Actual bodily harm Definition

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GLOSSARY

What does Actual bodily harm mean?

Any injury calculated to interfere with the health or comfort of the victim. It does not need to be permanent but it must be more than merely transient.

The upper limit of actual bodily harm is generally taken to be bruising and minor abrasions where neither skin nor bones are broken but it can extend to a broken tooth and minor fractures such as a broken nose; and it also extends to medically recognised psychological harm (such as stress) but not to purely emotional states such as alarm, panic or distress.

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Assault occasioning actual bodily harm

The offence of actual bodily harmThe offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) can be tried in either the magistrates' court or the Crown Court. Most offences of ABH are tried in the magistrates' court unless the court considers its powers of sentencing are insufficient (see: Sentencing for ABH below).Elements of the offenceUnder the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (OATPA 1861), the prosecution must prove:•an assault or battery, and•the assault or battery caused the victim actual bodily harmAssaultThe prosecution must prove:•conduct•that intentionally or recklessly•causes the victim to apprehend immediate unlawful violenceIt is not necessary that any violence is actually used. It is the fear or apprehension of violence which is required.BatteryThe prosecution must prove:•an infliction of unlawful force on another person, and•the force applied was intentional or recklessThe courts have held that it is not necessary that the force be applied directly. For example, in DPP v K (a minor) the Divisional Court ruled that a schoolboy who had poured acid into a hand dryer causing injury to...

The decision to prosecute and selection of charges

Who can prosecute criminal offences in England and how is the decision to prosecute made?The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the public prosecutor in the UK. It is led by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who reports to the Attorney General (AG). The DPP, as the public prosecutor, is specifically tasked with taking over the conduct of all criminal proceedings instituted by or on behalf of a police force, other than certain 'specified proceedings'. Specified proceedings for these purposes means the list of proceedings set by the AG contained within the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (Specified Proceedings) Order 1999, SI 1999/904 (as amended), which enables the police to take enforcement action without having to refer the case to the CPS (so enabling the police to issue fixed penalty notices or to commence proceedings for certain road traffic and low level offences).The DPP is responsible for carrying out a series of statutory functions, set out in the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (POA 1985), albeit they are not the only...

Discover our 6 Practice Notes on Actual bodily harm

Triggering the statutory surcharge when the offender is committed for sentence (R v Cuthbertson)

Corporate Crime analysis: The Court of Appeal has held that it is the sentencing exercise that triggers the imposition of the statutory surcharge, and that the imposition of two separate surcharges at different times (in the magistrates court and following committal for sentence in the Crown Court) was correct. In R v Cuthbertson, the appellant had been charged with three offences arising out of a single incident, charged together, and appeared before the court on a single charge sheet where a guilty plea was entered to all three of them at the same time. The magistrates passed sentence on two offences but committed the third to the Crown Court for sentence. This unusual decision led to the question being asked as to when the surcharge is triggered. Advocates should be aware of this decision when dealing with multiple offences and consider referencing it in their representations to the court when inviting the magistrates to utilise their powers of committal for sentence. Written by Kelly Cyples, barrister at 23ES Chambers...

Supreme Court rejects parts of criminal record disclosure scheme (In the matter of an application by Lorraine Gallagher for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland); R (on the application of P, G and W) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and another)

Corporate Crime analysis: Edward Jones, partner at Hodge Jones & Allen Solicitors, examines the Supreme Court’s decision in In the matter of an application by Lorraine Gallagher for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland); R (on the application of P, G and W) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and another. This case established that the statutory scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland governing disclosure of ex-offenders’ criminal records to potential employers, where employment involves contact with children or vulnerable adults, is incompatible with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Read the latest 2 News articles on Actual bodily harm

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[Part 3 Specified Terrorism Offences]

An offence under section 11 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (membership of a proscribed organisation).

Actual bodily harm is referenced 2 in UK Parliament Acts

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