University of Malta Faculty of Laws September 2019 Examination Session CRL1O1O PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL LAW
Date: Monday 2nd September 2019
Duration of Examination: 8:30AM
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11:35AM
INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS:
Answer a total of THREE (3) questions: ONE (1) question from each sectidn and other question from either Section A or from Section B.
ONE
(1)
SECTION A
1. Answer the following: (a) Discuss the different forms that the material element of a criminal offence may take and explain the meaning and relevance of causation in this context. (80%) fb) Distinguish briefly the notion of justification from the notion of excuse under our law. (20%) 2. Answer the following: (a) Explain the difference between the legal consequences resulting from the commission of a crime and those resulting from the commission of a contravention and describe the tests that are generally proposed to help one determine whether an offence is a crime or a contravention. (80%) (b) Why is it that you cannot have a punishable “attempted complicity” but you can have “complicity in an attempted offence”? (20%) 3. Answer the following: (a) “In order to appreciate the meaning of the term (mens rea) it is necessary to distinguish between a number of different possible mental attitudes which a man may have with respect to the actus reus of the crime in question” (Smith & Hogan). Discuss in detail the elements of the formal condition for criminal responsibility (criminal intent) under Maltese law. (80%) (b) Discuss briefly the distinction between “mistake of fact” and “mistake of law” and in particular whether they can be pleaded as a defence to a criminal charge. (20%)
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