

Sentence

Section 18

Section 20

Racially or religiously aggravated offence

See also

References

Further reading

External links