Conspiracy to murder

Main article: Conspiracy (criminal)

Conspiracy to murder is a statutory offence defined by the intent to commit murder.

England and Wales

The offence of conspiracy to murder was created in statutory law by section 4 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and retained as an offence by virtue of section 1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977.

Mens rea: Although an intention to cause grievous bodily harm is sufficient for murder, it is not sufficient for conspiracy to murder.^[1]

Jurisdiction

Section 1(4) of the Criminal Law Act 1977 formerly provided that it was immaterial that the murder in question would not be triable in England and Wales if committed in accordance with the intention of the parties to the agreement. This reproduced the effect of section 4 of the 1861 Act.

See now section 1A of the Criminal Law Act 1977.

Sentence

A person guilty of conspiracy to murder is liable to imprisonment for life or for any shorter term.^[2]

As to the maximum sentence in a case where the agreement was entered into before Part I of the Criminal Law Act 1977 came into force, see section 5(5) of that Act.

See the Crown Prosecution Service sentencing manual.

The following cases are relevant:

• R v Khalil and others^[3]
• R v McNee, Russell and Gunn^[4]
• R v Barot^[5] (see Dhiren Barot)

Northern Ireland

Conspiracy to murder is an offence by virtue of article 9(1) of the Criminal Attempts and Conspiracy (Northern Ireland) Order 1983 (S.I. 1983/1120 (N.I. 13)).

Jurisdiction

See, formerly, article 9(4) of that Order.

Sentence

See article 11(2)(a).

Republic of Ireland

The offence of conspiracy to murder is created by section 4 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861.^[6]

Canada

Section 465 of the country's Criminal Code makes conspiracy to commit murder an indictable offence, punishable by a maximum term of life imprisonment.^[7]

Australia

The law varies between states with the maximum sentence for this offence being 14 years' imprisonment in Queensland and 25 years' imprisonment in New South Wales.^[8]

New Zealand

In New Zealand law, the penalty for the offence of conspiracy to murder is up to 10 years imprisonment, which is set out in section 175 of the Crimes Act 1961.^[9] The intended murder need not happen in New Zealand.

United States

Conspiracy to murder is a defined crime in most jurisdictions in the United States, and normally does not require a murder actually occurring.^[10] Federally, it is punishable under Title 18 by up to life imprisonment.^[11]

References

1. R v Siracusa, 90 Cr App R 340 at 350, [1989] Crim LR 712, CA
2. The Criminal Law Act 1977, section 3(2)(a)
3. R v Khalil and others [2004] 2 Cr App R (S) 24
4. R v McNee, Russell and Gunn [2007] EWCA Crim 1529 [2008] 1 Cr App R (S) 24
5. R v Barot [2007] EWCA Crim 1119, [2008] 1 Cr App R (S) 31
6. The Irish Statute Book says that has been neither repealed nor otherwise amended.
7. Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46, s 465(1)(a).
8. "Common types of murder charges in Australia". LawAnswers.com.au. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
9. "Crimes Act 1961 No 43 (as at 06 November 2021), Public Act 175 Conspiracy to murder – New Zealand Legislation". www.legislation.govt.nz. Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand Parliamentary Counsel Office/Te Tari Tohutohu Pāremata. 6 November 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
10. ""Conspiracy to Commit Murder" – How is it Defined?". 6 June 2023.
11. "18 U.S. Code § 1117 - Conspiracy to murder".