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CRLFLK2 · 11 topics

SQE1 Criminal Liability.

Actus reus, mens rea, and defences.

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All 11 topics in Criminal Liability

SRA-aligned
  1. 01

    Principles of Criminal Liability

    Actus reus, mens rea, causation, omissions, and the fundamental building blocks of criminal liability

    Free
  2. 02

    Common Assault and Battery

    Common assault, battery, section 47 OAPA 1861, and consent as a defence

  3. 03

    Section 20 and Section 18 OAPA 1861

    Unlawful wounding or grievous bodily harm and wounding or causing grievous bodily harm with intent

  4. 04

    Murder

    Actus reus and mens rea of murder, mandatory life sentence, and reform proposals

  5. 05

    Manslaughter

    Voluntary manslaughter (loss of control, diminished responsibility) and involuntary manslaughter (unlawful act, gross negligence)

  6. 06

    Theft

    The elements of theft under section 1 Theft Act 1968 — appropriation, property, belonging to another, dishonesty, and intention to permanently deprive

  7. 07

    Robbery, Burglary and Related Theft Offences

    Robbery (s.8), burglary (s.9), aggravated vehicle-taking (s.12A), and handling stolen goods (s.22)

  8. 08

    Fraud

    Fraud by false representation, abuse of position, and failing to disclose under the Fraud Act 2006

  9. 09

    Criminal Damage

    Simple criminal damage, aggravated criminal damage, and arson under the Criminal Damage Act 1971

  10. 10

    General Defences

    Self-defence, defence of another, and intoxicication

  11. 11

    Parties to Crime and Inchoate Offences

    Principal offenders, accomplices, and the inchoate offence of attempt

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3 sample CRL questions

Real SBA questions from the Criminal Liability bank, with the full explanation. The paid bank covers all 11 topics and difficulty levels.

In a criminal trial for assault, the defendant claims he was acting in self-defence. The trial judge tells the jury that once the prosecution proves the defendant struck the victim, the burden shifts to the defendant to prove he was acting in self-defence. Which of the following best describes the correct legal position?

  1. The judge is wrong. The burden of proving all elements of the offence, including disproving self-defence, remains on the prosecution throughout (Woolmington v DPP). Correct
  2. The judge is correct. Once the prosecution proves the basic facts of the assault, the burden of proving any defence shifts to the defendant.
  3. The judge is partially correct. The burden shifts to the defendant on the balance of probabilities for all defences raised.
  4. The judge is wrong. The burden of proving self-defence always rests on the defendant as an exception to the Woolmington principle.
  5. The judge is correct only if the defence of self-defence is raised by way of statute rather than at common law.
Why: A is correct. Under Woolmington v DPP [1935], the golden thread of English criminal law is that the prosecution must prove the prisoner's guilt. This includes disproving defences such as self-defence. The defendant bears only an evidential burden to raise the defence; once raised, the legal burden remains on the prosecution to disprove it beyond reasonable doubt. The trial judge's direction was therefore incorrect. B is incorrect because the legal burden never shifts to the defendant for common law defences like self-defence. C is incorrect because the defendant does not bear a legal burden on the balance of probabilities for self-defence; the burden is merely evidential. D is incorrect because self-defence is not an exception to Woolmington - the defendant need only raise the issue, not prove it. E is incorrect because the principle applies regardless of whether the defence arises at common law or by statute.

Which of the following statements best describes the requirement for a voluntary act in criminal law?

  1. The prosecution must prove the defendant intended every consequence of his actions for liability to arise.
  2. The actus reus must be a voluntary act; involuntary movements such as reflexes, unconscious acts, or acts during sleep do not satisfy the actus reus requirement. Correct
  3. A voluntary act is required only for serious offences such as murder and rape; for lesser offences, even involuntary acts can suffice.
  4. The defendant must have acted with a sane mind at all times; any mental disorder automatically negates the actus reus.
  5. The requirement for a voluntary act applies only where the defendant physically touched the victim; it does not apply to omissions.
Why: B is correct. The actus reus must be a voluntary act. If the defendant's movement was involuntary - for example due to unconsciousness, sleep, reflex, or spasm - there is no voluntary act and therefore no criminal liability. This protects individuals from being punished for things beyond their conscious control. A is incorrect because intention relates to mens rea, not the voluntary act requirement for actus reus. C is incorrect because the voluntary act requirement applies to all criminal offences, not just serious ones. D is incorrect because mental disorder does not automatically negate actus reus; it may affect mens rea or give rise to the defence of insanity, but the actus reus analysis is separate. E is incorrect because the voluntary act requirement applies to all forms of actus reus, including omissions where a duty exists.

Derek poisons his mother's tea with a lethal dose of arsenic. She drinks the tea and becomes ill, but before the poison can take effect, she suffers a fatal heart attack caused by a long-standing congenital heart condition. The medical evidence confirms that the heart attack was entirely unrelated to the arsenic and that the poison would have killed her had the heart attack not occurred first.

Which of the following best describes Derek's criminal liability for his mother's death?

  1. Derek is guilty of murder because he had the intention to kill and performed the act that he believed would cause death.
  2. Derek is not guilty of murder because he did not cause his mother's death; she would have died from the heart attack regardless of his actions. Correct
  3. Derek is guilty of murder on the basis of oblique intention because death was a virtually certain consequence of poisoning the tea.
  4. Derek is guilty of attempted murder only, because although he caused the poisoning, the death was independently caused.
  5. Derek is guilty of manslaughter because his actions were a substantial cause of the death even though the heart attack was the immediate cause.
Why: B is correct. Under R v White [1910], the defendant is not guilty of murder if he did not cause the victim's death. The factual causation ("but for") test asks: but for Derek putting arsenic in the tea, would his mother have died? The answer is yes - she would have died from the heart attack anyway. Therefore, Derek is not a factual cause of death and cannot be guilty of murder. A is incorrect because even with the mens rea for murder, if the defendant did not cause the death, there is no murder conviction. C is incorrect because while the intention may have been present, causation is lacking. D is incorrect in its reasoning - the correct answer is that he is not guilty of murder due to lack of causation, but he would be guilty of attempted murder (not "only" - this understates the seriousness). E is incorrect because the arsenic was not a substantial cause of death; the heart attack was the sole cause.
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Common questions

Criminal Liability FAQs

Actus reus, mens rea, and defences. The SRA assessment specification breaks Criminal Liability into 11 topics, each examined through single-best-answer (SBA) questions in the FLK2 paper.
Criminal Liability sits in FLK2. Both FLK2 papers are 180 single-best-answer questions in two 2h 5m sittings on the same day.
11. Our notes, flashcards, and question bank are mapped one-to-one against the SRA's CRL specification so nothing is missed.
Most candidates allocate roughly 33–55 hours across notes, flashcards, and timed practice. The exact split depends on your background — re-sitters can usually focus on weak topics rather than re-reading.
Active recall beats re-reading. Read the notes once, then practise SBA questions in mixed order, then revisit weak topics. Our weak-area tracker surfaces the topics where your accuracy is below 70%.
Yes. The free readiness quiz includes a sample from every subject, and free accounts can access sample questions across all subjects. The full CRL question bank is unlocked with any paid plan (1, 6, or 12 months) and is covered by the 14-day money-back guarantee.
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