Criminal Law Topics We Cover
- General principles: physical and fault elements, voluntariness, causation, the burden and standard of proof.
- Fault elements: intention, knowledge, recklessness, negligence and strict and absolute liability.
- Homicide: murder, voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, and dangerous driving causing death.
- Non-fatal offences against the person: assault, recklessly causing harm and sexual offences, including consent.
- Property offences: larceny or theft, robbery, burglary, fraud and receiving.
- Extensions of liability: complicity, joint criminal enterprise, attempts, conspiracy and incitement.
- Defences: self-defence, duress, necessity, provocation where still available, mental impairment and intoxication.
- Criminal procedure and sentencing, and criminology and policy essays.
Getting the Jurisdiction Right
Australia has two broad types of criminal law system. Code jurisdictions, such as Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory, have comprehensive criminal codes. Common law jurisdictions, such as New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, combine statutes such as the Crimes Act with common law principles. Commonwealth offences fall under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). Our experts use the law of your jurisdiction and cite the correct sections, accessed through sources such as the Federal Register of Legislation and state legislation websites.
In England and Wales, criminal law combines common law offences such as murder with statutes such as the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, the Theft Act 1968, the Fraud Act 2006, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, which created the partial defence of loss of control. UK modules use leading House of Lords and Supreme Court decisions on intention, recklessness and complicity, and our experts cite legislation from legislation.gov.uk in OSCOLA.
Structuring a Criminal Law Answer
A clear structure for each accused and each possible offence is:
- Identify the offence and its source.
- Set out the physical elements and apply them to the facts.
- Set out the fault elements and apply them to the facts.
- Consider causation where a result is required.
- Consider any defences, including who bears the burden.
- Conclude on likely liability, noting alternative charges where appropriate.
Where several people are involved, your expert deals with each accused separately and then considers extended liability.
Homicide Problems
Homicide questions are common and demanding. Your expert considers whether the accused caused death, whether they had the fault element for murder, and if not, whether manslaughter by unlawful and dangerous act or by criminal negligence applies. Defences such as self-defence, and partial defences such as excessive self-defence where available, are analysed with the leading authority, including High Court of Australia decisions or, for England and Wales, the leading appellate decisions on causation, intention and self-defence.
Defences Explained Clearly
Defences are where many answers lose marks. Your expert explains the elements of each defence in your jurisdiction, who bears the evidential and legal burden, and how a jury might view the facts. Where the law has changed, such as the abolition or reform of provocation in several states, the answer reflects the current position.
Criminal Law Essays
Essay questions may ask you to evaluate law reform, such as consent laws, coercive control legislation, bail reform or mandatory sentencing. Our experts draw on legislation, cases, law reform commission reports and academic research to build a clear, balanced argument.
Criminology and Justice Studies
Students in criminology and justice degrees often have tasks on theories of crime, policing, incarceration and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander overrepresentation in the justice system. Our experts use current data, such as reports from the Australian Institute of Criminology or the Office for National Statistics crime statistics for England and Wales, alongside criminological theory.
Common Mistakes
- Applying the wrong jurisdiction's law.
- Skipping elements or merging physical and fault elements.
- Considering defences before establishing the offence.
- Ignoring causation in result crimes.
- Forgetting the standard of proof and burden for defences.
Using the Model Answer
Use the model as a template for organising your own answers to tutorial problems: offence, elements, causation, defences, conclusion. Please use our work as a learning aid, in line with our fair use policy.
Price and Timeline
A 2,000-word criminal law problem is usually delivered within three to five days. Send your question and jurisdiction for a fixed price within 30 minutes.
Weighing the Evidence
Criminal law answers are stronger when they recognise that facts can be read in more than one way. A jury might accept or reject an accused's account of their state of mind, or doubt whether an act was voluntary. Good answers acknowledge these uncertainties, explain how each view would affect liability and identify the most likely outcome. Your expert writes with this balance, which shows the marker you understand how criminal trials actually work rather than treating the facts as settled.
Policy and Reform Perspectives
Many criminal law units include a policy dimension, asking whether the law strikes the right balance between community protection and individual rights. Where your question invites it, your expert draws briefly on law reform commission reports and research to evaluate the current law, adding depth beyond doctrinal analysis.