Duress in English Law

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Duress in English criminal law is a complete common law defence, operating in favour of those who commit crimes because they are forced or compelled to do so by the circumstances, or the threats of another. This is an exception to the general principle of criminal law that those who choose to break the law are held responsible for the crimes that they commit. The rationale of the exception is that the choice is not wholly voluntary. The Law Commission (1977 at paras 2.44-2.46) recognised the logic that, if the defence was going to be allowed at all, it should be applied to all offences.