Skip to content

Ask an Academic

  • Home
  • Ask a Question
  • Contact Us
Law and justice statue

What is oblique intent in relation to the mens rea of murder?

September 20, 2019 by AskanAcademic.com

A brief explanation and example of the operation of oblique intent and it's importance in proving the potential mens rea of a defendant.

Question

What is oblique intent in relation to the mens rea of murder?

Answer

Oblique intent operates as a form of intention which may be used to ascertain a defendant’s mens rea. It is mostly primarily used where a direct intention cannot be proven (that the defendant commited the actus reus with that aim) (Child and Ormerod, 2015).

Oblique intention arises where the result of an individual’s act is virtually certain to arise, and the individual recognises this virtual certainty (R v Woollin).

A practical example of oblique intention in operation would be where somebody has placed a bomb in a plane, intending to destroy the plane for insurance purposes. If the bomb explodes, killing passengers, the defendant may argue he does not have the requisite mens rea of murder, because he acted with only the intention to destroy the plane, not to kill anybody. However, in this case, oblique intention would be operable as it is clear that the passengers’ deaths are a virtually certain consequence of destroying the plane, and the defendant would have recognised this, too.

It is important to note that the existence of oblique intent does not mean the jury must find intention, rather, they may choose to find intention.

References

Child, J and Ormerod, D Smith and Hogan’s Essentials of Criminal Law (Oxford University Press 2015)

R v Woollin [1999] AC

Post navigation

Previous Post:

Effect of change in demand on consumer surplus

Next Post:

What are the factors that influence culture change?

Search Q&As

Categories

  • Art Media and Literature (74)
  • Business and Management (256)
  • Computing and ICT (14)
  • Construction and Engineering (35)
  • Education (90)
  • Environmental Sciences (2)
  • Finance and Economics (91)
  • Health (64)
  • Languages (12)
  • Law (88)
  • Mathematics and Statistics (2)
  • Medical Sciences (19)
  • Politics and International Relations (83)
  • Research Methodology (1)
  • Science (49)
  • Social Sciences (101)

Archives

Who We Are

Askanacademic.com is owned and operated by All Answers Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration No: 4964706. VAT Registration No: 842417633. Data Controller No: Z1821391.

Registered office:
Venture House
Cross Street
Arnold
Nottingham
NG5 7PJ

Main Navigation

  • Home
  • Ask a Question
  • Contact Us

Legals

  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy

Popular Categories

  • Business and Management
  • Law
  • Finance and Economics
  • Health
An an Academic Logo
© 2023 Ask an Academic | WordPress Theme by Superb Themes
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Reject
Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT