Paradigm Shift in English Law: R. v Shivpuri vs Anderton v. Ryan

This assignment explores the landmark case R. v Shivpuri [1987], which marked a significant departure from the earlier decision in Anderton v. Ryan. In R. v Shivpuri, the House of Lords addressed critical aspects of statutory offenses and impossibility as defenses under English law. The case involved a defendant who attempted to import drugs without knowing their nature, thereby challenging notions of objective innocence and legal impossibility. Unlike Anderton v. Ryan, where the defense of factual impossibility was upheld, R. v Shivpuri established that the impossibility of completing the intended crime does not absolve an individual from criminal liability if they possess the requisite intent. The House of Lords utilized its discretion under the Practice Statement 1966 to overrule Anderton v. Ryan, emphasizing a purposive approach in statutory interpretation, particularly concerning the Criminal Attempts Act 1981. This decision underscored the evolving judicial perspectives on impossibility defenses and highlighted the judiciary's role in addressing complex legal issues within the framework of drug-related offenses.

Running head: ENGLISH LEGAL SYSTEM LAW
English Legal System Law
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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R. v Shivpuri [1987] A.C. 1; [1986] 2 W.L.R. 988
a) Anderton v. Ryan is the main previous case which the court departed from in R. v
Shivpuri.
b) In the previous case, the consideration has been put forward by Lord Bridge while
examine about the case Anderton v. Ryan. It has been described that in the section
170(1) of the 1979 Act is applied the case R. v Shivpuri [1987]. Here, the one of the
defendant did not know about the power substance in the bag. The nature of the substance
was completely unknown to him. He did not believe about the things which he was
dealing with. Here, the statutory offence was acted according to the section 1 of the
1981 Act. This section has described about the merely preparatory to the commission of
an offence and secondly when the accused intended to commit some offense. However,
the court has stated about the defense that it was quite impossible to commit the actual
offence, which overruled the notion of objective innocence in the case Anderton v.
Ryan. While applying the judgment in the case of R v Shivpuri, the court has applied the
Practice Statement of 1996. The interpretation of the criminal Attempt Act was taken in
this task1.
c) The case has been overruling with the decision in this case. It is a process of court where
it decides about the legal reasoning and ruling in the previous case where the rule was not
correctly applied. When a higher Court overrules the decision of the lower court
according o the decision of the Court of Appeal in the previous case. When the European
Court of Justice has been decided that overrule was made and it was not followed the
rules. The House of Lords also decide to acted according to the discretion and decide to
1 Wilson, Steve, et al. English Legal System. Oxford University Press, 2014.

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declare the own decision which has been formed previously. It decision was not be
processed for longer and overrule was made. The House of Lords has been acknowledged
in this case because they needed to grab the opportunity while putting the right while
making the mistakes2.
d) The defendant has been found to import drugs but the nature of the power substances was
unknown to him. In the process of appeal, he has stated that it must not convict by him as
because it was a crime. However, he was failed in that attempt. According to the ratio of
the case, the statutory offence was acted according to the section 1 of the 1981 Act. This
section has described about the merely preparatory to the commission of an offence and
secondly when the accused intended to commit some offense. However, the court has
stated about the defense that it was quite impossible to commit the actual offence, which
overruled the notion of objective innocence in the case Anderton v. Ryan. While
applying the judgment in the case of R v Shivpuri, the court has applied the Practice
Statement of 1996. The interpretation of the criminal Attempt Act was taken in this task.
The House of Lords has been waited long for addressing the problems in this case study.
The defendant was paid for delivered the drugs which was a criminal offense3.
In this case, the defendant was intended to evade the prohibition on the nature of the drugs.
The court has also departed in this case about the earlier case of Anderton v. Ryan. While
applying the reasoning of objective innocent, it has been distinguished between the nature of the
offence and the consideration of impossibility was attempted through the Criminal Attempts Act
1981. While applying the case, it has formed the section 70(1) and (2) of the Act of 1979
connotes a corresponding mens re. The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 has been legislated the facts
2 Steiner, Eva. Comparing the prospective effect of judicial rulings across jurisdictions. Springer, 2016.
3 MacCormick, D. Neil, Robert S. Summers, and Arthur L. Goodhart, eds. Interpreting precedents: a comparative
study. Routledge, 2016.

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and enacted a new comprehensive Code. The court must works with the criminal sanction which
will able to reduce the growing drugs problems.
e) While completing assignment I have consulted with my group members and researched
on the mentioned topic. Different law sources have been used while applying and
describing the application of the law. The review of the Judgment has been analyzed in
this case study. The other team mates also researched while applying the laws in this task.
I have used secondary sources for research the case study of R. v Shivpuri. The c lass
notes are also followed for answering the questions.

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Reference
Barker, David. Law made simple. Routledge, 2014.
MacCormick, D. Neil, Robert S. Summers, and Arthur L. Goodhart, eds. Interpreting precedents:
a comparative study. Routledge, 2016.
R. v Shivpuri [1987] A.C. 1; [1986] 2 W.L.R. 988
Steiner, Eva. Comparing the prospective effect of judicial rulings across jurisdictions. Springer,
2016.
Wilson, Steve, et al. English Legal System. Oxford University Press, 2014.