Wounding or Inflicting Grievous Bodily Harm S.20NFOAtPA1861

Wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm (GBH) is a criminal offence under S.20 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Persons Act 1861 which carries a maximum 5 year sentence.

ACTUS REUS

In order to be liable for S.20 you must either inflict a wound or inflict GBH.

A wound is defined in JCC v Eisenhower as "any break in the continuity of the skin". Internal bleeding is not a wound. Nosebleeds, bleeding from the inside of the mouth, gums or lips can be classed as a wound. A scratch that only breaks the top layer of the skin would be classed as ABH.

GBH is defined in DPP v Smith…