Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Topic 8 Trespass to the person test

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Question 1 What is the definition of assault?

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Answer 1 Assault was defined in the case of Collins v Wilcock (1984) as ‘an act which causes another person to apprehend the infliction of immediate, unlawful force on his person’.

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Question 2 What happened in Smith v Chief Superintendent, Woking Police Station (1983)?

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Answer 2 The victim was at home in her ground-floor flat dressed in her nightdress. She was terrified when she suddenly saw the defendant standing in her garden staring at her through the window. The court held that he was liable for assault, on the grounds that the victim feared immediate infliction of force, even though she was safely locked inside the building.

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Question 3 Can words amount to an assault?

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Answer 3 For many years, the courts have debated whether words alone can amount to an assault. Recently, the House of Lords decided that a silent phone call can constitute an assault (R v Constanza; R v Ireland and Burstow, 1997). It is thought that this will now also be the position in civil law although there has not, as yet, been a case to confirm this principle.

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Question 4 To be guilty of assault, does the defendant have to intend actually to inflict force on the claimant?

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Answer 4 No. In terms of the defendant’s state of mind, he or she must have intended the claimant to apprehend the infliction of immediate force. In other words, he or she must have intended to frighten the claimant (enough to amount to an assault) but does not need to have intended actually to inflict force on the claimant.

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Question 5 How is battery defined?

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Answer 5 Battery is the application of unlawful force on another. It is sometimes referred to as ‘the least touching of another in anger’.

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Question 6 Does there have to be violence or injury for a battery to be committed?

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Answer 6 No. Any unlawful physical contact can amount to a battery. There is no need to prove harm or pain — a mere touch can be sufficient.

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Question 7 What happened in Bird v Jones (1845)?

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Answer 7 The defendant set up a seating area on Hammersmith Bridge and charged those who wanted to watch a boat race. The claimant attempted to walk through the area but refused to pay. The defendant would not let him pass and the claimant sued for false imprisonment. As the claimant could have crossed to the other side of the bridge, the defendant was not liable. The restraint on the claimant’s liberty was not total.

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Question 8 To have a claim for false imprisonment, does the claimant have to be aware that he or she is being detained?

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Answer 8 No. In Meering v Grahame-White Aviation Co. (1920), the Court of Appeal said that the defendants were liable despite the fact that the claimant did not know that he was being detained.

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Question 9 What defences are available to the tort of trespass to the person?

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Answer 9 The following defences are available: consent self-defence lawful authority and detention

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Question 10 Name the legislation governing harassment.

Topic 8 Trespass to the person test Answer 10 The Protection from Harassment Act 1997, as amended by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005.