• the unlawful killing of a human, with the malice being afore thought, expressed or implied under the king’s (or queen’s peace).

  • Multiple sources have come to different definition, this however is the agreed upon definition with these words appearing throughout them all

  • The phrase human being, comes with the pre-tense for it to a living person. This seems obvious however, in Attornery-General’s Reference (No 3 of 1994) (1997) the jury came to the decision that a unborn foetus was not human, therefore when the pregnant defendant was stabbed in the stomach (killing the baby) he was not liable of murder.

  • Malice afterthought is an old term, used not in technical sense but only in legal definition. When applied to the common law offence of murder it just means intent to kill or intent to do GBH (serious harm).

  • Coke added under the king’s (or queen’s) peace, this simply means that killing a person under warfare would not constitute as murder.

History of murder:

• murder is a common law offence which has evolved through a series of judicial decisions.

  • The concept of murder becoming its own distinct offence emerged in early English common law system. With early definitions simply stating ‘a reasonable creature in being with malice aforethought’.

  • Lord Coke (prominent jurist) provided the widely cited definition as stated above, solidifying the concept of ‘malice aforethought’.

  • 18th century developments: the 18th century saw further additions and improvements, including the felony murder rule (legal principle in some areas that makes a person guilty of murder if a death occurs during the commission of, or attempt to commit, a dangerous felony).

  • Codification: common law murder served as a foundation, many jurisdictions have since codified the offence, meaning they have created statutes that give murder (and it’s element) a definition from parliament.