15. Complicity

Abstract

This chapter begins with a discussion of the law of complicity, covering principals and accomplices; five ways one can be an accomplice; mens rea for accomplices; secondary participation and inchoate offences; conviction of the secondary party and acquittal of the principal; whether a secondary party can be guilty of a greater offence than the principal; withdrawal by a secondary party; accessories and victims; and assistance after the offence. The second part of the chapter focuses on accessories and the theory of complicity, covering general theories of accessorial liability; theories of accessorial mens rea; the theory of joint enterprise; actus reus issues; withdrawal; and law reform.