Criminal Law

Criminal Law on the University of Cambridge Law Tripos (Part IA). The principles of criminal responsibility — the conduct and mental states the law punishes, the major offences, and the defences that excuse or justify.

Actus reus — conduct, causation, omissions

The first building block of criminal liability: conduct, consequences, duties, and causal attribution.

37 min

Mens rea — intention, recklessness, negligence

Mens rea fixes the boundary between harmful conduct and culpable criminal responsibility.

37 min

Murder — the mens rea of homicide

Murder fixes liability at the contested boundary between intention, foresight, and culpable homicide.

38 min

Voluntary manslaughter — loss of control, diminished responsibility

The modern partial defences temper murder liability through controlled excuses, not general mercy.

36 min

Involuntary manslaughter — unlawful act and gross negligence

Two routes to manslaughter reveal the limits of constructive liability and criminal negligence.

38 min

Non-fatal offences against the person

A Victorian scheme survives by judicial repair, doctrinal compromise, and persistent reform proposals.

33 min

Sexual offences — consent and the Sexual Offences Act 2003

Consent is the organising concept of modern sexual offences, but its statutory simplicity is deceptive.

38 min

Theft and robbery

Theft turns civil entitlement into criminal wrong through dishonesty, appropriation, and permanent deprivation.

36 min

Fraud and the Fraud Act 2006

Fraud punishes dishonest risk to property, not merely successful deception or completed loss.

35 min

Burglary and criminal damage

Burglary and criminal damage reveal how property offences police boundaries, risks, and excuses.

42 min

Defences — self-defence, duress, necessity

Force, threats, and necessity expose the moral architecture of criminal responsibility.

42 min

Intoxication and mistake

Intoxication and mistake test the boundary between subjective culpability and public protection.

39 min

Insanity and automatism

Where involuntary conduct meets mental disorder, doctrine draws a frail but examinable boundary.

39 min

Inchoate offences — attempts, conspiracy, encouragement

Inchoate liability marks the boundary between blameworthy preparation and punishable criminal danger.

46 min

Accessorial liability

Secondary liability tests the boundary between personal culpability and participation in another's wrong.

38 min