Anaya Nolan
Joint enterprise is a legal doctrine in the UK that allows someone to be charged with another person's crime if they intentionally assisted or encouraged the offence. This means that they can be punished as severely as the principal offender. However, critics argue that the law fails to distinguish between the moral and legal culpability of the principal and secondary parties, and that it disproportionately affects people of colour. In 2016, the Supreme Court found that the laws on joint enterprise had been interpreted incorrectly for 30 years, yet research shows that this ruling has had little effect on charges or convictions. As a result, campaigners continue to call for reform.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Definition | Joint enterprise, or secondary liability, is a legal doctrine that applies when a person assists or encourages another to commit a crime. |
| Application | Joint enterprise is used to prosecute someone who intentionally assists or encourages an offence. |
| Punishment | If found guilty, they are punished as harshly as if they had been the principal offender. |
| Criticisms | Failing to distinguish between the moral and legal culpability of the offender and those on the periphery; disproportionately applied in cases involving young men from black and mixed ethnic backgrounds; lacking legal legitimacy. |
| Supreme Court Ruling | In 2016, the Supreme Court found that the laws on joint enterprise had been interpreted incorrectly for 30 years. |
| Impact of Ruling | The ruling has had little to no effect on charges or convictions. |
| Proposed Solutions | The Joint Enterprise (Significant Contribution) Bill aims to ensure the level of a defendant's contribution to a crime is considered; reform of joint enterprise laws to enhance fairness and tackle prosecution backlogs. |
| CPS Pilot Scheme | In February 2023, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) commenced a pilot to monitor Joint Enterprise homicide/attempted homicide cases, manually flagging them in six CPS Areas. |
| CPS Scrutiny Panel | The CPS also convened a 'scrutiny panel' of experts to review two finalised Joint Enterprise cases from the pilot. |
| Racial Bias | CPS data from 2023 revealed that Black people are 16 times more likely to be prosecuted under joint enterprise than white people. |
| Protection for Youth | The Supreme Court ruling provides better protection for young and vulnerable individuals who may be unwittingly drawn into dangerous situations. |
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What You'll Learn
Joint enterprise law reform
The joint enterprise law in the UK has been criticised for its failure to distinguish between the moral and legal culpability of the principal and secondary parties involved in a crime. The law allows for the conviction of an individual for a crime committed by another if they are believed to have foreseen it and intended to assist or encourage it. This has led to concerns about the disproportionate application of the law in cases involving defendants from black and mixed ethnic backgrounds, with Black people 16 times more likely to be prosecuted under this principle than white people.
The group JENGbA (Joint Enterprise: Not Guilty by Association) has been campaigning for reform of the joint enterprise law for over a decade, arguing that its misapplication constitutes a form of human rights abuse. They support 1500 prisoners and their families, many of whom are children and young adults given minimum tariffs longer than they have been alive.
In 2015, the Supreme Court case of R v Jogee ruled that the law of joint enterprise had been wrongly interpreted for 30 years. Despite this, a 2024 analysis of homicide convictions between 2005 and 2020 concluded that the change in the law had "no discernible impact" on the use of joint enterprise in practice.
To address these issues, the Joint Enterprise (Significant Contribution) Bill is being presented by Kim Johnson MP. The bill aims to clarify the laws of joint enterprise by requiring courts to consider that a defendant made a significant contribution to a crime to find them guilty. This proposal is supported by legal experts, campaigners, academics, and parliamentarians.
In addition to legislative reform, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has also commenced a pilot scheme in 2023 to manually flag and review Joint Enterprise homicide and attempted homicide cases in six CPS Areas. The scrutiny panel for this pilot comprises experts in the field of Joint Enterprise from legal, academic, and specialist voluntary sector backgrounds.
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The Supreme Court's ruling
In 2016, the UK Supreme Court ruled on the case of R v Jogee, which concerned the long-established principle of joint enterprise. The case involved Ameen Jogee, who was jailed for murdering former police officer Paul Fyfe in Leicester. While Jogee's co-defendant wielded the knife, Jogee was prosecuted under joint enterprise as he was present during the crime and could have foreseen the potentially fatal consequences of his partner's actions.
The Supreme Court's decision in R v Jogee had important implications for the application of joint enterprise in future cases. The court emphasised that juries must be sure that individuals convicted under joint enterprise definitely assisted or encouraged the attacker to commit the crime. This ruling set a precedent that a murder conviction cannot be based solely on an individual's physical presence, but rather their mental state and intention to participate in the crime must also be established.
Despite the significance of the Supreme Court's ruling, there have been concerns about its impact on cases decided before 2016. While it was expected to lead to a wave of appeals, the ruling has been criticised for having limited effect on overturning previous convictions. By 2021, only 2 out of 103 appeals made with reference to Jogee had succeeded. This has led to ongoing debates and calls for reform to ensure fair, transparent, and accountable practices in the application of joint enterprise.
