Diminished responsibility

Abstract

All criminal law systems today recognise that an insane person cannot be held criminally responsible for his actions due to his incapacity to use his mental faculties to determine his conduct, albeit to different degrees. Not all such systems, however, consider a partial incapacity to do so as conductive to a decrease in one's criminal responsibility. In a number of Anglo-Saxon jurisdictions such a condition is given formal recognition through diminished responsibility, a partial defence which reduces murder to manslaughter. It is the purpose of this dissertation to consider whether the situation obtaining at Maltese law today is such as to require the introduction of diminished responsibility. In Chapter One an outline of the development and the conditions which determined its adoption by Scots' and English law will be given, together with a brief consideration as to what the possible future of this partial defence in Anglo-Saxon jurisdictions is likely to be. The main elements of diminished responsibility will be explored in Chapter Two. Though the discussion will be kept as general as possible, particular reference will be had to the elements which must concur for its successful pleading at English law so as to highlight as well the main difficulties which have plagued diminished responsibility and which have limited its adoption by more jurisdictions than at present do. Chapter Three will consist m considering whether it is correct to consider particular institutes of our criminal law as being instances in which diminished responsibility finds application. Chapter Four will consider whether there were instances in the past wherein the adoption of diminished responsibility, or similar institutes, was proposed. The present situation will also to be taken into account so as to determine whether the necessity exists today for such a defence and, if it so does, whether it should find application limitedly as an excuse to wilful homicide or as a wider available defence. In concluding a number of proposals will be made which, it is felt, would ensure the better administration of justice.