Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Recklessness definition

What does Recklessness mean? Recklessness describes, in practice, taking an unjustified risk of a prohibited consequence or circumstance, being aware of the risk and going ahead. In England & Wales and Northern Ireland, the general criminal meaning is set by case law: a defendant is reckless if they are aware of a risk and, in the circumstances known to them, it is unreasonable to take that risk (R v G [2003]). This mens rea commonly applies to criminal damage and arson (Criminal Damage Act 1971), assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and s.20 grievous bodily harm (recklessness as to some harm). In Ireland, several statutes define “recklessly”...

Criminal recklessness: the subjective Cunningham test after R v G; OAPA 1861 'maliciously'; common offences; intoxication and self-induced states

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Practice notes

This Practice Note outlines the law concerning criminal recklessness.

The subjective test for recklessness

Certain statutory and common law offences allow the prosecution to prove mens rea through ‘recklessness’. Put simply, recklessness is where the accused takes an unjustified risk that results in unlawful harm or damage.

The House of Lords in R v G reaffirmed the subjective approach to recklessness. Before R v G, two distinct tests were used, depending on the offence charged:

Subjective recklessness from R v Cunningham: the prosecution had to establish that the accused personally foresaw the risk.
Objective recklessness from R v Caldwell: the prosecution only needed to show that the risk would have been obvious to a reasonable person, without proving the accused themselves foresaw it.

In R v G, the House of Lords concluded that the objective test could operate unfairly where a defendant did not foresee the unlawful consequences of their conduct...

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Saba Naqshbandi

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Saba Naqshbandi KC is a leading specialist in health and safety, public inquiries and inquests, environmental and financial crime. She is known for her strategic, commercially focused approach and her outstanding written and oral advocacy.In her first year as King’s Counsel, Saba was named Chambers and Partners Health & Safety Silk of the Year 2025, a reflection of her renowned expertise. She is consistently recommended in the legal directories as a top-tier practitioner in health and safety, public inquiries and inquests, financial crime, and licensing....

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