How Do We Justify Imposing Strict Liability for Criminal Offenses Essay Example

How do we justify imposing strict liability for some criminal offences? Strict liability offences are offences which do not require proof of mens rea. This means that the prosecution only needs to prove that the defendant voluntarily committed a forbidden act without considering if the defendant had the intention. Strict liability is contained in statutes or statutory instruments, and occasionally found in common law. Common law offences of strict liability include criminal libel and blasphemous libel. Also liability is rarely absolute. Most strict liability offences are regulatory and are involved in environmental protection laws, food, health and safety, the sale of alcohol and many more. It can be said that strict liability offences can lead to harsh decisions and outcomes because; actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea, which means an act alone cannot constitute guilt without the proof of a guilty mind. This line of argument is laid down in the case of R v Woolmington where it is established that mens rea is fundamental in criminal law. Ashworth and Blake consider that out of 540 serious offences dealt with in Archbold, 123 had a strict liability element. They comment that if parliament is free to impose strict liability when it wants to then the presumption of innocence rings hollow. There are also many other cases that show that imposing strict liability may cause unjust and harsh decisions, and in many cases it is unclear whether an offence is considered to be a strict liability offence. These cases include; Alphacell Ltd V Woodward, Cundy v Le Cocq, Sherras v de Rutzen, Sweet v Parsley, Lemon and white house v Gay news, B (a minor) v DPP, R v K (2001). However it could be argued that without strict liability there would be a lot more work for the courts to handle and it would cost a lot of money. There would also be no guidelines and regulations for businesses to follow. Also businesses wouldn’t be deterred to commit the offence and sentencing