Replacing Provocation — The English Experience

Abstract

In 2004 the Law Commission (an independent body tasked with reviewing and recommending law reform in England and Wales) described the English law of homicide as ‘a mess’ (2004, p. 29), and noted that the ‘patchwork [of] partial defences is a product of piecemeal development and reforms, rather than systematic thought’ (p. 33). This conclusion, and the 2004 report more broadly, was the result of a detailed review of the partial defences to murder in England and Wales, with a particular focus on the use and impact of the defences in the context of domestic violence.¹ The result of which led to the Commission stressing that a comprehensive review of homicide law in England and Wales was long overdue.