Causal Relationship in the Criminal Law of England

Abstract

This article explains for the Russian reader the doctrine of causaion in the criminal law of England. As a result, the following conclusions are drawn: 1) the reduction of causation to a cause sine qua non promoted in the Russian theory of criminal law is inappropriate; 2) mens rea does not allow limiting the range of punishable acts to reasonable limits; 3) the Englih understanding of causality in criminal law is not very perfect, it is contradictory and casuistic and so it is unsuitable for reception, the interpretation of causality in many cases seems too broad; 4) a useful basis of English doctrine is the understanding that causation cannot be interpreted in a purely mechanistic context, the understanding of causation directly affects criminal policy and morality; 5) “blameworthiness” of an act seems to be a better criterion for a causation than its “danger” (as suggested by V. N. Kudryavtsev).