Strict Liability Offences

Offences of strict liability are thsoe which do not require the mens rea. The defendant is guilty because they committed the actus reus of an offence, the mens rea does not have to be proven-- this has been deemed to be unfair, because they defendant will be guilty of an offence even though they did not have any intention of committing the offence.

An extreme situation, highlighting this point is the case of Larsonneur; the defendant a French woman had been ordered to leave the United Kingdom, she therefore decided to go to Eire, but the Irish Police deported her back to the UK, she did not want to return and…