Strict liability

Produced in partnership with Christopher Sykes of 33 Chancery Lane

Practice notes

Strict liability

Produced in partnership with Christopher Sykes of 33 Chancery Lane

Practice notes

Strict liability applies to offences for which the prosecution is not required to prove mens rea for one or more elements of the offence. What the defendant knew, believed, or intended is unlikely to be relevant. Guilt can therefore be established by the commission of an act regardless of mindset.

Strict liability runs against the presumption that criminal offences require proof of both actus reus and mens rea. Wright J in Sherras v De Rutzen stated:

‘There is a presumption that mens rea, an evil intention, or a knowledge of the wrongfulness of the act, is an essential ingredient in every offence; but that presumption is liable to be displaced either by the words of the statute creating the offence or by the subject-matter with which it deals, and both must be considered.’

Strict liability is generally intended to regulate conduct that is particularly harmful to society. Societal protection overrides the presumption that the prosecution must prove mens rea.

Strict liability offences focus more on factual consequences than the mindset

Christopher Sykes

Barrister, 33 Chancery Lane

Christopher acts for the prosecution and defence in cases of business crime and investigations. He has been instructed by the FCA as junior and disclosure counsel in complex prosecutions. He has gained experience of investigations through his work with the Enforcement Decision Making Committee of the Bank of England and the Fraud Investigation Service of HMRC. He has been led by senior members of Chambers in defending private prosecutions for fraud and in confiscation proceedings. He has defended individuals facing allegations of civil contempt in the High Court for breach of freezing injunctions. He is panel counsel for the SFO.

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Alongside his business crime practice, Christopher offers extensive experience and expertise in the practice area of professional discipline and regulation. He is frequently instructed by the GDC to present the case in substantive, interim, and High Court matters. He is regularly instructed to act for the defence by the CSP. Christopher gained in-house experience of regulatory enforcement through his secondment as a case presenter for the GOC.

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Christopher brings to these roles the experience gained as a criminal advocate appearing in the magistrates’ courts, Crown Courts, and Court of Appeal. He has secured successful outcomes for clients facing the most serious criminal allegations, including kidnap and terrorism.

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Christopher contributed to the drafting of “The UK Anti-Bribery Handbook” (Bloomsbury, 2022) and Blackstone’s Criminal Practice 2020.

Jurisdiction(s):

United Kingdom

Key definition:

Penalty definition

What does Penalty mean?

A penalty clause is one that determines the sum or penalty that must be paid on a contractual breach, but where that sum is greater than the likely loss resulting from that breach. When a sum specified as payable is extravagant or totally out of proportion to the range of possible losses that might be incurred, the provision will be a penalty and unenforceable to the extent that the sum is greater than the party’s actual loss.

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