ABSTRACT
Non-fatal offences generally involve an interference, or a threat of interference, with the V’s bodily integrity, and this provides the basis for making them criminal. In some circumstances, however, particularly in relation to assaults, no such interference is required. The basis of criminalisation is then the infringement of the V’s right to ‘privacy’, in the sense discussed in Chapter 1. As we have seen, the European Court of Human Rights has confirmed that Vs have a right to expect the legal system to provide a criminal process to support their rights in this area. In English law, this is done through a range of offences, from common assault, to attempted murder. All offences are now statutory,1 though the definition of some elements of some offences are still to be found in the common law, with the main piece of legislation being the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
