ASSAULT and RECKLESS CONDUCT
Reading:
Gane, Stoddart and Chalmers (4th edn), pp 284-327; 354-359
Jones and Christie (5th edn), pp 184-197; 202-209
1. Offences Against the Person and Nomen Juris
In Scots law, when a person is charged with a criminal offence, it has not been
necessary since the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1887 to provide the name of
that offence (nomen juris) in the indictment or complaint. Instead, it is enough to
allege facts that constitute a criminal offence, whatever that offence might be. In
most cases, the name of the offence charged is firmly established and clear from the
wording of the charge. Take, for example, the culpable homicide charge in Lord
Advocate's Reference (No 1 of 1994) 1996 JC 76:
"[O]n 24th September 1993 in a car park at Queen Street, Broughty Ferry,
Dundee, at 8 Holyrood Street, Carnoustie, and elsewhere in Broughty Ferry,
Dundee and Carnoustie, you did unlawfully supply a controlled and potentially
lethal drug, namely amphetamine, a Class B drug specified in Part II of
Schedule 2 to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to Elaine Curry, 23 Ogilvie Court,
Broughty Ferry, Dundee, Pamela Jill Kerr, now deceased, Anthony Vincent
Hughes, 7 Mackenzie Street, Carnoustie, Adrian Ellis Watson, 8 Holyrood
Street, Carnoustie, and Kerry Joyce Chalmers, then residing at 17 James
Street, Arbroath, in a lethal quantity and said Elaine Curry, Kerry Joyce
Chalmers, Pamela Jill Kerr, Adrian Ellis Watson and Anthony Vincent Hughes
ingested said amphetamine to the danger of their health, safety and lives and
said Pamela Jill Kerr died as a consequence of ingesting said amphetamine
and you did kill her."
This charge does not use the words 'culpable homicide' at any point, but it is exactly
how you would expect a charge of that nature to be framed (the words 'and you did
kill her' are key). There is no confusion of terminology in practice. But with some of
the offences covered in these lectures, the terminology is not well-established, nor
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