kembaraXtra-Case Law -Case: Whitehouse (1977) CA

Facts:

The defendant encouraged another person to carry out conduct which, because of that person’s legal status and age, did not amount to an offence on their part.

Issue:

Can a person be guilty of incitement where the person being encouraged is not legally capable of committing the offence?

Held:

No. The defendant was not guilty of incitement because the person he sought to persuade could not legally commit the offence.

Principle:

At common law, incitement requires the defendant to encourage another person to commit a crime. As Scarman LJ stated, an inciter is someone who seeks to influence another person’s mind towards the commission of a criminal offence.

Significance:

The case illustrates that, under the former common-law offence of incitement, the proposed conduct had to constitute a crime by the person being incited.

Note:

The law was later changed by statute so that certain forms of encouragement involving persons below the specified age became expressly criminalised.