Essay on the criminal law on omission
The general position in criminal law is that a person cannot be held to be liable for failing to act, unlike someone who deliberately acts. This position is stated by May LJ in R v Miller 1 as unless a duty has been specified by statute or the common law imposes a duty to act in a certain way, then a mere omission to act with nothing more cannot make the person who fails to do something guilty of a criminal offence. However, there are particular categories where liability for an omission can accrue, which will be discussed below, together with various legal academic views either for or against the imposition of a broader form of liability for omissions.…