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Joint principals and secondary parties
In the United Kingdom, joint enterprise is a legal doctrine that enables the conviction of a person for an offence committed by another individual using complicity liability. In other words, it allows the prosecution of someone who intentionally "assists or encourages" an offence. If found guilty, they may be punished as severely as if they had been the principal offender.
The doctrine of joint enterprise differentiates between joint principals and secondary parties. Each offence will have at least one principal, who carries out the substantive offence, i.e., performs or causes the actus reus of the offence with the required mens rea. If two or more persons perform the actus reus, they are considered joint principals.
On the other hand, a secondary party is one who aids, abets, counsels, or procures (commonly referred to as assists or encourages) the principal(s) to commit the substantive offence without being a principal offender themselves. In other words, they share a moral commitment to the crime.
There has been significant criticism of the application of joint enterprise in practice, particularly regarding the failure to distinguish between the moral and legal culpability of joint principals and secondary parties. Critics argue that the law, as it stands, does not require the secondary party to make a 'significant contribution' to be convicted. This has resulted in concerns about the disproportionate application of joint enterprise in cases involving defendants from black and mixed ethnic backgrounds and a lack of legal legitimacy.
To address these concerns, a Private Member's Bill, the 'Joint Enterprise (Significant Contribution) Bill', has been presented to the UK Parliament. This bill seeks to amend the law on secondary liability so that a secondary party would need to make a 'significant contribution' to the crime to be convicted.
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Racial bias in the justice system
Joint enterprise is a legal doctrine in the UK that allows someone to be charged with another person's crime if it is believed that they foresaw it and intended to assist or encourage them. While it is still a law in the UK, there have been calls for reform due to concerns about its disproportionate impact on Black and minority communities.
In 2014, a study by the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge found that among young male prisoners serving 15 years or more for joint enterprise convictions, 38.5% were white, while 57.4% were BAME, including 37.7% who were Black. This disparity indicates a higher likelihood of BAME individuals being prosecuted under joint enterprise laws.
The use of "gang evidence" and cultural expression, such as music and digital content, in joint enterprise trials has also been criticised for contributing to racial bias. Investigators may rely on these sources to incriminate individuals by associating them with gangs or negative stereotypes, even if they had no significant involvement in the crime.
In response to these concerns, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has introduced a pilot scheme to manually record and monitor data on the age, race, sex, and disability of those prosecuted under joint enterprise. This move is aimed at addressing the disproportionate impact of joint enterprise on Black and minority communities and ensuring a fairer and more transparent legal process.
Additionally, the Joint Enterprise (Significant Contribution) Bill, led by Kim Johnson MP, aims to address racial bias by requiring the level of a defendant's contribution to a crime to be considered before finding them guilty. This bill is a step towards holding individuals accountable only when they have actively and significantly contributed to a criminal offence.
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The Joint Enterprise (Significant Contribution) Bill
The Joint Enterprise law in the UK has been criticised for its failure to distinguish between the moral and legal culpability of the person who commits the offence and those on the periphery. The law has also been deemed to be disproportionately applied in cases involving defendants from black and mixed ethnic backgrounds, and for lacking legal legitimacy.
In 2016, the Supreme Court abolished the joint enterprise law, ruling that the law had taken a "wrong turn" 30 years earlier. Despite this, research published in 2023 found that the Supreme Court ruling had little to no effect on charges or convictions.
The bill is a step towards fair, transparent, and accountable practices and is supported by legal experts, campaigners, academics, and parliamentarians. It is hoped that the bill will bring much-needed attention to the issue of joint enterprise and reduce the number of people convicted without making a significant contribution to a crime.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, joint enterprise is still a law in the UK.
Joint enterprise is a legal doctrine that allows someone to be charged with another person's crime if they intentionally "assisted or encouraged" that offence.
Joint enterprise cases usually involve more than one defendant. Each offence will have at least one 'principal'—the person who carries out the crime—and secondary parties who assist or encourage the principal without being the main offender.
Joint enterprise has been criticised for failing to distinguish between the moral and legal culpability of the principal and secondary parties, being disproportionately applied to defendants from black and mixed ethnic backgrounds, and lacking legal legitimacy.
Yes, there have been calls for reform of joint enterprise laws in the UK. In 2016, the Supreme Court found that the laws had taken a "'wrong turn' 30 years earlier, but this ruling has had little effect on charges or convictions. The Joint Enterprise (Significant Contribution) Bill, presented by Kim Johnson MP, aims to address these issues by requiring the defendant's contribution to a crime to be considered.
