Wounding or causing grievous bodily harm with intent (s.18)

s.18Offences Against the Person Act 1861

Unlawfully and maliciously wounding or causing grievous bodily harm to any person, intending to cause grievous bodily harm or to resist or prevent lawful arrest or detention.

Wounding or causing grievous bodily harm with intent (s.18) · Offences Against the Person Act 1861, s.18Card 31 / 85

Points to prove

Unlawfully
And maliciously
By any means
Wounded, or caused grievous bodily harm
To any person
With intent to do grievous bodily harm to any person, or with intent to resist or prevent the lawful apprehension or detainer of any person

Key definitions

Unlawfully – without lawful justification, such as self-defence.
Wound – a break in the continuity of the whole skin, both outer and inner layers (JCC v Eisenhower 1984).
Grievous bodily harm – really serious harm (DPP v Smith 1961). “Serious harm” is a sufficient direction (R v Saunders 1985). It can include serious psychiatric injury (R v Ireland; R v Burstow 1997).
Cause – any means will do. No assault or direct force is needed.
With intent – a specific intent. For the first limb, the defendant must intend really serious harm. Recklessness is not enough.

Good to know

There are two forms of intent: to do GBH, or to resist or prevent lawful arrest or detention. Under the second, the injury caused can be a wound or GBH, but intent to cause GBH is not needed. “Maliciously” then means foresight of some harm (R v Morrison 1989).
The intended victim and the actual victim can be different people (“any person”).
If intent to cause GBH cannot be proved, the alternative is s.20 (maximum 5 years).
If the victim was an emergency worker acting in the exercise of their functions, the court must treat that as an aggravating factor (s.67 Sentencing Act 2020).

Legislation: Offences Against the Person Act 1861, s.18 (opens legislation.gov.uk in a new tab)
Mode of trial: Indictable only
Maximum penalty: Life imprisonment