Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Automatism definition

What does Automatism mean? Automatism describes involuntary conduct where a person’s movements are not controlled by conscious will, so they lack capacity to choose or to stop the act. In UK and Irish criminal law it operates as a case-law defence negating the voluntary act element and mens rea. The law distinguishes: non‑insane automatism, caused by an external factor (e.g., a blow to the head, hypoglycaemia from insulin), requiring a total loss of voluntary control and leading to acquittal (Bratty v Attorney General for Northern Ireland; R v Quick; Attorney General’s Reference (No. 2 of 1992)); and insane automatism, where the cause is an...

Driving offences: raising and proving defences including automatism, insanity, duress/necessity and self-defence, mechanical defect, intoxication and the 'hip flask' defence

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Practice notes

Defendant to raise their defence

A number of defences may arise in road traffic prosecutions. These include:

Automatism
Insanity
duress and necessity, and
the 'hip flask' defence

When a defendant intends to rely upon a particular defence, they must place sufficient material and evidence before the court to properly raise the issue for trial. This is the 'evidential burden'. It is separate from the Legal burden of proof, which imposes an obligation on a party to prove a fact in issue. The prosecution ordinarily bears the legal burden of proof. See Practice Note: Burden and Standard of proof in criminal proceedings.

The evidential burden may be satisfied if the defendant enters the witness box and sets out their defence. Consequently, once the issue is raised by the defence, the onus then passes to the prosecution to prove, to the criminal standard (beyond reasonable doubt/so that the jury can be sure), that the defence advanced is not true. In cases involving the defence of insanity, or where the defendant relies on the 'hip flask' defence, the defence must assume both the legal burden of proof and the evidential burden.

Automatism as a defence

The defence of 'automatism' may be invoked...

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Alex McHugh

Pump Court Chambers

Alex McHugh joined Pump Court Chambers following successful completion of his pupillage. His key areas of practice are criminal defence, family, and landlord & tenant disputes. Prior to joining Chambers, Alex worked as a paralegal for a number of years at a Legal 500 firm in London. Two of those years were spent in crime under the stewardship of extremely experienced senior partners. Alex helped manage cases from beginning to end and represented all manner of clients in respect of a full range of alleged offences. As counsel, Alex defends his clients throughout every stage of proceedings. Alex accepts private and, where applicable, publicly funded briefs on road traffic offences, and has experience in representing clients in relation to speeding, drinking driving, “totting up”, and causing injury by dangerous driving offences. Alex predominantly works across the Western Circuit, London, and the South East. ...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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