SQE1 Criminal Liability (FLK2): what is tested and how to revise it

What is tested in SQE1 Criminal Liability?

Criminal Liability is an FLK2 subject covering specified offences against people and property, homicide, fraud, defences, participation and attempts. You must apply the elements of each offence to the facts, including actus reus and mens rea.(SRA, FLK2 specification) The SRA blueprint allocates 14–20% of FLK2 to Criminal Liability.(SRA, SQE1 Annex 4) Revise by identifying the possible offence, checking each element and then considering any defence, separately for each person involved.

How are Criminal Liability questions assessed?

SQE1 is closed book. Each single best answer question offers five options with one correct answer. The assessment tests the application of fundamental rules to realistic client situations at the level of a newly qualified solicitor. Questions may combine subjects within FLK2, and Ethics and Professional Conduct can arise throughout. (SRA, SQE1 Assessment Specification) Read the question’s task carefully: identifying an offence, assessing a defence and explaining a legal outcome require different conclusions. Our single best answer guide explains a reading routine.

The blueprint assigns a question to its main subject. Its percentage range therefore does not cap every use of Criminal Liability knowledge in the paper. (SRA, SQE1 Annex 4) From the January 2027 sitting, Criminal Liability questions appear in FLK2 session 2, mixed in random order with Criminal Law and Practice, Property Law and Practice and Solicitors Accounts in the property context; the blueprint proportions do not change. (SRA announcement, 10 September 2026) Practise the subject on its own before mixing it with related FLK2 topics.

How does it differ from Criminal Law and Practice?

Criminal Liability concerns whether the facts establish an offence and whether a defence applies. Criminal Law and Practice covers advising at the police station and the criminal process, including bail, hearings, evidence, trial, sentencing and appeals. They are separate subjects in the specification.(SRA, FLK2 specification) Keep distinct revision checklists, then practise connecting substantive liability with the client’s procedural position. See what FLK1 and FLK2 cover for the wider subject map.

Which offences does the SRA specification cover?

Use this summary as a coverage checklist alongside the full specification. It identifies the offence groups to revise; it does not predict the questions in a sitting. (SRA, FLK2 specification)

Actus reus and mens rea

The specification requires both parts of the definition of the offence. (SRA, FLK2 specification) Build an elements sheet for each offence. Record what happened, the relevant circumstances, any required result and what the person knew, intended or foresaw. Include omissions, causation, intention, recklessness and the timing of the mental element in your foundation revision. When reviewing an answer, identify which element a fact supports instead of simply labelling the conduct criminal.

General and partial defences

The listed general defences are intoxication and self-defence or defence of another. The listed partial defences are loss of control and diminished responsibility. (SRA, FLK2 specification) Revise their conditions separately. For intoxication, organise notes around voluntary and involuntary intoxication and the mental element of the alleged offence. For self-defence, distinguish the belief that force was necessary from whether the force was reasonable in the circumstances as the person believed them to be, and check the rules on mistaken beliefs. (Judicial College, criminal defences (secondary source)) For each partial defence, record its requirements and the resulting verdict.

Parties and attempts

Cover principal offenders, accomplices and attempts to commit offences. (SRA, FLK2 specification) Make a separate record of each participant’s actions and state of mind. For an attempt, section 1 of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 requires intent to commit an offence within its scope and an act that is more than merely preparatory to committing it. Factual impossibility does not necessarily prevent liability.(Criminal Attempts Act 1981, s 1) Practise identifying the point reached in the conduct and the facts as the person believed them to be.

Which revision traps should you avoid?

• Choosing an offence from the outcome alone. Write down the required mental element before selecting an answer. Compare neighbouring offences using the same headings, so the seriousness of an injury does not replace the rest of your analysis.
• Missing the timing in burglary. Both routes in section 9 require entry into a building or part of one as a trespasser. Under section 9(1)(a), the intention on entry must be to steal something there, inflict grievous bodily harm on someone there, or cause unlawful damage to the building or anything inside. Section 9(1)(b) covers stealing or attempting to steal there, or inflicting or attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm on someone there, after such entry; damage alone does not satisfy that route. (Theft Act 1968, s 9) Mark entry and subsequent conduct separately.
• Treating a partial defence as an acquittal. Successful loss of control or diminished responsibility reduces murder to manslaughter. (Coroners and Justice Act 2009, s 54)(Homicide Act 1957, s 2) Check both the defence’s conditions and the consequence stated in the answer option.
• Giving every participant the same analysis. Check the alleged offence, conduct, mental element and any defence for each person. Do not let a conclusion about the main actor stand in for reasoning about someone else.

How should you revise Criminal Liability?

1. Build comparison notes. Put related offences beside each other. Use headings for conduct, circumstances, result, mental element and defences. Write the distinction you are likely to overlook in your own words.
2. Attempt questions without notes. Identify the person and issue, then work through the elements before comparing options. Base the answer on the stated facts; do not invent a missing intention, injury or relationship.
3. Explain the closest wrong answer. After answering, read the explanation and cited authority. State precisely which element or condition defeats the tempting alternative. Include correct guesses in this review.
4. Keep an error log and return to it. Record the missed distinction, then revisit it after a gap using a fresh question. Mix offence groups once the basic checklists are secure, and include questions involving defences and multiple participants.

Use our guide to revision with spaced repetition to organise this routine. Prioritise being able to explain why an option fits the facts, rather than remembering where it appeared in an earlier question.

Where can you start practising?

Try the free SQE1 quick test for mixed-subject practice. Use the explanations to identify what to revisit; a short mixed test cannot establish complete Criminal Liability coverage. The SQE1 course page shows current coverage by subject. Check that coverage against your syllabus checklist. This guide is study material, not legal advice.

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