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Amongst its programme of activities, KCrim convenes the Michaelmas Hearings, which bring together some of today's leading criminal law thinkers to discuss current legal issues affecting the United Kingdom, Europe, and the rest of the world. Each year, our speakers are expected to offer up for discussion some real problems in the theory and application of the criminal law, broadly understood.
Abstract
The M’Naghten Rules of insanity play a dual role in the criminal law. As is well recognised, it provides an exculpatory defence for mentally disordered defendants who have committed a crime and lack an alternative defence. Alongside this however, and often less well-understood, insanity also applies to those who have not committed an offence but nevertheless come within its terms, functioning as an inculpatory diversion to liberty-restricting disposal orders. We analyse this dual role; critique the dual rationales entailed; and make the case for limiting the insanity defence to the first exculpatory role alone.