Supreme Court to consider whether consent is a defence in prosecution for assault causing harm

The court granted an application from Gerard Brown for leave to appeal a judgment from the Court of Appeal, which upheld his conviction in Portlaoise Circuit Criminal Court for assaulting Stephen Cooper in Midlands Prison in 2015.

The court agreed it is an “issue of general public importance” as to the application of consent as a defence to assault causing harm under section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.

The court will be asked to consider whether the offences of assault (section 2) and assault with harm (section 3) are separate and distinct offences under the 1997 Act, and whether the concept of consent as provided for in s. 2(1)(a)(b) is removed from s. 3(1) of the same Act.

The case parallels the English case of R v Brown 1 AC 212, in which the House of Lords found consent was not a defence to offences under the Offences against the Person Act 1861.