+1 862 207 3288 The House of Lords decision in R v Kennedy (no 2) 1 finally cleared up the question of what constitutes an novus actus interveniens, with literally translated means new act intervening, in the question of causation for the offence of involuntary manslaughter in drug dealer cases. 2 Does the self-injection of an informed capable adult break the chain of causation so the dealer is not liable for any harm that may befall that adult? The law on causation in this context had been the subject to much academic debate in the years leading up to the Kennedy decision, with conflicting decisions in R v Kennedy (no 1) 3, R v Dias 4 and R v Rogers 5. In addition to this, the interpretation of section 23 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 was called into question, as this had troubled the courts in the aforementioned cases. This paper will examine the state of the law before Kenne…(short extract)
