Joint Enterprise Legal Doctrine - 1591 Words

Joint Enterprise is legal doctrine that allows several people to be charged for a crime even though they may have all had different roles. The ancient law can be applied if there is evidence that the defendants had all participated or been associated with the crime. Usually, Criminal Law only holds offenders liable of their actions. Enterprise can be applied to many crimes, however it is commonly used in offences of violence, theft, fraud and public order, the most popular being murder. A murder conviction automatically incurs a life sentence, regardless of your level of involvement.1 Joint Enterprise is part of common law, therefore it is not debated and agreed upon in the House of Parliament, it is for the courts to interpret†¦show more content†¦4 Nowadays, it has been re-employed as a solution to gang crime, Melanie McFadyean, an author of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, suggests that the doctrine is â€Å"politically convenient.†5 and order have to do something, and joint enterprise offers a powerful solution. Joint Enterprise was used in 1993 as the prosecution conviction in the Stephen Lawrence murder case; it put the killers of the 18-year old behind bars. They were convicted eighteen years after the racist murder, it was almost impossible to say who had fatally wounded the teenager. By the law of Joint Enterprise, both Gary Dobson and David Norris were convicted of murder. JENGbA, Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association are a protesting group against Joint Enterprise. After responding to pressure in 2011, the Justice Select Committee held an inquiry into Joint Enterprise which resulted in a call for reform. The House of Commons Justice Committee then conducted an inquiry investigation in 2011-2012 on Joint Enterprise. They recommended that the Director of Public Prosecutions issued guidance on the use of Joint Enterprise doctrine when charging, http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2014/09/03/the-law-of-joint-enterprise-needs-review-leading-