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Law Commission to reform Criminal Conspiracy and Attempt

The Law Commission today have published a consultation paper proposing to change the law governing the criminal liability of those who agree to or attempt to commit offences. This comes after an initial review highlighted flaws in the current state of the law.



Provisional reccommedations of the consultation paper include:

• A person who agrees to commit 'a principal offence' should in general be guilty of conspiracy if he was reckless as to the possible existence of a circumstance element of the principal offence.
  
  

• It should be a defence if a person agreeing to commit an offence 'acted reasonably' in so agreeing.
  
  

• The spousal immunity by virtue of which spouses (and civil partners) who agree with each other to commit an offence cannot be guilty of conspiracy should be abolished.

• The immunity by virtue of which a person cannot be convicted of conspiracy if the person with whom he agrees to commit the offence would be a victim of the offence were it committed, should be abolished.

• Instead of one offence of attempt, there should be two offences.These would be attempt, limited to cases where the last acts needed to commit the complete offence have been committed, and criminal preparation, limited to acts of preparation which are properly to be regarded as part of the execution of the plan to commit the intended offence.

• The two offences should cover omissions where, as a matter of law, the intended offence is capable of being committed by an omission.
  
  

Consultation on the Law Commission’s proposals to reform the current law will close on 31 January 2008.



To view the Law Commison's Consultation Paper and Press Release see http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/conspiracy.htm

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