General Defences | OCR A-Level Law (H418)
General Defences
- 38 questions
- 2 subtopics
- Component 1: The legal system and criminal law
- Component 1
The defences available whatever the offence charged..
It covers self-defence, duress and necessity and consent as a defence.
Sample questions from General Defences
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Self-defence, duress and necessity
Against whom must the threat be directed for duress by threats to apply?
Show the answer
The threat must be directed at the defendant, their immediate family, or someone close to them. -
Self-defence, duress and necessity
How does duress of circumstances differ from duress by threats?
Show the answer
In duress of circumstances, the threat arises from circumstances rather than from a specific person making demands. -
Consent as a defence
To what level of harm is consent generally not a defence?
Show the answer
Consent is generally not a defence to offences causing actual bodily harm or more serious injury. -
Consent as a defence
Is horseplay a recognised exception where consent can be a defence to actual bodily harm?
Show the answer
Yes, horseplay is a recognised exception.
The 2 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Self-defence, duress and necessity | Recall questions on self-defence, including honest and mistaken belief, reasonable force, intoxication, pre-emptive strikes and retreat, on the subjective and objective tests for duress by threats and its limits, on duress of circumstances, and on necessity. | 28 |
| Consent as a defence | Recall questions on real consent and consent obtained by fraud, the rule that consent is no defence to actual bodily harm, the exceptions for sport, surgery, tattooing and horseplay, implied consent, and consent to death. | 10 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
OCR A-Level Law Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 1,624 questions with their answers.