Criminal Law overview: the WJEC A2 substantive option on offences, defences and liability

This overview maps the Criminal Law option for WJEC A-Level Law, one of the three A2 substantive options examined in Unit 3 (scenario application) and Unit 4 (synoptic essay). It covers the general principles of liability, the offences against the person and against property, the defences, and inchoate and secondary liability. The dot-point pages below give exam-focused answers with statutes, cases and worked questions.

What the Criminal Law option covers

The option builds from general principles to specific offences and defences:

• The rules of criminal law: actus reus, mens rea, coincidence, causation, transferred malice and strict liability.
• Fatal offences: murder, voluntary manslaughter (loss of control, diminished responsibility), and involuntary manslaughter.
• Non-fatal offences: assault, battery, ABH (s47), GBH and wounding (s20), and GBH with intent (s18).
• Property offences: theft, robbery and burglary under the Theft Act 1968.
• General defences: insanity and automatism, intoxication, self-defence and consent.
• Inchoate and participation: attempts under the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 and secondary liability.

The general principles

Every offence is built from an actus reus (the guilty act, including omissions where a duty exists) and a mens rea (the guilty mind, intention and recklessness) that coincide, plus proof that the defendant caused the result. These principles, with transferred malice and strict liability, run through every offence in the option, so a strong grasp of them underpins everything else.

The offences and defences

The substantive offences form ladders of seriousness. The fatal offences run from murder down through voluntary manslaughter (where a partial defence applies) to involuntary manslaughter (no intention to kill or cause GBH). The non-fatal offences run from assault and battery up to section 18 GBH with intent, separated above all by their mens rea. The property offences centre on the five elements of theft, extended by force (robbery) and trespass with intent (burglary). Cutting across all of them are the general defences, which may acquit the defendant, trigger a special verdict, or reduce liability.

How to study the Criminal Law option

1. Structure every offence. Learn actus reus and mens rea with a case for each element.
2. Apply to the facts. Unit 3 scenarios reward methodical, ladder-by-ladder application.
3. Always consider defences. A full answer tests the general defences against the facts.
4. Build evaluation for Unit 4. Prepare arguments on contested areas such as intention or reform of the 1861 Act.
5. Memorise the key cases. Woollin, Vickers, the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the 1861 Act sections, Gomez, Hinks and Jogee anchor the option.

The topics, dot point by dot point

Each topic below has its own dot-point page with worked exam questions and cross-links, covering the rules of criminal liability, the fatal, non-fatal and property offences, the general defences, and attempts and secondary participation.

For the official specification

WJEC publishes the full specification, past papers and mark schemes at wjec.co.uk. Always revise from the current specification and WJEC's own past papers, because the scenario and essay styles and mark schemes are board-specific.