LAU44427 CRIMINAL CULPABILITY

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of an area of law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group.
• Collaborate with peers and act in leadership roles.
• Constructively evaluate the work of others.
• Synthesise and evaluate a variety of legal research methods, legal sources, findings and analysis.
• Critically analyse an area of law through independent research.
• Consult with and respond to the needs of research users.
• Effectively communicate research findings.

Module Content

Criminal culpability refers to the aspects of substantive criminal law that seek to reflect moral blameworthiness on the part of a person who commits an offence. These aspects include the requirements of mens rea (the mental aspects of crime), but also embrace supervening defences such as duress and provocation and definitional devices and grading of offences that, again, seek to reflect moral culpability or moral blameworthiness. For example, a single punch, not consented to, that causes no real injury is an assault; the exact same kind of punch, in another case, if it happens to cause death, is a manslaughter (eg, R v Holzer [1968] VR 481). The legal result is quite different; a question is whether the law here reflects a difference in culpability notwithstanding the mens rea being the same in both cases?

Recommended Reading List

• David O Brink, ‘The Nature and Significance of Culpability’ (2019) 13 Criminal Law and Philosophy 347.

Assessment Details

• Individual Project: 85%
• Group Presentation: 15%
• Reflective Journal: Pass/Fail
• Participation: Pass/Fail