Policy Hub
On 15 January 2009, the Law Commission published a report (Intoxication and criminal liability) which contends that the law relating to criminal liability when an alleged offender is intoxicated is unclear and difficult to apply.
The report notes that, at present, offences which require proof of a culpable state of mind are categorised as either “offences of specific intent” or “offences of basic intent”. An alleged offender’s state of self-induced intoxication is relevant to the determination of his or her liability if the offence charged is one of specific liability but not if the alleged offender is charged with an offence of basic intent.
As well as highlighting the unsatisfactory distinction between basic and specific intent, the report argues that the labels themselves are confusing as there is often no “intent” as such which needs to be proved. Accordingly, it sets out a series of recommendations to make the law more comprehensible, logical and consistent.