T v DPP [2003] EWHC 266 (Admin)

Facts

  • The appellant, T, was involved in an incident where he kicked the victim.
  • The kick caused the victim to experience a brief loss of consciousness.
  • T was found guilty by the magistrates’ court of assault occasioning actual bodily harm under section 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
  • T appealed the conviction, arguing that a very short loss of consciousness should not amount to actual bodily harm.

Issues

  1. Whether a brief loss of consciousness is sufficient to constitute "actual bodily harm" under section 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
  2. Whether the required harm under s 47 must be serious or long-lasting, or if a momentary physical change suffices.

Decision

  • The High Court upheld the magistrates’ court’s decision, finding that even a very brief loss of consciousness is sufficient to amount to actual bodily harm.
  • Justice Silber reasoned that any loss of consciousness involves a disruption of sensory functions, representing a clear physical change.
  • The court found that the seriousness or duration of harm may be relevant to sentencing but is not required for the harm to qualify as ABH.
  • The judgment established that actual bodily harm encompasses injuries that cause measurable effects on the victim's health or comfort, provided the harm is more than trivial.

Legal Principles

  • "Actual bodily harm" under s 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 requires an injury that interferes with the victim's health or comfort and is more than minor or trivial.
  • Even a momentary loss of consciousness represents a physical change sufficient to constitute actual bodily harm.
  • Medical evidence confirms that brief loss of consciousness reflects a measurable disturbance in brain function and can be regarded as harm.
  • Earlier cases, including R v Donovan [1934] 2 KB 498 and R v Chan-Fook [1994] 1 WLR 689, support a broad understanding of actual bodily harm to include both physical and psychological injuries that are not minor.

Conclusion

The decision in T v DPP confirms that a brief loss of consciousness is sufficient to meet the threshold for actual bodily harm under section 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. The case affirms that any more than trivial physical change—such as temporary disruption to consciousness—satisfies the requirement for ABH.

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