The Court of Appeal gave judgment today in the case of R v Jamal [2026] EWCA Crim 135, which will be an essential authority on the ingredients of the offence of causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable adult, contrary to s.5 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004.
Ben FitzGerald KC and Jennifer Newcomb acted for the CPS Appeals & Review Unit on the appeal. They successfully argued that in the case of a defendant who was proved to have caused the death of a child through neglect, the Court should decline to follow the recent Court of Appeal authority of R v ATT [2024] EWCA Crim 460, and find that it was sufficient for the 'significant risk of serious physical harm’ required by s.5 to arise from the unlawful act or omission that caused the death (i.e. neglect) and that the section did not require proof of a risk that pre-existed the fatal course of unlawful conduct.
Lady Justice May, giving the judgment of the Court, paid tribute to the highly proficient submissions of leading and junior counsel in the case. The conviction was upheld.
Read more here.
Ben FitzGerald KC
Jennifer Newcomb