R v Ireland

R v Ireland (1997)[1] was a defining case in English Law where it was found that silence can amount to assault and furthermore actual bodily harm in the form of psychiatric injury under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.[2]

R v Ireland [1997] 3 WLR 534
DecidedJune 24, 1997 (1997-06-24)
Case history
Appealed fromCourt of Appeal
Appealed toThe House of Lords
Court membership
Judge(s) sittingLord Goff of Chieveley, Lord Slynn of Hadley, Lord Steyn, Lord Hope of Craighead and Lord Hutton

The Case

Facts

The defendant (Ireland) was said to have made calls to three separate women, remaining silent and breathing heavily. The defendant was prosecuted under the Offences Against The Person Act (OPA) for assault occasioning actual bodily harm (S47).[3]

Ruling

The defendant appealed, sending the case to the House of Lords which pre-Constitutional Reform Act 2005 was the highest court in the land.[1]

The decision to convict the defendant was upheld (sustained) by the House of Lords, proving assault can now, in English Law can now be found without verbal interaction.[2]

"The proposition that a gesture may amount to an assault, but that words can never suffice, is unrealistic and indefensible. A thing said is also a thing done. There is no reason why something said should be incapable of causing an apprehension of immediate personal violence" - Lord Steyn[1]

References
  1. "House of Lords - Regina v. Burstow Regina v. Ireland". publications.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
  2. "R v Ireland". e-lawresources.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 May 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  3. "R v Ireland – 1998". www.lawteacher.net. Archived from the original on 27 May 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
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